[quote=Doivid]
tbh I see more people (who actually care about the ratings) use those websites like familysomething or other that document everything potentially risky in the movie, than who pay attention to the ratings. Most of the kids I knew were either brought to rated R movies by their parents or the parents didn't care if they watched them. It's sort of like the outmoded standards for network tv. No one cares about them anymore except to appease a certain segment or for business reasons. I see the mpaa system used more often than not to push around movie makers and threaten to torpedo their chances of a decent box office, than any affirmation that it's actually helping guide anyone.Like the 2 fucks rule, that seems awfully arbitrary.
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It is indeed arbitrary. I'm still not convinced that it's bad (as in [i]needs to be fixed immediately bad[/i]), personally. But I am sure that movie studios aren't going to change shit. They've made a label that they can put on most movies that will cause most people to feel comfortable watching it. 

People who care in the way you say, that is "enough to look up alternatives and to talk about it publicly" are a vocal minority. Most of the masses don't care enough to look into how the ratings work or to look for an alternative. All they know is that PG-13 works for them and their family, and that's going to be the safe bet for them. They don't really care to look at it past that.