The MPAA and the Rating System

[Brennan]

So something that I sometimes think about is the rating system for US movies (I say US just because it's the system I know, but people from other countries, feel free to educate us about your rating system). The MPAA and their decisions: like 'em, love 'em, hate 'em, indifferent? Where do you stand?

I had once seen a documentary made by a filmmaker, I forget the name, that looked into the MPAA and what they are, what they do, what they stand for. It made me a bit upset but I tried to keep in mind that this was just one side of the story.

The MPAA's job is to give ratings to movies, based on guidelines, so that the average American parent can decide if a movie is appropriate for their child to view. So in theory, the MPAA should be made of up the average American parent, yes? That was one of the things brought up by the filmmaker and it was revealed that many of the people on this secret board (it is an anonymous group, however through much investigation they were able to discover many of the then members) were in their 50's, some did not have children, and many of those who did had children in their 20's.

Anyhoo, that's just a bit on the politics of it all. We don't have to discuss that if you don't want to, but we could discuss the ratings of certain movies and if you agree or disagree with them.

I used to find it irritating that I could not see a movie in the theatre on my own, at 16, because it was rated R, no child under 17 permitted without an adult, for perhaps a bit of foul language (that I heard everyday in school since 5th grade), some sexual and/or drug content, and "adult themes." Yet 1 year later, I was deemed old enough and mature enough to handle the thematic elements on my own.