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]

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.