Thursday, May 24, 2012

Ratings Systems for Books: Why This is a BAD Idea

Oy. If it's not one thing it's another in this world.

Twitter has lately been abuzz with talk of the study a professor at Brigham Young University did on language and such in YA literature and then her suggestion that we implement a ratings system for books akin to the movie or video game rating systems.

Let me caveat this here: I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I attended Brigham Young University for my undergraduate studies. While not ashamed of either fact, I don't talk about it here on the blog. This blog is not the place for talk of religion or politics. I intend to keep it that way so if you're getting worried by this, don't. I won't get preachy or anything like that on this blog.

And I think this is a stupid idea. Not only that, but I think this study, the professor's research, may have been bordering on wasteful of the tuition dollars spent at the school. If her research was subsidized in any way by grants or salary through the school, that is.

I'm not as familiar with the ratings systems for video games (*hands in geek card*) as I've largely stepped away from gaming over the last few years.

But the debate over the MPAA ratings system for movies is ever-raging. The biggest problem with the MPAA is that not all movies given the same rating are the same.

I don't go to R-rated movies, as a rule. I rebelled once in college and watched one. Which I have regretted ever since but that's my personal moral code. I rented "The King's Speech" on DVD and loved it. Yes, it was also rated R. But the difference between the two movies I'm discussing in this example are basically night and day. I found absolutely nothing offensive in the latter movie. The one I watched in college, however, had a lot that was pretty gratuitous. It added nothing to the story and was just there to be there.

The problem with ratings systems, aside from the obvious one of the moral code bias of the person or persons creating the system, is that not all books which under arbitrary guidelines would receive the same rating are the same. One book may be such that there are things entirely offensive and gratuitous but the other doesn't. This could hold especially true in non-fiction self help or memoirs. Not to say it wouldn't be the case in fiction, though.

Another factor to consider is the impact ratings will have on the timeline of publishing. How close to the set publishing date is the cut-off for getting a galley or ARC to the ratings committee? What happens if the ratings committee gives the book a rating which the publisher wishes to contest, but the ARCs have already gone out and reviews are written, ready to go out? There's a domino effect which will only compound as publishers and writers fight the system laid on them in order to get their work out in a timely manner, etcetera.

I'm not going to even touch the censorship issues that this would bring up. If you really want to see what the possible ramifications of this would be, just start googling the debate over the MPAA ratings on movies. The prospects are very similar to what would happen if this were implemented in literature.

The bottom line of all of this, in my opinion, is this: If you're worried about what your kids are reading, read the books as they do. Or before. But then discuss with your kids either a) the behaviors, etcetera in the book that you find objectionable, in a rational way, with a two-way conversation going on or b) why you are uncomfortable with them reading the material, etcetera.

Be a parent. Don't rely on others to tell you what may or may not be acceptable. And don't join the mob out there. Form your own opinions and help your kids to form theirs.

*steps off soap box*

Also, if you would like a far more eloquent take on this, go look up Kiersten White's blog. She put up a lengthy post about it this week.

Don't forget to enter the 500 posts giveaway! I'll draw prizes sometime in the first full week of June.

11 comments:

  1. Totally agree, and I've seen a similar sentiment echoed across other blogs. I am close enough to my teen years to remember the stuff I read as a kid, and it was RACY. But that's what I wanted, and that's what my teenage brain craved. And reading about it satisfied the craving enough that I didn't feel like I needed to go out and live it, so in a way books saved me from making some pretty terrible decisions with my youth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's important that things are addressed in the right ways. Books can help us do that. They can help us to open up communications about issues bothering us, etcetera. Thanks for coming by!

      Delete
  2. I come from the same religious background as you. And I am probably more on the conservative side when it comes to what I do and do not let into my life as a moral code. It wasn't always that way, but the older I get the stricter I have become.

    I like your thoughts about book ratings. It would be rather difficult to place a letter or number system on books. I only wish that there was some way for me to have prior knowledge before I read a book if there is crude language or sexual content. In a lot of YA these days, sex and vulgar language is infiltrating them so much that it is borderline disgusting. I do not care for it. I hate to get into a book and then bam, there’s a graphic scene involving sex.

    I like your idea of reading books your kids want to read before they do. If that is the case then at least I would have the opportunity to say yes or no to them. Then we could talk about it. Open up a dialogue. Yet, I am yet to be a mother.

    Anyway, I’m pro book rating, but understand it would be difficult to institute. Shrugs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To each their own but it could so easily swing to the extreme of censorship. And that's not good. I am in the same boat on the whole parenting thing. Nowhere near being a mom myself, but I definitely have opinions. Opinions which are formed from observing the world around me.

      Delete
  3. It's all a bunch of *&^%$ LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ROFL. I agree. There are so many bigger issues that we should be worried about in this day and age.

      Delete
  4. I have thought about this lots - I'm a high school English teacher along with being a writer - and I have parents who don't want kids to read books for whatever reason. This is the greatest opportunity for parents and children to have conversations about things. And, there are appropriate ages listed with most book sellers. The last thing I want is more hands telling me what I can and can't read and what my kids can and can't read.

    Talk about a great post for the first time finding your blog. Can't wait to read more of your thoughts - new follower :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the dish. The sentiment holds true here. Thank you for your insight on that end of the spectrum. I appreciate your coming by and the nice words. Thanks for the follow!

      Delete
  5. I'm on a thin line here and don't want you to think I can be nudged over that line -- but, having said that, it's probably for the best you read the book in college you did as you have a realistic baseline that you formed of what you don't want. Back to that line -- one can stumble into stuff quite innocently and understand where one's at if the moral structure is already in place, allowing one to regain one's posture and move on. It's when fear learned from others influences to such a point one fears crossing their line that I draw another line: censorship can't replace parental responsibility. I think of censorship as a way for parents to hide behind governmental or industrial regulations they complain they hate but, in reality, blame the lack of for problems in the making they didn't address as responsible parents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not trying to nudge anyone anywhere. I just wanted to share my thoughts and open a dialogue. I totally agree with what you're saying. If your morals are strong enough within yourself that you can stick to them in the face of things, that's more important than a rating system on books. The fear thing is true, too. Thanks for coming by!

      Delete

All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing.

Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author.