[Andrea Koppel, Cnn Anchor:] "Kill Bill" is taking the movie box office by storm, but critics say the martial arts flick is too violent especially for young people. The movie opened just last month but because of its violent content, critics say "Kill Bill" is mis rated. Should the "R" rated film carry a stronger rating? And more importantly, does it do damage to young moviegoers? "Kill Bill" recently won a not so distinguished honor the Lion and Lamb Projects rotten ratings award. Daphne Wright is the executive director of that group and she joins me live in Washington. So explain, what does this rating mean?
[Daphne Wright, Lion & Lamb Project:] What does the rotten ratings award mean? We initiated them to show how much ratings create this happening in the video and game industry, how products which would have gotten an NC-17 a few years ago, now get R, which means that movies which are rated PG-13 a few years ago would have been rated R and the same for video games. There's an awful lot of violence in PG- 13 in Teen rated video games and Mature rated game.
[Koppel:] Sure well "Kill Bill" was rated R but you feel that wasn't enough.
[Wright:] No, I mean that should have been an NC-17. I mean think of something as "Midnight Cowboys" was back then given an X. Which is like nc-17, so they keep ratching violence to keep the market marketing to younger children. Jack Valente said last week there's nothing in the scene we just saw, the 20-minute fight scene that a child couldn't see on Wile E. Coyote.
[Koppel:] Well maybe he hasn't had children for a while. But lets see now The Lion and the Lamb, explain to viewers to our parents out there who may want to know more about this, how they can access this information.
[Wright:] OK, The Lion and Lamb Project, we have a Web site, lionlamb.org, and we are based in Bethesda, Maryland. And we provide information to parents and government and the industry on what's wrong with the current rating system and why I believe we need some regulation because the industry is not self-regulating.
[Koppel:] Now, it's not just the movies that your organization is concerned about it's also the video games which quite frankly are probably easier for kids to get access to. We have one I believe "The Matrix: Reloaded" which is a movie, it has come out in video and in fact the next in the installment of this series is due out soon. What is it that's concerning about this video game and the movie?
[Wright:] Well, the movie is rated "R" it is an adult movie. The companion video game came out the same day, same height, it is rated T for Teen and the it has exerts from the movie or scenes shot subsequent to the movie and also has a promo at the end of the video game for the next movie. So clearly they're marketing to teens for video games for this adult movie, which teens obviously want to see, and are seeing in droves.
[Koppel:] How can parents control that? Let's say they make the decision that this movie is appropriate for their child. How can they control or run interference when, as you said, they're marketing directly to children?
[Wright:] It's very difficult and that's why I started this organization so we can have a group of parents working together. It's really hard and it's very unfair of these industries who are making hundreds of millions of dollars, in fact, billions of dollars off of our children to kind of bypass parents and market directly to our children. I think parents do need to be informed and they need to be responsible, but industry needs to be a whole lot more responsible in their marketing practices.
[Koppel:] Another very popular game is "The Grand Theft Auto 3" that's out there.
[Wright:] And "Vice City," yes.
[Koppel:] And "Vice City" is this something that parents can read on the label when they go to the store if they decide they want to buy this for their child's birthday or the holidays coming up? Does it say how violent this is on the packaging?
[Wright:] I don't believe so, it does say mature, which if you know it's like
[Koppel:] Which means what?
[Wright:] Exactly, then it will says vague things like violence, it will not say kill prostitutes, hack people's heads off, beat them up, it's not at all clear. We do advocate for clear labels that will say this game includes decapitation tearing people's heads off with axes, shooting them in the face. The kind of violence that is in these video games, you really don't have a clue from the whitewash kind of labels, and so we are advocating for labels that mean something.
[Koppel:] So if parents are interested and concerned and want to find out more, they can access your organization on the Web?
[Wright:] Yes, they can.
[Koppel:] OK, and if they want to get involved?
[Wright:] We need all the help we can get and we need support for
[Koppel:] Do you think most parents are just, gosh, you know, are they in the dark about this because they have no idea just how violent they are or the parents don't care?
[Wright:] I think a lot of parents when they find out about it, they really do care, but again this is a youth culture video games. Most moms especially did not grow up with video games so it's definitely a youth thing. The industry is marketing directly to kids, while bypassing too many parents. And it is by the way very important public health issue for children. That's why I got involved, so if parents think they want a game like "Grand Theft Auto" for their children I recommend they look into the research of what it does to kids when they're constantly exposed to violence and maybe change their minds. And a lot of the research is on our Web site.
[Koppel:] OK, well on that ominous note, Daphne Wright, thank you so much for coming in today.
[Wright:] Thank you for having me.
[Koppel:] Nice to see you.
[Wright:] Thank you. USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com