Martine Schroeder - Film Review, "Some Material May be Inappropriate or Mystifying, and the Rating May Be as Well"
The film review on "This Film is Not Yet Rated" published by the New York Times states that this documentary is entertaining, yet it does not address many practical questions about the movie ratings system. Such as, 'does this ratings system help at all?' and 'how this system could be improved?' The writer of this review points out that Kirby Dick, the director of the film, does not present a piece of work that delves into all sides of the story. Although this might be the case it is made clear that this is an entertaining film and it does bring up some issues that are important for the public to take notice of. This article discusses a film that brings the idea of censorship to a head.
This article relates back to a lot of what was done in class this semester. Censorship in the United States has always been somewhat of an issue. Freedom of speech is allowed in the US, yet there are some restrictions. Many times throughout American history censorship has been used. In the 1960's the counterculture movement was beginning to explode and people were saying how they were feeling and were very open with their thoughts and sexuality. Many people of the time felt this information should be somewhat censored and not brought up. This can be seen in many of the films made in this time period. These films were entertaining and light-hearted. Few, if any, films of this time addressed the many social issues that were being introduced to society.
Censorship is always present in our society. From every idea, to genre of music or type of film - questions of censorship can always be raised. Many people are against censorship in all forms and many people agree with some types of it. This article relates to many ideas from the semester because many ideas in US history have in some way, shape or form been censored before being accepted by society.