A complaint I don't get

[Kor]

There is a bit of leeway with the F-bomb. The rules technically say as follows:

A motion picture’s single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context. The Rating Board nevertheless may rate such a motion picture PG-13 if, based on a special vote by a two-thirds majority, the Raters feel that most American parents would believe that a PG-13 rating is appropriate because of the context or manner in which the words are used or because the use of those words in the motion picture is inconspicuous.

Source (pdf file): http://filmratings.com/content/downloads/rating_rules.pdf

Kor

 

[Smellmet]

It's always been very subjective and inconsistent down the years, I mean the first Star Wars film got a 'U' rating in the UK, which is the lowest possible rating, despite the violence in it, personally I think it should be a 12A (UK) or PG-13. There's also the well publicised debacle about the birth of the PG-13 rating with Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. I have the DVD box set of the all three (there isn't a fourth) and they are all rated PG here, the violence and gore in Raiders of the Lost Ark alone makes an absolute mockery of this rating. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I found out that the cut of Temple of Doom that I've been watching for the last 35 years (including at the cinema) was fairly heavy cut from the version in the US. In the US version you see Mola Ram's arm going into the guy's chest (and the chest seal itself back up) and him holding the beating heart in his hand, the guy screaming as he burns alive as he's being lowered into the pit, also Short Round getting whipped and Indy telling them to 'leave him alone you bastards' among other minor things that I've never seen in all these years. Apparently you can get the uncut box set here now and they are all rated 12, which is what they should be - I actually think Raiders pushes even that rating.

 

[Qonundrum]

Of course. The way our bodies naturally function is taboo and sinful. That’s why even breastfeeding your child in public is a sinful act.

So are peeing and pooing or having any form of sexual intercourse in public too. Somewhere somehow what people have internalized emotions about was equated as "sin". Or there's a "common good" that was fathomed at one point but now seen as being outdated, just like marriage but just ignore the skyrocketing STD rates among other things...

And not everybody wants to see almost anything deemed "personal" in public. Why cater to those who want to eat food and drink most sorts of beverages?

 

[Qonundrum]

It's always been very subjective and inconsistent down the years, I mean the first Star Wars film got a 'U' rating in the UK, which is the lowest possible rating, despite the violence in it, personally I think it should be a 12A (UK) or PG-13. There's also the well publicised debacle about the birth of the PG-13 rating with Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. I have the DVD box set of the all three (there isn't a fourth) and they are all rated PG here, the violence and gore in Raiders of the Lost Ark alone makes an absolute mockery of this rating. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I found out that the cut of Temple of Doom that I've been watching for the last 35 years (including at the cinema) was fairly heavy cut from the version in the US. In the US version you see Mola Ram's arm going into the guy's chest (and the chest seal itself back up) and him holding the beating heart in his hand, the guy screaming as he burns alive as he's being lowered into the pit, also Short Round getting whipped and Indy telling them to 'leave him alone you bastards' among other minor things that I've never seen in all these years. Apparently you can get the uncut box set here now and they are all rated 12, which is what they should be - I actually think Raiders pushes even that rating.

Other examples might be the 1960s Planet of the Apes movies. There's a ton of violence and grizzly commentary, but they all got "G" ratings anyway. The sole exception being "Conquest", oddly enough. Being made in the late 60s-early 70s and all those sniffy dopey cokey drugs probably had something to do with getting around higher ratings too... or testing the censors, pushing boundaries... wasn't "Temple of Doom" the reason for the PG13 rating being introduced afterward?

 

[FormerLurker]

wasn't "Temple of Doom" the reason for the PG13 rating being introduced afterward?

It was one of them. IIRC, the original Red Dawn was either the camel's back-breaker, or the first film with the PG-13 rating.

 

[Smellmet]

And Gremlins also.

 

[Kor]

Other examples might be the 1960s Planet of the Apes movies. There's a ton of violence and grizzly commentary, but they all got "G" ratings anyway. The sole exception being "Conquest", oddly enough. Being made in the late 60s-early 70s and all those sniffy dopey cokey drugs probably had something to do with getting around higher ratings too... or testing the censors, pushing boundaries... wasn't "Temple of Doom" the reason for the PG13 rating being introduced afterward?

The "G" rating was a different beast in the beginning. It was actually for general audiences, and not just the default for inoccuous content for little kids. "The Andromeda Strain" was rated G with some nudity as well as disturbing medical stuff, and "2001" was rated G with those apeman fights and a homicidal computer.

Kor

 

[FormerLurker]

I can think of at least two films that are rated "G" that, without showing naughty bits, make it plain that the female characters in the scene are completely nude: ST:TMP and Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger. Both from the late '70s.

That said, it's an interesting paradox regarding nudity in films, and always has been. From the beginning the manly bare chest can be seen displayed proudly by the Patented Hollywood Bedsheet, but male naughty bits are less than a half-step removed from porn. Female bodies, on the other hand, are either completely covered by said bedsheet, or on full display, and it's left to the woman's discretion how much lower nudity she actually shows. I've seen films where the women have done full frontal, but because of how it's staged and what the scene is about, the film got a PG.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Check out the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) which looks at the whole rating process by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). It exposes who the ratings board is and that their identity is kept secret to avoid undo pressure from the studios, although the studios know who they are. It also covers appeals in which other film's ratings/content cannot be referenced. You could remake a move shot for shot and end up with a different rating. (Apparently the MPAA has changed that now, probably due to this film.)

I've seen it. Honestly, I think it's overly harsh on the system. Whenever they showed a clip that they thought the MPAA was too harsh on it, I thought that it seemed smutty enough to justify the rating.

But, look, the MPAA is a studio prop to make the studios look like they're policing themselves so that there's no formal government censorship. Are they overpowered and overly subjective? Yeah. But they're becoming less and less relevant due to online purchases and streaming. They're not really the gatekeepers anymore, so who cares?

 

[Non Sync]

In the film Student Bodies, there is an odd scene where they go to a man in a suit sitting behind a desk. He's reading a paper about films with certain ratings attract a certain audience. He then says, "Fuck you" and they pop up the R rating banner.

 

[Takeru]

Studios should just start releasing movies unrated or create their individual systems. Show me one theater that would refuse to show an unrated MCU movie for example, it wouldn't hurt the movie at all. Of course that's not really an option for smaller movies but when the floodgates are opened by big movies it will only be a matter of time until the MPAA is gone.

It could be a similar situation to the comics code, once an authority until Marvel developed a "whatever" attitude, eroding the code's authority and ultimately leading to its demise.

I'm not even against the MPAA in theory, I think rating movies is good and can serve as a guideline what is appropriate for children to watch but the way they do it is silly. Show a penis (even if it's flaccid and flopping around in a non sexual scene) = R, say "Fuck" too often = R, murder a bunch of children on screen = PG13
And that you can't bring up other current movies with comparable content during appeals is completely stupid and makes no sense, you'd think that this would be a normal part of the process to get consistent ratings ... apparently not. That makes no sense at all.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I will say that one of the problems with the MPAA is that it often seems to encourage over-use of profanity and other objectionable material. It seems like, once they've crossed the line into getting an R-rating anyway, they just throw good taste out the window and make the movie as crass as possible just because they can. If we did away with the rating system, then the movies probably would be a bit more natural in terms of their use of swearing, sex, & blood.

Funny thing is, we talk about the ratings being for protecting children, but I much more often hear about stuff that my mother otherwise would have been interested in seeing but she avoids because of the R-rating because she doesn't like any of the stuff that gets a movie an R.

Given that so much stuff is direct-to-streaming these days (and I'm not aware of streaming services rating their content, though I could be wrong), I figure the ratings will come to matter less & less as the years go on.

Movies will instead be edited to placate Chinese censors.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I will say that one of the problems with the MPAA is that it often seems to encourage over-use of profanity and other objectionable material. It seems like, once they've crossed the line into getting an R-rating anyway, they just throw good taste out the window and make the movie as crass as possible just because they can. If we did away with the rating system, then the movies probably would be a bit more natural in terms of their use of swearing, sex, & blood.

Funny thing is, we talk about the ratings being for protecting children, but I much more often hear about stuff that my mother otherwise would have been interested in seeing but she avoids because of the R-rating because she doesn't like any of the stuff that gets a movie an R.

Given that so much stuff is direct-to-streaming these days (and I'm not aware of streaming services rating their content, though I could be wrong), I figure the ratings will come to matter less & less as the years go on.

Movies will instead be edited to placate Chinese censors.

They have mpaa ratings. Marriage Story, The Irishman and Annihilation are all rated R. Streaming shows also all seem to have ratings or certifications from the normal places (for instance, The Boys is rated TV-MA).

The only difference I see is that the ratings aren't front and center. They don't put 'rated ...' in the trailers or marketing. But Netflix does have its own recommended ages visible on every info page (the Irishman is recommended 16 here in the Netherlands - could possibly be higher on US Netflix?).

 

[bigdaddy]

They have mpaa ratings. Marriage Story, The Irishman and Annihilation are all rated R. Streaming shows also all seem to have ratings or certifications from the normal places (for instance, The Boys is rated TV-MA).
.

The Irishman and Annihilation were both released in theaters first, so they had to get the ratings.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

The Irishman and Annihilation were both released in theaters first, so they had to get the ratings.

Ok, either way as I said there are still age ratings on every show and movie on Netflix.

 

[bigdaddy]

Ok, either way as I said there are still age ratings on every show and movie on Netflix.

Yep. And there is even a Childrens' profile when I log into my Netflix so that's an extra level.

 

[Kor]

... (and I'm not aware of streaming services rating their content, though I could be wrong), ...

They actually do use the TV ratings system, in which the provider puts a rating on its own content instead of having it submitted to a review board as with the MPAA system. You can see this with Netflix-produced series and movies (the ones that don't get shown in theaters first as in the case of the movies mentioned above), CBS AA exclusive shows, Amazon Prime shows, etc.

Kor

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

If a child sees a nipple they are corrupted for life.

Why do you think babies are all such assholes?

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

The only difference I see is that the ratings aren't front and center. They don't put 'rated ...' in the trailers or marketing. But Netflix does have its own recommended ages visible on every info page (the Irishman is recommended 16 here in the Netherlands - could possibly be higher on US Netflix?).

"Recommended ages" is still just that, a recommendation. It doesn't create any substantial barrier for distributing content with higher age ratings. Streaming is not the same thing as trying to put movies in movie theaters or big box retail stores, which often refuse to have any unrated or NC-17 rated content.

And while we can make arguments about what kind of content is appropriate for which ages, I think it's a good idea to have SOME kind of age recommendation system.

 

[Kor]

"Recommended ages" is still just that, a recommendation. It doesn't create any substantial barrier for distributing content with higher age ratings. Streaming is not the same thing as trying to put movies in movie theaters or big box retail stores, which often refuse to have any unrated or NC-17 rated content.

And while we can make arguments about what kind of content is appropriate for which ages, I think it's a good idea to have SOME kind of age recommendation system.

Netflix doesn't just "recommend" shows for certain ages. They apply the TV parental guidelines system, which has been an industry standard for 20+ years (although each content provider is responsible for determining the ratings of their own shows). Streaming service subscriptions such as Netflix have parental control options which specifically use both these TV parental guidelines ratings and MPAA ratings to restrict access to content.

Kor