In 1968 Jack Valenti, the president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), established the Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA) in an effort to reduce the amount of objectionable material in film. Before 1968, the MPAA required that all films follow the guidelines of the Production Code. The Production Code stipulated what was and was not appropriate to appear in films. In 1966, the MPAA elected Jack Valenti president and he changed the code to a rating system based on the amount of objectionable content in a film. The rating system went through several amendments until the current rating system. A controversy arose when The Weinstein Co. film Blue Valentine received an NC-17 rating for a sexually explicit scene involving the main characters in the film. The controversy over the rating of the film stirred up the question of the effectiveness of the MPAA rating system. Critics were already questioning the effectiveness of the MPAA, but the recent controversy helped to stimulate those questions. The rating system that the MPAA enforces on films is ineffective. The MPAA rating system is outdated. The recent advances in technology allow children to see movies regardless of the rating. The rating system worked well for the early years, but recently “kids slip into the movies they want to see. . . . They also see them at home on widely available DVDs, on cable, and via popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon” (Ebert 2). Even when kids go to the theater to see movies they can “theater hop” or buy a ticket to a low rated movie and slip into the R rated film of their choice. DVDs and the Internet both provide ways for kids to watch movies that contain objectionable material. Websites that offer the o... ... middle of paper ... ...not restrict violence in movies as much as it restricts sexual content, it allows children of young ages to be exposed to violent content, which could have serious consequences in the child’s future. The MPAA rating system was once a good source for people to find out whether a movie would contain immoral or violent images; currently the system has grown to become ineffective in today’s society. Society changes as well as movies; content and subject matter has changed for movies of this generation. If the system is not changed it will not help parents to know what movies will be appropriate for their children to watch. Because of the influence and prevalence of movies in our society and culture today a rating system is important, if that system fails to do its duty the negative influence that the movies can have on the children and youth of tomorrow will be great.
A young mother has decided to take her children to see the latest blockbuster to grace the silver screen. Her two children, both boys, are aged 9 and 11. She is aware that the film they are going to see, the critically acclaimed Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, is rated PG-13 but sees no problem with her kids seeing it. The rating states that “some material may be inappropriate for children under 13” and that “parents [should be] strongly cautioned” (Ratings Posters). But what could be so inappropriate in a Batman film that would require her parental guidance? For the following two and a half hours, images of dead bodies, grisly gun violence, and murder as well as implied sex, numerous profanities ranging from damn to a partially enunciated use of fuck, themes of terrorism and a world absent of law and order are shown to the gleaming, action hungry eyes of pre-teens. The mother leaves in utter disbelief that she had just witnessed numerous neck-snappings, head shots, and brutal beatings alongside her children. Movies these days are not what they used to be. Even the modern superhero film can be filled with graphic violence, ear splitting profanity, an abundant amount of sexual material, increasingly dark themes, and still be given a PG-13 rating. As a result of the excessive tolerance exhibited by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), films are being allowed to contain more explicit material than ever before and younger generations are being exposed to mature subject matter outside of their understanding.
The incident exemplifies a pressing issue in the ever-topical discussion of the oft-vilified film rating classification system in our country. Is the movie rating system, originally designed to assist parents in guiding the movie-going habits of their children, actually preempting parental choice?
"The Film Rating System (CARA)." The Film Rating System (CARA). MPAA, n.d. Web. 14 Apr.
This Film is Not Yet Rated is a documentary directed by Kirby Dick, and produced by Eddie Schmidt about the Motion Picture Association of America (or the MPAA) and their often-unjust rules in rating movies. The MPAA’s rating system is as follows: G and PG are the same as they are in Australia, M is called PG-13 in America, MA15+ is R, and R18+ is NC-17, the latter being the strongest rating. The difference between an R movie and an NC-17 movie can be as wide as hundreds of millions of dollars, and is factored by disparities between Hollywood and indie filmmakers, straight and gay sex, male and female sexual depictions and violent and sexual content.
Many Americans love films, the meanings behind those films and the impact some films have on people’s lives. Ever since films were created there have been people and organizations that have tried to censor and block what the public can and cannot see. Even to this day there are certain things that if put on film because of censorship, would never make it to the public. This is very sad. Film is one of this country’s great expressive outlets. Many filmmakers and the people who enjoy what these filmmakers put out are effected by the horrible concept of censorship. When a film is put out to the public it is first reviewed by a movie rating board who then assigns the film a rating to tell people what age groups the film is suitable for and what the film contains. Movie selection for minors should solely be the responsibility of that child’s parent, not some critic that watches films and then makes decisions for other people about who can watch it and who can’t. People just need to start to understand the real meaning of free speech and expression in this country. Too many people are taking it for granted. People who are for the censorship of films may argue that it’s for the good of our children, shielding them from violence and sex, and not exposing them to something that they claim may be mentally harm...
Today, our society likes to take time off to relax and watch a movie. Do you think it’s relaxing to watch people die and constantly be injured? Well most of the movies out today are violent. Even thought here are strict rating rules put on these movies, children are still seeing them. For example, The Power Rangers Movie. In this movie, five teenagers take on the roles of fighters. When kids view this PG rated movie they see how cool it is to kill other creatures and human beings. About three weeks after this movie was released in Chicago, two kids were playing power rangers; they decided to take the game a step further by involving pencils used as swords. This game ended with one of the two kids with serious incisions from the pencil. This situation could have easily been avoided if some of these movies were not so violently oriented.
The author of “Hollywood, Stop Exposing Our Kids to Violence” claims that filmmakers need to stop producing violent movies. The article argues that many children pick up bad habits from watching violent
Secondly, I think that if a child under the age of 18 views graphic violence in movies or TV shows, they will more likely to engage in those types of behaviors. I think that movie violence is sometimes viewed as a fun and effective way to get what you want to young eyes. Even though kids are taught or should be taught by their parents that it is not right to hit, television and movies portray that it is okay. I suspect that this can lead to confusion for kids to understand the differences between right and
Violence in the media is getting way out of hand. Hollywood realizes that the more violence that it shows in its movies, then the more likely it will have a larger box office draw. Some movies need to start being rated NC-17, we have the rating but it seems as though the only reason it is there is for pornography. What is the point of having such a rating and never using it, several movies come to mind that I believe should have been rated NC-17. One in point, The Matrix, it's heavy gun scenes were not appropriate to the impressionable minds of some young teens around the nation and even to some adults capable of doing horrible things. The shooting at Columbine High School sounded eerily similar to a particular scene in the movie and it is impossible for me to ever see the movie again without thinking of the town of Littleton, Colorado.
The MPAA is tasked with limiting copyright infringement, curbing peer-to-peer sharing, and lobbying elected officials on behalf of the film industry as a whole; however, the organization is most well known as the enforcer of the aforementioned film rating system. A film rating is a symbolic classification of a film’s content, specifically designed to act as a guide for parents. However, the MPAA’s true allegiance is not to parents, but rather to the film studios and the industry as a whole. In his deftly titled book, The End of Cinema As We Know It: American Film in the Nineties, author Jon Lewis writes, “The MPAA supervises the self-regulation of film content and does so solely to protect studio products in the marketplace.”
The progression of youths into reckless beings coincides with the progression of adults, though media chooses to emphasize reckless teenagers over reckless middle-aged men. A trip to the movie theater to see the latest teen comedy infiltrates the moviegoer’s mind with the idea that teens behave horrifically, thus harming their reputations (Phan). In addition, vulnerable young minds view the films and feel the need to compensate for their hermited behavior and act similarly to the fictional characters. These actions all contribute to the effort to satisfy pop culture’s image of the ultimate teen, however unrealistic it may be (“Movies Portrayal of High School Misleading”). Finally, the film industry utilizes these exaggerations on purpose, not considering the psychological effects on teens and adults and instead as a means of generating more box office revenue. Since most people watch movies as a means of escaping reality, the alteration of the high school reality cultivates greater interest in the film, all at the price of adults’ opinion of teenagers
In 1996 the Television Parental Guidance system was created. This is the same rating system that is used to this very day. The big question if this 19 year old system is truly adequate. TV Shows are progressively becoming scarier and more violent, but the rating system has yet to reflect this change. This system is not specific enough and does not warn viewers exactly what makes the show get a certain rating. All it offers is a V for violence, but leaves the viewers wondering if there is an violent death, a brawl, or something else entirely. The rating system also ignores the fear factor. Some shows may frighten some kids and even have lasting effects. When I was eight, I watched an episode of Doctor Who for the first
There is no doubt that movies entertain a person. However, over sexualized movies have the capability of poisoning minds which are easily shapeable-for example Fifty shades of gray. Children are told not to view it, however that does nothing to stop the viewing of the movie. Not only does it corrupt young minds it hands them unlimited access to the findings of adult
In 1996 congress passed a law about putting ratings, or as they called it codes, on TV programs. Congress told the TV industry that had to make them up or they would make them up for them and there would be no changing them. The ratings system introduced letter codes that were designed to alert parents to programs that may contain sex, violence, language or suggest an appropriate age for the viewing of that program. These kind of codes might be something like a "V" for violence, an "L" for languages, an "S" for sexual content, and some familiar signs, like PG, for parental guidance, that are used on movies today. Now that it has been a couple of years congress has been trying to come up with other ways to help control what is coming into the home through the TV. (Disconsiglio 14.)
Going to the movies is a favorite past-time event of American lives. A long time ago, however, there wasn’t any rating system. Making one seemed like a good idea at the time. Today, the system is still the same way and doesn’t fit today’s changed time. Therefore, the movie rating system should be revised because the current rating system is outdated.