Industry of the film production is a big area where someone's imagination in a form of film may affect the outlook of millions of viewers. Each film is a great piece of art, where the director reflects his or her thoughts about any issue. Knowing this, many films might contain a harmless content, which may have a different impact on adults and children. That is why America has created a mysterious rating organization, the MPAA film rating system, which assesses the content of every film and may limit the audience of it. This paper was written after the film This Film is Not Yet Rated watching, and it analyzes the issues brought up in the movie about the objectivity of the film rating.
The current film rating system in America is called MPAA film rating system. Its working system seems simple. In order to determine the MPAA rating for each film, a special commission watched and then discusses it. After that the vote takes place, during which the film gets its rating. However, there are big doubts about the validity of such rating system. First of all, it is a completely anonymous organization that only assigns a rating and limits the audience (Austin 91). However, they do not have rules and regulations, which would explain the directors of movies what specific scenes contain inappropriate content, and what scenes has to be changed to get a better rating.
In addition to this anonymity, there is a question whether this system is relevant at all. Since 1968, when the MPAA was established, the organization gave such strange ratings that there is a doubt about its moral values. Calling themselves “the guardians of morality”, they seem to be much more concerned about sex than about violence (Dick, film). Movies with decapitation get R rating. Moreover, murder scenes and violence depictions often get even PG-13. But movies with scenes of the physical aspect of love that are not a fiction but a natural reality, receive just NC-17. There is an interesting observation that violence in films is four times more permissible than the sex scenes. As a result, children watch films with violent scenes and feel like adults, subconsciously wanting to follow it or imitate it. However, if these scenes were shown without lies, but with real effects (blood, lacerations), children would not perceive violence as something delightful. Moreover, the MPAA also not clearly distinguishes films with alcohol or tobacco use (Tickle 756). And it is also an indicator of the MPAA`s substandard work.
Of course, the rating process should exist, as for some scenes the child's psyche might really be not ready. However, this system should be fair and objective. Commission members should not be just ordinary people, but the child behavioral experts. Also, unnatural deviations like violence, cruelty and murder should be hidden from the young children`s eyes (in fictions, not in documentaries). Another necessary aspect is the change in the assignment of the rating. In fact, it would be fair to let the film director know, for what reasons the film has received a particular rating and what changes need to be made to get a better rating. Perhaps America's rating system should take something useful from the rating systems of other countries. For example, from Mexico, where the brutality and drug use in films have much greater restrictions than filming of such natural processes as sex (Thrasher et al. 269).
Summing up, it should be noted that although the MPAA rating system was established to restrict children from watching undesirable films with scenes of cruelty, violence, abuse, sex, and drug use, this rating system is still not objective. The current MPAA rating system, when the director of the film just gets a message with rating and no explanation, is inappropriate and requires revising.
Works Cited
Austin, Bruce A. "The influence of the MPAA's film-rating system on motion picture attendance: A pilot study." The Journal of Psychology 106.1 (1980): 91-99.
Dick, Kirby. This Film Is Not Yet Rated. Toronto, Ont.: Distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media, 2006.
Thrasher, James F., et al. "Are movies with tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sex, and violence rated for youth? A comparison of rating systems in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States." International Journal of Drug Policy 25.2 (2014): 267-275.
Tickle, Jennifer J., Michael L. Beach, and Madeline A. Dalton. "Tobacco, alcohol, and other risk behaviors in film: how well do MPAA ratings distinguish content?." Journal of health communication 14.8 (2009): 756-767.
