Well, I'm sure most us were already watching "R" rated movies, lol. I will say, though, that I tried watching "Blue Velvet" shortly after returning from my mission and I couldn't make it through it, lol. I'd been a fan of "Eraserhead" before my mission, but it's obviously not the queaze-fest that "Blue Velvet" is. It took several more years before I could enjoy watching all of Lynch's movies, as well as "Twin Peaks," without the spirit interfering with my enjoyment.
It's a special occasion, a special special day in your life not to be taken lightly or entered into without thought and consideration. Take your time grasshopper, take your time.
In fact I can tell you the very first R-rated movie i watched was Robo-Cop at the tender age of 10. And I'm still playing catch-up with many great movies that just happen to have an R or even PG-13 rating. Watch:
Last Supper ( my favourite movie)
The Quest For Fire
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Easy Rider
Schindler's List
Pulp Fiction
Resevoir Dogs
Kill Bill Parts 1 and 2 ( I love Tarantino, so sue me!)
I never took the prohibition on R rated movies seriously. I even watched a few on my mission with my companions. When I was ZL and DL I could get away with it, and it never was a problem.
Of course, I was constantly worried about running into members at the theaters.
When I was younger, I watched R-rated movies, and even had an impressive collection of them. Mostly action movies and historical dramas. Then when I was in my mid twenties, I heard some GA gasbag give a talk about R-rated movies, so I sold all of mine. A few years later I left the church, and I have been slowly restoring my collection.
Yes. That's actually been a great thing to catch up on. R-Rated movies that I missed in my youth. I watched a few as an LDS person, but not many. I don't view R-Rated movies as inherently good or bad, but I judge them the same way I would other films. I'm not too into gratuitous violence that doesn't really advance the story.
Many R-Rated movies just have "mature content" i.e. they are for adults. Many of these movies deal in adult themes, adult emotions etc. I think that LDS people are missing out, because they're on a steady diet of cheery Disney movies and PG-13 happy end action movies.
There was a rating system back then, but I think there were just general guidelines from the church to be careful about content. But I watched pretty much what interested me, without paying much attention to the rating. I remember taking high school dates to "Catch-22" and "Woodstock." I saw "Lenny" in college. It was never a big deal to me.
but it was never an issue at our house. My dad watched and took us to (and my mother went) to a movie if it sounded good. I did get a little over the top TBM in my early 20s--thinking my R movies might be one of the reasons I hadn't been blessed with my one and only yet.
I posted my favorite on another thread--and it is Gladiator. How could I forget "Pretty Woman?" I LOVED that movie back when it came out. Like someone else said--I never based my movie viewing on ratings. It is actually rather ridiculous.
I actually remember seeing "Kramer vs Kramer" and there was a frontal nudity scene and I couldn't understand why some people will see a PG movie, but not an R movie.
I don't understand the difference between watching the movie and reading the book. My parents will read very "R" rated books (Stephen King, Koontz, etc) but will never see an "R" rated movie. The justifications are so silly and I want to ask them "Do you think I'm stupid?" I pray they will wake up one day to the silliness they call their lives.
I started working at Trolley Square Theatres in SLC at 13 (I lied about my age). I was the projectionist there by the time I turned 15. There were only a few mormons that worked there, and the manager was from Australia! We got all the art house flicks and R rated features. I never felt any guilt what so ever. Even when we used to have late night beer parties, and private screenings.
My best friend in primary invited me around his house for the first time after church on a Sunday. His dad was the current Bishop. Bishop had a VHS (remember them?) collection of at leasts 100 15 and 18 (UK equivalent of R, generally) rated movies on his bookcase. He let us watch them all afternoon until my dad came to collect me.
That was probably my first cog dis moment, aged just 8 years old a few months after my baptism. From then on I always justified that if Bishop could watch them, then so could I. By the time I was 18 I'd seen (by way of a Blockbuster card and my parents being out a lot on stake callings) pretty much all the mainstream movies with notorious sexual or violent content. I deliberately sought them. Then I started looking in the foreign section, especially the French and East Asian.
I never once felt guitly.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2012 08:47PM by freeman.
actually, I never gave up the R movies, started smoking again a year after I joined the cult, and continued to drink beer and wine coolers whenever I wanted, just not around them.