Like any other system designed to judge something, the MPAA’s rating system is often prone to bias. Many people have argued against the MPAA’s ratings because of their incredible impact on a movie’s marketability. Because of this impact, some filmmakers are forced to alter their movies in order to receive a better rating. People have argued against this censorship, especially from a biased rating system like the one used by the MPAA.
In his book, The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code, Leonard Leff describes how ratings have evolved over the years. Subject matter that used to receive an “R” rating now received a “PG” rating. This shows that the ratings have much to do with the public’s perception of subject matter, and that the system to rate movies is not set in stone but can change based on the rater’s bias.
During an interview with CNN, Kirby Dick, the director of This Film is Not Yet Rated, discusses some of the bias against homosexuals in the MPAA’s rating system. Films with a gay theme tended to be rated more severely than films without gay themes. The documentary also exposed secrets about the MPAA’s rating system, such as the identity of the people who were rating the films. They found that the raters were a group of ten parents from the LA area, who had no training in how to rate the films. This can contribute greatly to the bias shown in the ratings because the reviews are really just the opinions of the parents.
Another common argument made against the MPAA is that they rate sexual content more harshly than violent content. In the Crosstalk article, Scott Tobias argues that it is wrong for a movie like Hostel: Part II, which includes extreme violence, to have an “R” rating while other movies based on sex have a “NC-17” rating.
Though some bias is unavoidable while rating anything, I think that the MPAA could greatly reduce the bias displayed in their ratings by having set criteria of how they will rate movies, and make those criteria available to the public. This would make the ratings less about a few parent’s opinion and make the ratings more structured and fair.
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I completely agree that the MPAA should have rules and guidelines regarding the ratings of films. Without these specific guidelines, the biases are impossible to get around. With only 10 people actually rating a movie, there is no way to get a good rating, especially since there are no rules that the parents have to follow. I wrote similarly on the subject and really think that if the MPAA is going to get rid of these biases then they are going to have to have some guidelines that explain exactly what qualifications are needed for a higher rating.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that MPAA should have a guideline and category of how to rate the movies. There is one idea that I have to say that I completely disagree with you. I do not agree with that the homosexual films get higher rating is biased. The reason is because most parents do not want their children to watch homosexual films. On the other hand, heterosexual films are way better than homosexual films. I agree with you that the rating of the film may be able to move from an “X” to “R” or “R” to “PG”. Dick mentions that the films today get fewer restrictions, and reaches a wilder audience. Therefore, that is the reason why that MPAA want to keep control the rating system.
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