Flaws in the MPAA Rating System

During the MPAA rating process, many factors influence the raters. The movie content, which can include language, nudity, violence and other themes influence the judges when they are making their final decisions on the ratings. However, there are certain biases of the judges that can also influence the rating. A conservative judge could rate a movie differently than a liberal judge, who could rate a movie differently than a very religious judge. Biases aside, there are flaws in the rating system that can result in an incorrect rating and therefore, a drop in box office sales.
On the MPAA website, it is made very clear that the rating system is clear and fair. The link to “What do the ratings mean?” leads to a page with all of the ratings along with a description of the ratings. However, there are a few flaws in the system. According to the MPAA, “An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously.” The rating NC-17 is based on “violence, sex, aberrational behavior, drug abuse or any other element that most parents would consider too strong and therefore off-limits for viewing by their children.” To me, these ratings seem a little vague. When does the violence become too much that the MPAA changes their ratings? Both of the ratings include “drug abuse,” but there is no specification to how much can constitute a change in rating. This vagueness could change the people that are able to view the film, and therefore change the outcome of the success of the film.
Also, there are certain cases in which certain ratings are too broad, which allows certain films to be grouped together which are clearly in different leagues. Scott Tobias states that the movies “Hostel II” and “Once” are both rated “R,” but have totally different levels of “R-rated” material in them. The mutilation that takes place in “Hostel II” earned the film the rating easily. “Once,” on the other hand, “has no violence. It has no sex. It's been rated R for ‘language.’” This is clearly unfair to the makers of “Once” because if someone saw “Hostel II” they could see that “Once” was rated “R” and not go to see it based solely on the fact that they thought it could be like “Hostel II.”
The MPAA can be prompted to change their ratings just by cutting minute details of scenes. As Leff states in Dame in the Kimono, “After the board rated the picture ‘X,’ Dougherty met with the MGM brass, and, two minor cuts later, awarded the release an ‘R.’ He sent Avco's Soldier Blue along the same road from ‘X’ to ‘R.’ But independent producers unaffiliated with the major companies charged that once Dougherty branded a low-budget picture ‘X,’ the ‘X’ stuck.” This shows that the ratings are too close together and that if one scene can make the difference between ratings, the rating system needs to be revised.