(2006)
Kirby Dick is a valiant filmmaker. With This Film is Not Yet Rated, he takes on the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the organization that administers the film ratings system used in the U.S. It is an institution whose members include the major Hollywood studios that serve as the overlords for the very industry that Dick works for. In This Film..., he exposes shocking revelations about the rating system and the MPAA itself.
The MPAA holds unthinkable power. They dictate in large part what the audiences will be for any film that seeks wide distribution. In effect, they are helping to mold the collective unconscious of the entire country. This small group of essentially inconsequential people is dictating a certain moral code based on what they personally deem to be appropriate. For instance, by giving more restrictive ratings to films that contain sexual content compared to those that contain violent content (as they often do), they are sending a message that violence is acceptable, and sex is not. There are further incongruities such as those between ratings for films that contain female orgasms and those that contain male orgasms.
Kirby Dick (via cbc.ca)The hypocrisy is not limited to a movie’s content. There are even discrepancies amongst the ratings process for independent films compared to those released by major Hollywood studios. A major studio, upon receiving a restrictive rating, may get notes on specific ways to reedit the film in order to achieve a lower rating. Meanwhile, independent films, such as cinematic masterpiece Orgazmo, are given NC-17 ratings for vague reasons like a "general sexual tone."
Dick hires a quirky P.I., Becky Altringer, to track down the identities of the MPAA raters. While this endeavor initially seems like superfluous filler, the investigation does offer intriguing insight. While the MPAA states that the board is composed of everyday parents with children between 5 and 17, it was revealed that many of the board members have children over 18 or no children at all, and not one of the board members is under the age of 40.
This article only skims the surface in terms of revelations about the MPAA. Dick’s investigative work is an incredible success. However, at times Dick’s style is questionable. The film is laden with cheesy graphics and other gimmicks. They were perhaps intended to help draw the audience into the film, but in action they just undermine the sobering message.
A vital element in this discourse is the ability to watch clips that pushed ratings to NC-17, and This Film is Not Yet Rated features many of those clips. This is a quintessential example of the use of the Fair Use doctrine, which allows the use of copyrighted material for purposes of analysis without requiring consent from the rights holders. Were it not for that doctrine, Dick would presumably not have been allowed to license the clips for a film that criticizes aspects of the film industry.
By exposing the corrupt practices of the organization, he may be biting the hand that feeds him. But in doing so, he earned the respect of audiences (including a standing ovation at Sundance). Featuring interview with John Waters, Matt Stone, Mary Harron, Kimberly Peirce, Atom Egoyan, and Kevin Smith, This Film... will be appreciated by any cinephile.
official film site * trailer * buy it here
Trivial Tidbits:
- The MPAA was headed by Washington insider Jack Valenti for 38 years (1966 - 2004)
- List of Movies with NC-17 rating
This past summer, the MPAA continued to find itself amidst controversy: First the Holocaust Film, Now Pat Tillman Documentary Gets "R" Rating
