Ever wonder who the people are who decide the ratings of films? You know the G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17? I'd personally not thought that much about it simply because I could care less what a film is rated. If it looks good, regardless of its MPAA rating, I'll see it. Not to mention the dichotomy between the American rating style versus European countries.
Ever notice how phobic Americans are when it comes to sex and nudity on screen? We can put a bullet through a hundred heads but show a little pubic hair and you'll get slapped with an NC-17. Why is that? Why are we so afraid to show our kids and the general population a little skin, but we're ready and willing to let them see brain matter? In Europe, the exact opposite is true (they put the higher ratings on violence), and this is brought to the forefront in Kirby Dick's excellent documentary, THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED.
What Kirby did was infiltrate the MPAA system by finding out who was on this incredibly secretive board so that those who make films - and have them rated by these people - know who stands in judgement of their cinematic work.
Mr. Dick (love his last name by the way) dissects the MPAA system and discovers so many problems as to boggle the mind. There apparently is no tried and true way to rate a film. It pretty much depends on the MPAA raters and how they "feel" it. If they happen to be in a bad mood that day, you're screwed.
The F-word is likely to get you an R rating unless you use it just once. A gay love scene will most likely get you an NC-17 but a "normal" man/woman sex scene (of the exact same type) will get you an R. Homophobia in Hollywood appears to be alive and well.
The most disturbing element is that violence is condoned over sex. What message does this send our society? That violence is more natural than physical attraction? {shiver!} A James Bond film has never been given an R rating (all of them have been lower), but Bond has killed more people than almost any movie character. They get away with this by not showing the blood that results from gunshot wounds. How convenient. But films like BOYS DON'T CRY get slapped with an NC-17 rating because of their sexual content (never is a bullet let fly in Boys Don't Cry).
When Kirby Dick puts up these side-by-side comparisons on screen, it's smackingly obvious how biased the MPAA board is toward human sexuality but very accepting of violence.
Kirby hires a private detective to help him reveal who the MPAA raters are and to dispel the myth that these are infallible people. On the contrary, they are extremely fallible.
My advice: don't go and see a flick based on its MPAA rating. Go see it because it interests you.
Ever notice how phobic Americans are when it comes to sex and nudity on screen? We can put a bullet through a hundred heads but show a little pubic hair and you'll get slapped with an NC-17. Why is that? Why are we so afraid to show our kids and the general population a little skin, but we're ready and willing to let them see brain matter? In Europe, the exact opposite is true (they put the higher ratings on violence), and this is brought to the forefront in Kirby Dick's excellent documentary, THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED.
What Kirby did was infiltrate the MPAA system by finding out who was on this incredibly secretive board so that those who make films - and have them rated by these people - know who stands in judgement of their cinematic work.
Mr. Dick (love his last name by the way) dissects the MPAA system and discovers so many problems as to boggle the mind. There apparently is no tried and true way to rate a film. It pretty much depends on the MPAA raters and how they "feel" it. If they happen to be in a bad mood that day, you're screwed.
The F-word is likely to get you an R rating unless you use it just once. A gay love scene will most likely get you an NC-17 but a "normal" man/woman sex scene (of the exact same type) will get you an R. Homophobia in Hollywood appears to be alive and well.
The most disturbing element is that violence is condoned over sex. What message does this send our society? That violence is more natural than physical attraction? {shiver!} A James Bond film has never been given an R rating (all of them have been lower), but Bond has killed more people than almost any movie character. They get away with this by not showing the blood that results from gunshot wounds. How convenient. But films like BOYS DON'T CRY get slapped with an NC-17 rating because of their sexual content (never is a bullet let fly in Boys Don't Cry).
When Kirby Dick puts up these side-by-side comparisons on screen, it's smackingly obvious how biased the MPAA board is toward human sexuality but very accepting of violence.
Kirby hires a private detective to help him reveal who the MPAA raters are and to dispel the myth that these are infallible people. On the contrary, they are extremely fallible.
My advice: don't go and see a flick based on its MPAA rating. Go see it because it interests you.