MPAA Approved?
Throughout the history of the American film industry, directors, screenwriters, and actors have strived to develop innovative and original techniques for editing, camerawork, performance styles and narrative with the goals of reflecting upon issues and creating an entertaining piece of art. However, many times individuals in the film industry are unable to accomplish these goals because of unclear MPAA guidelines regarding rating assignments for films. According to Franklin, the MPAA rating system provides “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” (153). Although subjects such as extreme gore and explicit sexual content will automatically earn a film a highly restrictive rating, the definitions for explicit and violent content are poorly defined and often held to double standards. For example, independent film companies are held to a much higher and tougher standard than big wig studios. When Matt Stone, co-creator of South Park, released two films, the first independently released film was instantly rejected by the MPAA whereas the second film (South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut), which was released by Atlantic Records, was rejected but given guidelines (including a title change) for how to make the film releasable. Holding lesser film companies to higher standards suggests that the MPAA is dishonest, secretive and hypocritical. The ratings system, established to protect audiences from graphic material that may be unsuitable, has become a political tool to appease major film corporations.