This Film Not Yet Rated

I wrote my first essay about the Motion Picture Association of America rating system when I was still a teenager. It was something new back then to associate a letter ranking of films; G, M, R and the dreaded X. Over the years the letters have changed but one thing seems constant; the methodology, guidelines and membership used by the MPAA are secret. Since it seems that the Central Intelligence Agency has some problems in keeping the public in the dark it is odd and disturbing that the organization that rates films has managed to keep just about every aspect of itself top secret decade after decade. For those conspiracy freaks out there take a look at the picture of Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as President aboard Air Force One after President Kennedy was assassinated. To his left is Jack Valenti, founder and long time president of the MPAA. Documentary film maker, Kirby Dick as taken on the almost impossible task of uncovering who and what is behind the MPAA in his latest film, ‘This Film Is Not Yet Rated’. His goal was to bring out in the open the numerous secretive practices of this organization that controls the fate of most major American movies.

Dick hires a couple of private detectives to help discover just who is on the secretive ratings board. All that the MPAA has ever stated about them is they are parents of young children who are concerned with the films that their children watch. This does seem a laudable goal, protecting the youth of America but Dick examines the validity of that statement. Dick takes his cameras along as his pair of female detectives stake out the MPAA office in Los Angeles with some comic effect. His detectives track down some of the members of the board and find out that those that are parents have children in their twenties. One member is not even a parent. So much for the claim of parents worried about their kids. It’s not like the review board is comprised of evil, sinister people, the point is why should the MPAA be deceptive about the makeup of this body?

Besides hiding the identities of the people responsible for the actual film rating the process is cloaked in mystery. There are no published criteria that film makers can go by to understand why their film received a certain rating. It would almost appear that the board members have some agreed upon rationale but since no one outside the review room knows what it is the film makers have to guess what content resulted in a harsher rating. Since there are no published MPAA guidelines for directors and producers to follow getting the proper rating is a case of hit and miss. When a rating is initially set only the most general indication such as nudity, violence etc. is given to indicate what subject matter was considered objectionable. There may be only a few frames of film difference between an R and an NC-17 rating. In one case noted here Matt Stone and Trey Parker discuss the rating of their puppet flick, ‘Team America: World Police’. The pair deliberately inserted overly obscene material that would be sure to garner an NC-17. This way when the film received that rating they could remove the planted scenes and wind up with the R they originally wanted. Dick proposes that games like this would not be necessary if the MPAA was more open about their procedures and criteria.

Since the people who do the ratings are not known there is no accountability with the way they rate films. One point made in this documentary is that this leads to certain prejudices in the criteria. Dick interviews many people in the talent side of the industry including directors, producers and actors to get the background on rating disputes in the past. The MPAA is known to be less harsh on the display of violence than they are with sexual content. While a film like ‘Saw’ or ‘Hostel’ can receive an R rating frontal nudity is sure to get the more restrictive NC-17. In one interview actress Maria Bello talks about how a brief shot of her pubic hair in the film ‘The Cooler’ threatened to get the film the dreaded NC-17. So, according to the secret review board watching people horribly dismembered are okay for a parent to take a teenager to but a little glimpse of a patch of hair is only for the most adult audiences. If the sex is presented in a more comic manner such as the Scary Movie franchise it most likely get an R. A realistic but depicting an adult relationship will push the rating over the line to NC-17. It is also noted here that homosexual content and male nudity is dealt with more severely.

This documentary also looks at the appeal process. If a director feels that the MPAA rating is not justified he or she can appeal the decision. Unfortunately, this body is also secret both in membership and guidelines. There is no higher appeal so what they determine is the final word. As it turns out the review board is made of people in the retail side of the entertainment industry. The representation includes theater chain owners, retail outlets and marketing people. It is presented that they are more interested in the cash flow than artistic integrity. This also brings Dick to why the NC-17 rating is so deadly to the success of a film. While this rating was suppose to indicate mature material it has become a pariah among the ratings. Most theaters will not show an NC-17 film; most media outlets and publications will not permit them to be advertised. The difference between R and NC-17 is often the financial viability of the film. Dick could have gone into this aspect of the most serve rating but he focuses more on the secrecy than the impact.

This is not a balanced documentary, it is one sided. Dick has some archival footage of Valenti and some transcriptions of conversations with the MPAA representation but little attempt is made to allow for rebuttal. What makes this documentary different than some made by another famous filmmaker is Dick does not pretend to be completely fair here. He set out to uncover the people and practices behind the MPAA without their permission or input. It goal was to spark controversy and to that end he succeeds. Most of the people interviewed have had conflicts with the MPAA and had to fight to get their films out. What is also ignored is now the unrated DVD offers these artists a realistic means of distribution.

The Independent Film Channel and Genius Pictures as always provided great little independent many people may not have known about. Here, they are able to use their position of being outside the mainstream film business to take a risk and bring this film to DVD. The film originally given an NC-17 due to the use of some clips form films with that rating. The film has been reedited but not submitted for a rating. IFC is bold in their willingness to bring this film to the public.

Posted 12/29/06