I heard on the radio this morning that the Motion Picture Association of America is going to be revising some of its movie rating guidelines within the next couple of months. Apparently, the revisions will be mainly focused on providing better information to parents so that they can protect their kiddies from too much exposure to sex and violence. The new system will also enact a new system of precedence, meaning that the rating of a current movie can be justified based of ratings of previously released similar movies.
The last time the MPAA made revisions to the movie rating system was 16 years ago. Since then, the movie industry has changed quite a bit. Independent films have really gained public acceptance, violence and sex are more predominant, and content has become more mature. Therefore, it is probably a good thing that changes to the rating system are being made in order to keep it up to date with the present.
Though, I remain skeptical that any changes will improve the already screwed up rating system. Currently, I think independent films are usually unfairly and too harshly judged, violence is allowed but sexual situations force an automatic "R", and the true content of movies can be as confusing to discern as ever.
The MPAA really needs to totally junk its current rating system and just start over with a fresh look. However, without a total shift in the paradigm, I doubt this will ever happen. Right now, the secret MPAA ratings board is filled with too many studio execs that are only out to serve their own best interests, not those of the public.
What do you think? Have you seen any movies that you feel were unfairly rated?
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1 comment:
Many many foreign films. So many films receive R ratings for nipple or ass exposure, but otherwise have no violence (extreme or otherwise) or the like that would actually deserve the rating.
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