This Film is Not Yet Rated

[Brute_Force]

I just finished watching a documentary entitled 'This Film is Not Yet Rated.' I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the people who rate our films and the ridiculous standards they judge films by.

The MPAA ratings board consists of "normal parents" who are licensed with the ultimate authority to determine what can and can not go into a film. They have no special credentials, yet they are the guardians of the cinema in America.

I'm summarizing here, but basically, the vast majority of scenes that are removed from films (other than those given the NC-17, which is a kiss of death for mainstream works) are scenes that depict:

--female orgasm (with shots focusing on the woman's face during pleasure)
--shots of a woman's pubic region (even just visible pubic hair for around 2 seconds in "The Cooler" caused an NC-17 until they removed the scene)
--shots in which women have sex with other women
--shots in which sex between men and women is depicted in positions other than the missionary or with woman on top)

Scenes that are routinely allowed in PG and R films (sans NC-17 rating) depict:
--rape
--murder
--bloody violence
--decapitation
--pathological crimes

Thoughts?

 

[Stella_Omega]

thoughts?

Nope. This is nothing we didn't already know about.

 

[al_Ussa]

The MPAA ratings board consists of "normal parents" who are licensed with the ultimate authority to determine what can and can not go into a film. They have no special credentials, yet they are the guardians of the cinema in America.

Actually its worse than that. The names and identities of those individuals are a tightly held secret. Most of them are believed to be big wigs at various studios though. Not surprisingly they also have different standards for smaller indie movies and foreign films than they do for the BIG studios. They also tend to use their political clout to re-write and control movies.

Other than that yeah I couldn't agree with you more. The funniest thing is that the MPAA is supposed "voluntary."

 

[Brute_Force]

Actually its worse than that. The names and identities of those individuals are a tightly held secret. Most of them are believed to be big wigs at various studios though. Not surprisingly they also have different standards for smaller indie movies and foreign films than they do for the BIG studios. They also tend to use their political clout to re-write and control movies.

Other than that yeah I couldn't agree with you more. The funniest thing is that the MPAA is supposed "voluntary."

Very true. The great thing about this documentary is that the filmmaker hires a private investigator and they film their pursuit of the individuals. They find the name of the head of the board and follow her. And since it is legal to go through trash on the street in LA, they go through her trash and find some interesting notes on what they said and did regarding specific films.

Kimberly Pierce, the director of 'Boys Don't Cry,' speaks beautifully about what she went through to get an 'R' rating for the film. The MPAA's primary objection to giving it an 'R' was that the scene in which Lana has an orgasm and the entire shot is of her face during pleasure was 'too long.'

They had no issue with the scenes depicting anal rape or the murder of Brandon Teena.

 

[Brute_Force]

And also there are two active clergy (both priests) on the MPAA board at present.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

If I think about it I get angry, and there is no outlet for that anger, and since I don't need to be getting angry without outlet, I decide not to think.