Rating Movies

I would say Watching the movie “This Film Is Not Rated” was probably my favorite movie we have watched in this class. I always knew about the MPPA and how much power it really has on film makers. In this movie, Director Kirby Dick questioned the MPPA (Motion Picture Association of America) for their censorship practices. He takes an inside look at their rating system that deems suitability for audiences. He finds that the MPAA is not only corrupt but seems to have a love for overly judging sexual content. Kirby hires a private eye to follow them around. On top of their creepy love for judging any kind of “sexual content,” there were so many other red flags that this organization had. 

Kirby and his team discovered that the board seems to treat homosexual movies much harsher than heterosexual movies. This fact shocked me, but it makes sense. There is so much underlying homophobia in any industry in the Hollywood scene. There is a big problem with sheltering children in the LGBTIQQ community, a lot of movies have deemed it “sexual content.” It just shows how A) how much the times have changed and B) how little to no knowledge these board members have. Especially with casting actors, a lot of TVs/movies cast straight people for LGBTIQQ roles. I understand that does not sound important, but not giving the LGBTIQQ actors the same exposure as straight actors is unfair. Also, there is something unsetting about a straight person playing the role of a person from the LGBTIQQ community. Like, why can’t you just cast someone who is already a part of it? Why do you have to hire a straight actor who is playing a most of the time, stereotypical role of an LGBTIQQ person? Another shocking point in this movie was that the MPPA board members receive little to no training and are purposely selected due to their lack of expertise in the knowledge of media. Just because one person watches a couple of movies, does that make them an expert on who can or can’t watch them? If I cook dinner does that make me a chef? You would really think that the organization would hire individuals who are well knowledges in this subject because, well, they are literally deciding the fate of these movies. These people also have zero knowledge with child development, which once again, you would think they would have due to them deeming movies fit for children. It was funny to see this movie get rated with an NC-17 rating by the MPPA, which kind of confirms that they are guilty of all these idiotic things. Overall, I personally think that movie ratings are stupid in general. I understand its essential in some content, however if they are going to censor films the least, they could do is get qualified people to do so. Especially when you look at other forms of media, you kind of realize that movies are the most censored. And it sucks, since movies are what shaped my personality. It is also sad to see that film companies are holding back in a way, so they will not get censored by this unreliable organization.  

What are your favorite movies, and what rating do they have? Why do you think they have that rating? 

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