Motion Picture Association of America

The Motion Picture Association of America is the source of where movie ratings come from. These ratings are given to a movie after its screening based on the opinions of those analyzing it. Today the MPAA rates movies in the following categories: G (general), PG (parental guidance suggested), PG-13 (parental guidance suggested under the age of 13), R (not suitable for children under 17), and NC-17 (children under 17 are not admitted). The ratings given to a movie clearly impact whom the movie will now be marketable to.  As a filmmaker if I submitted a movie that I was hoping to get a PG-13 rating and it comes back being R, I would now have to face the decision of whether or not to cut material out to make that lower rating, or except the R rating. This may be upsetting news to filmmakers as the market they expected to be able to distribute the film to is now cut in half. In many cases the MPAA ratings system can be a friend or enemy of a filmmaker.

A very interesting fact about the MPAA is that it seems to be very secretive, meaning the officials who rate the movies, their identities are not revealed.  This makes me question how accurate and opinionated the ratings that are placed on films actually are.  The MPAA says that they have guidelines that their voting members must fall into but a documentary called “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” uncovered that they don’t seem like the live up to their standards. What I mean here is that ratings members are supposedly required to have children between the ages of 5 and 17, but through some investigating the documentary found out that this is not entirely true. To me this seems extremely unfair and unprofessional.  How is their supposed to be a rating given accurately if you have older folks on your board that obviously aren’t thinking about it as a parent of a youngster.

Although there seems like there is some flaws in the MPAA’s rating system, they do have a program that I think shows a better side of the MPAA. This program is their Red Carpet Ratings Service. This service is a weekly email that parents can sign up for where they receive the ratings of films that have recently been released. This to me seems like a service that is a great idea. Though again the issue of how accurate the ratings they are sending out is something that I will continue to question.

I do feel that some revisions need to be made to better the ratings that the MPAA is giving films. My biggest concern with the association is why they have to be so secretive. I see no reason for them to act in that manner, as there really is nothing to hide. Something that I can see being beneficial to the ratings system is allowing filmmakers to sit in on the screening. By doing this a rating maybe can be understood better so they can make revisions to meet what they are looking for.