Censorship - Colleen May
As Couvares (1992) articulates, “determining what is legitimate to say and hear and see… is a central activity of all societies and social groups” (521). The MPAA has managed to create a corrupt system in which raters are “secret,” unaccountable for their decisions, and highly influenced by those with financial interests. The huge discrepancies between ratings from movie to movie are a result of 1) this lack of accountability and lack of any formal criteria and 2) the “wider cultural and political tensions” with which censorship is primarily concerned (Couvares, 1992).
A prime example is this nation’s societal tension around homosexuality. Religious dogma has shaped the horrendous, blatant discrimination toward homosexuality, correlating homosexuality with immorality. Tension between reality and bigoted “morality” results in movies like But, I’m a Cheerleading being rated NC-17, reportedly because of a scene in which a fully-clothed female masturbates, while the film American Pie, in which a young male masturbates/fornicates with a pie, receives an R rating. Reading this, one might be angry and confused at such blatant sexism, but don’t forget, she not only a female, she’s a lesbian female. God forbid anyone under 17 see that.