Somerville Theatre bans (young) kids from entering after 6 pm. Let's discuss it here

[ron_newman]

This week's Somerville News has an article about the Somerville Theatre's policy of banning children under 12 8* from entering the theatre after 6 pm, even if they are accompanied by adults.

Is the theatre's policy a service to its customers who want a peaceful movie experience, or is it unfair discrimination against families with young children?

I'm posting this because we can have a more civilized discussion here than on the Somerville News blog comments. Ian Judge, the theatre's manager, reads this community, so we may be able to provide useful feedback to him here.

* Edited 11:55 am to add: I have a serious factual issue with this article. It says the policy applies to children under 12, but the theatre's website and exterior signs say it's for children under 8. That's a significant difference -- maybe significant enough to change people's opinions.

Second edit, 3 pm: Ian Judge has clarified that the theatre's policy is to exclude children under 8, not 12, from entering after 6 pm. He had made an erroneous statement to the News reporter which very unfortunately made it into the published article. Also, here is Ian's response to the specific incident detailed in the News article.

Comments

[ron_newman]

One factual problem I have with the article: if the theatre's policy is to ban children under 12, why were Renee's 13- and 14-year-old kids sent home? This is not explained anywhere.

[ron_newman]

But... Anderson said her children - Robbie, 14, and Tyler, 13, - were accompanied by a uniformed police officer and other friends. . So the children were accompanied by an adult, complying with the R rating.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

Wait, they were accompanied by a uniformed officer to the theater? I'd read that as the officer escorting them back to their home.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

Huh. No, you're right. Reading comprehension. I fail.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

havent read the article, but R rating requires a parent or guardian, not just any adult.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

How flexible the R is on that REALLY depends on the theater. I also would not be surprised if MA has some idiotic ratings law on the books saying that the wording of the R-rating (as pointed out below) must be strictly enforced.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, compliance with the age requirements of of the MPAA ratings system is *completely* voluntary. The ratings system is a service provided by the MPAA and has absolutely no legal structure to back it up. Theaters could theoretically be punished for exposing children under 18 to some forms of sexual content (under the same regulations that prevent kids from buying porn) but, as we all know, there are a lot of non-sex-related things that can also earn a movie and R rating that are totally legal to show to children.

That said, the MPAA does usually require theaters to comply if they want to continue receiving MPAA movies, but it seems unlikely that the police would get involved in this unless someone refused to leave the theater at the theater owner's request and the police were called to remove the person.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

The ratings system is a service provided by the MPAA and has absolutely no legal structure to back it up.

Oh, I'm well aware that the MPAA has no legal enforcement of its ratings.

Unfortunately some states have laws on the books stating that no one under the age of 18 is allowed into an R-rated movie. I can't remember the whole list (Tennessee is one), but this is unfortunately pretty commonplace. Even if there isn't a law on the books, the theaters card and won't let anyone under 18 in in some states thanks to conservative busybodies. When I was spending my summers down South, I always found it ridiculous I had to talk a parent into taking me into a movie, but could walk into a gun store unsupervised and nobody would bat an eye.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

were any of those people who accompanied them their parents or legal guardian?

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

That doesn't comply with the R rating. R rating means that the adults with the under-17s need to be their parents or legal guardians. Because otherwise, a sixteen-year-old could use his eighteen-year-old girlfriend as his ticket in to the R-rated movie, y?

And it's not a legal thing--it's a "reserve the right to refuse service to" thing.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think Renee maybe wasn't the best choice of 'representative parent' here. She came off as kind of saying "Well, my kids were sent home because neither of them are old enough to see the movie, but I'm going to blame it on this policy instead OMG AGEIST SOMERVILLE."

I think we should question how kids have been treated in the city lately -- absolutely. But I think someone else might have been better suited to champion the cause.

[ron_newman]

The city is opening a new park on Walnut Street next week. It was supposed to be a skate park, but the neighbors objected, so it isn't.

[georgy.livejournal.com]

Really? That's annoying. What's wrong with a skate park? That would be great for a lot of people.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Noise and graffiti.

I've not seen one skate park that wasn't tagged all over the place.

Noise? Sure, the city curfew for parks is 10pm.
Do YOU want kids skating next to your home at 9:59pm?

Yes, it's absolutely a NIMBY issue.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

> I've not seen one skate park that wasn't tagged all over the place.

So make it officially okay for that park.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

So, screw anyone who lives there who wants to live in an area that doesn't have graffiti?

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

As someone who frequented several skate parks growing up, I have to admit they do get very very loud and do unfortunately lend themselves to noise issues and otherwise, as opposed to a regular playground/park. Which is lame, because even at 24 I was looking forward to a skatepark, but I understand their reasoning. No skate park I attended was quite so in a residential area.

Re: NIMBY

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

What you see as objecting to something that doesn't directly benefit them, I see as them objecting to something that only benefits a small few - skaters.

The park as it is now benefits a greater segment of Somerville than just one small special interest group.

Re: NIMBY

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

What you see as objecting to something that doesn't directly benefit them, I see as them objecting to something that only benefits a small few - skaters.

Without getting into the details of whether a skate park is appropriate here, or at all, the same reasoning could be used to object to building space for basketball courts (only benefits basketball players), bike racks (only benefits cyclists), playgrounds (only parents of small children), or many other amenities that appeal mainly to a minority subset of the population. But I contend that basketball courts, bike racks, and playgrounds are all good things for an urban environment to have, by encouraging healthy modes of outdoor social interaction.

So while a skate park may not be a good idea, I think there needs to be a better reason than "it only benefits skaters". Heck, if it gets skaters off of the front steps of City Hall and other plazas where people are trying to walk, it already benefits a lot more folks than just skaters.

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

Kids that young generally don't have any ID to prove their age, so it may be a matter of being kicked out if you can't prove to the manager that you're allowed in.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Nah, it's the fact that the adults they were with weren't their parents or legal guardians.

I'm sure Renee wasn't aware of that aspect of the R-rating, but it's there and has been more enforced over the last decade or so.