Earlier this week, the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs unveiled a study claiming that watching R-rated films leads to early alcohol use in teens.

The researchers talked to approximately 3,600 middle-school kids regarding their alcohol consumption.

The results? Three percent of kids who reported never watching R-rated films had tried alcohol, compared with 19 percent who sometimes watched them and 25 percent who watched restricted movies frequently.

One of the study’s authors, Dr. James D. Sargent, said this data supports previous theories linking R-rated movies and teens with violent behavior and drinking and smoking at an early age.

Sure, there are plenty of movies out there that glorify alcohol and drug use, i.e. “Pineapple Express,” but there are also ones that depict them realistically. Hello, has anyone ever see “Trainspotting”? The scene where Renton is going through heroin withdrawal is, in a word, horrifying. That creepy baby is enough to give you nightmares for a week and an eye twitch upon merely hearing the word “heroin” for the rest of your days.

Sargent said that about 90 percent of R-rated films depict alcohol consumption, which is why teens who view these movies are more likely to start drinking earlier.

Well, duh.

My question is this: in terms of this study, what constitutes “a drink”? Does this mean sneaking a sip one time while their parent’s heads were turned? Or are they like those kids on “Gossip Girl” who have acquired fake IDs and are traipsing around town barhopping every night instead of doing their multiplication tables?

Remember, people, not all R-rated films are on the same level of “restricted.” To illustrate this concept, I have devised the “Quentin Tarantino directed film vs. the Christopher Guest directed film” model.

Anyone who has ever seen a Tarantino picture can tell you they’re violent.  Take “Kill Bill” for example. It’s the story of a woman who goes on the warpath after waking from a coma to find the baby she was carrying is gone and the assassination team she was previously part of is responsible for everything. Uma Thurman kicks some serious ass, but it’s also seriously violent.

On the other hand, you have “This Is Spinal Tap,” directed by Guest. The film is a mockumentary about a faux British band, Spinal Tap. In case you’re living under a rock, it’s a comedy.

I dare you to watch the trailers for the aforementioned films and tell me that they are on the same wavelength in terms of content.

I’m just not buying it. Sure, teens have impressionable minds, but there are also so many other factors to take into account. In my mind, there is no way that R-rated films are the only reason kids are knocking back a few before turning 21. You have to take into account that they see their celebrity “role models” falling over themselves stumbling out of clubs at three in the morning sans underwear. Some kids might have a lax home environment that surely contributes to what kind of behavior they are or are not allowed to engage in.

Don’t get me wrong; there very well could be a correlation here, and according to this study, there is.  I’m just saying that there are so many confounding variables that I don’t believe one sole factor can be fully responsible.

(Image courtesy of Google Images)

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