Unit 26 assignment 2: notes from mpaa documentary

"Film makers Work hard then get told they cant release the film as it is an NC-17."- Kirby Dick

-Studios will not release films if the ratings are too high- Kimberly Pierce 'boys don't cry' NC-17, said "the studio wont release it".

- Matt Stone- 'Orgazmo' received(independent) had no notes, 'south park' (paramount) Matt Stone quote is "cut this, this ... treatment was completely different experience".

- Disadvantage- studios have more money get better treatment, independent are opposite.

- Kevin Smith quote about mpaa-"if you choose not to accept the rating, you cant market it".

-"MPAA- only system that doesn't disclose who the people are that rate it " Kirby dick

-MPAA have an ideology- set of ideas- theme running that they have a conservative ideology, dont like things that are uncomfortable.


Kirby Dick found out that - Jamie babbit: made a film about gay camps to try and "mend" them - she is recived an NC-17 which was devasting for her as she wanted young people to see it

-gay films with sex scenes got a higher rating

-Joan Graves personally hires all raters and is the only board member that is known by the pubic - Kirby Dick

-MPAA are liars, they said the raters have children ages 5-17 but that's not true as one of the raters had children aged 22 and 25.

-MPAA have some sort of scale but there is nothing to prove this to the makers of the films

-rating system is biased as there were no homosexual parents

-violent scenes are accepted but unusual forms of sex seem to be a big problem to the ratings board.

-Europe are more open to sex scenes than violent scenes so its complete opposite so it shows how different countries vary

-4 times as many films got an NC-17 for sex than violence.

-mpaa defend violence in their films strongly

-Raters bowing to pressure

-"you can't rate reality and if you can't deal with it don't send people to war"

-MPAA have a powerful hold over the culture

-film makers think the MPAA hold grudges from their previous films.

- can appeal your rating but can't use other films to defend yourself

-raters were quite old, and one didn't have any children when they were said to be parents

- MPAA have rules that they brake themselves

-they are very powerful, they can't be touched, like a big secret

-2 members of the clergy(associated with the church) on the board

-Kirby would struggle getting his film into a cinema as the appeals board had members of the theatre chain on it.

-all the people on the appeal board were men