Carey, A. & Mosenak, J. Why films target teens and 20s. (USA Snapshots). USA Today.

OVERVIEW

In 1999, Americans ages 12 to 29 represented 30% of the population paying to attend movies, but they bought 49% of the tickets. Here’s how Opinion Research for Motion Picture Association of America broke down the share of movie ticket sales versus their share of the population by age:

(Numbers are rounded off, so figures may not add up exactly to 100%.)

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Do you understand the chart above—that of all those paying to see movies (i.e., eliminating those under 12 who don’t usually pay), 7% are ages 16 to 20 and yet they buy 17% of the tickets?
2. If each ticket bought is a vote for that kind of movie, what does this mean?
3. Are older people more likely to see a movie about teenagers than teenagers about older people? Why or why not?
4. What artistic checks and balances ought to mediate democratic artistic choice and lowest common denominators?
5. If bad movies are being produced, movies that can damage young lives and undermine the social fabric, who do you blame?

IMPLICATIONS

• We must recover the ideas that entertainment is also art and that art has its responsibilities.
• We need both to hold film producers accountable and raise the tastes of a younger generation.
• Research such as the above is an important aspect of this process.

Dean Borgman cCYS