Amanda Kennedy- This film is Not Yet Rated Review
Franklin states that the MPAA rating system provides for “some fairly well-established guidelines to the assignment of ratings, [and thus] filmmakers can now predict with a fair amount of certainty what their films’ ratings will be. In addition, it is a fairly simple matter to edit a film to conform to a particular rating’s requirements” (153).
According to the movie This Film is Not Yet Rated, the guidelines of rating a movie goes as following: Rated “G” means that it is meant for general audiences. This means no nudity, no sex, and no drugs. Also, villains must be cartoon like and minimal. Rated “PG” means parental guidance and that there can be some strong language, some nudity and light violence. To get rated “PG 13” means that parents are strongly cautioned to not let children under the age of 13 watch the movie due to more strong language, including the word “fuck” but it is limited to about one use. “R” means restricted. Children age 17 and under can not see it without a parent or guardian. This is due to sexual themes, frank sex talk, sexualized nudity, tough language, and tough violence. The final rating is “NC-17” this means that no child under 17 can see the movie. This is due to realistic baby making in a position other than missionary or unusual sexual behavior. (This film is not yet rated)
The problem with the rating system is that they are not consistent with the above guidelines. Some films have much more violence than sexual content and get lower ratings than movies with more sexual content than violence. There is no standard as to what should be considered more harmful to children. It appears that in the United States the ratings are harsher towards sexual themes than violence, whereas in Europe, it is just the opposite.
Throughout the film, the director and others interviewed shared their concerns about the inconsistency of movie ratings. These concerns were especially noted during appeals cases after a movie is given its final rating. During an appeal, a director cannot reference any past movie. This is because some movies in the past were given different ratings for the same material and the MPAA doesn’t want to admit how arbitrary the ratings really are.