MPAA ratings discussion (1 Viewer)

[WillG]

I can understand the "R" rating for "Almost Famous" I find it funny that there has been such an ongoing debate on this forum regarding that. According to MPAA guidelines, many of which I think are dumb, the use of "Fuck" gets the "R" rating alone. We can surely debate whether that word merits the "R" Rating, but look what we also get:

Many instances of drug use, Including a charater taking acid and nearly killing himself by jumping off a roof and a character who almost kills herself by overdosing on quaaludes, pot smoking etc.

A fair amount of sexual content. Several women "Deflower" an underage kid, "Blowjob" reference etc.

Topless Kate Hudson, however brief, but clearly not in the same "artistic" context as "Titanic"

So with a combination of all that, I can accept the "R" rating

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Funny though. If they did enforce PG-13 to 13 & up like I think they should, no one that age hasn't heard the 'F' word, or seen a little skin.

As for the drug, they generally took on a negative aspect, and really put down their use, which is a good thing, no?

Glenn

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Yesterday I got home and found this article in my newspaper about ratings creep:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts...ngs-Creep.html

Back to the source:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/re...s07132004.html

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Ratings creep goes both ways. Dure, if you compare 1992 movies to 2003, the latter will have more sex and violence at equivelant ratings. However, compare 2003 to the 70s and you'll get a different picture. Nudity used to be much easier to get away with and the level of violence in Gs and PGs used to be much higher. Even if you compare these to modern PGs and PG-13s, the 70s are still more violent. Jaws would almost certainly have been are R these days, for instance.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Y'know Matthew, I think I WON'T look specifically at Michael Jeter's scene. RIP to him, but my own life is too short to spend time peeking for his pee-pee. I didn't remember any nudity other than B. D'Angelo, and I'm perfectly happy to keep that memory intact!

 

[Jacob McCraw]

I watched "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants" this weekend (with my wife, (beats chest and grunts)) and found it really odd that this film received a PG rating.

"Whale Rider" got a PG-13 for a pipe on a guy's chest, while this film gets a PG even though it contains statutory rape of a minor. I find that strange.

We do not "see" anything but the deed is implied. I was not offended or anything. It was handled in a very realistic way I felt, but it seems to me that it would warrant at least a PG-13 since any film with a sex scene between consenting adults that is remotely graphic gets an R.

It's like the MPAA watched "Sisterhood..." and said "Well, there's no swearing, nudity, or drug references. PG." Doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Brian.L]

Funny, I just read about a movie that addresses this topic (and received an NC-17 in either a great example of irony or good self-promotion).