MY OWN TAKE ON THE PROPOSED R-16 RATING FROM MTRCB

MY OWN TAKE ON THE PROPOSED R-16 RATING FROM MTRCB

The following are my answers to the questions based on the website www.interaksyon.com.  It's about the proposal of MTRCB to create an R-16 rating as a stop-gap measure between movies that merit an R-13 and R-18.  

What is your opinion of the SM chain’s total ban on R-18 films?
For me, the total ban on R-18 films imposed by the SM cinema chain is unreasonable.  First, you have a growing market of young adults.  And depriving them of the films that they want to watch suitable for their age will force them to get a bootleg DVD copy from Divisoria or go instead to Robinson's or Ayala cinemas.  And this is only the Metro Manila market.  What about the growing cities in the Visayas and Mindanao areas that don't have ready access to these kind of films since SM is the only available mall in some of these cities?

Second, the total ban on R-18 films is another reason for the film industry to never recover.  They have suffered too much from censorship to piracy, to the advent of television and technology, to the death of some industry pillars these past decades.  Moreover, it stifles the creativity of promising scriptwriters, creative heads and film producers to produce something new for the Filipino audience.  

Are we just going to continue to let the likes of Brillante Mendoza showcase their thought-provoking movies abroad and not allow them to showcase their works in air-conditioned cozy cinemas forever?

If SM is sincere enough to help the Filipino film industry, then they should stop this ban and expand their market. 

Do you agree with the MTRCB’s plan to implement an R-16 rating?

Yes.  First off, the teenagers have access to almost everything.  Hell, some of them even hack porn sites and pose themselves as 18 years old to view naked bodies and couples cavorting.  The advent of sex scandals have affected even the younger people aged 13-16.  So having an R-16 rating will let the parents educate their teenage children what to watch and what is not allowed.

Do you think this would benefit the film industry?

I cannot directly answer Yes or No unless this R-16 rating is implemented already.  However, this is a venue for filmmakers to conceive projects that will open the mind of the youth and expose what is happening nowadays.  The teenagers don't need to learn only romance and kilig, they also have to learn how to deal with the problems of our country through these possible R-16 films to be produced in the future.

Do you think this would benefit the audience?

Yes, however don't expect the networks and the producers to benefit from this move.