Are they really?

A new study has found that violence in movies over the years has tripled in PG-13 films. The study also shows that violence in movies has doubled over the years. Researchers examined violent scenes in 945 movies, choosing the top grossing films from the 1950's to 2012.

In addition, researchers found PG-13 films have as much violence or more as an R rated film since 2009. Initially PG-13 flicks had equal amounts of violence as a G or PG rated movie. The researchers find the results troubling after a lot of research has gone into what is known as the 'weapons effect.'

The 'weapons effect' suggests that depictions of gun violence in media can lead to more aggressive behavior in the real world. Researchers emphasized that they are not trying to pin young people's violent behavior on movies, but perhaps the Motion Picture Association of America’s rating system should be reviewed.

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