In case you missed it, the ever-maligned MPAA has been under fire – more heavily than usual – in recent weeks because of a stand-off between those overlords of the ratings system and the Weinstein Company; the latter had filed an appeal on behalf of its relationship-drama BLUE VALENTINE (starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams) which the MPAA had slapped with the dreaded NC-17. Said rating was for explicit sexual content, but Harvey Weinstein successfully had it changed to an R after presenting comparisons to similar movies that had been bestowed an R in the past… The Weinsteins wanted BLUE VALENTINE to have an R mostly for financial reasons – NC-17 movies rarely fare well at the box office – but the whole business has opened up a more serious discussion about the MPAA’s effectiveness and where their ethics stand.
Of course, all this leads us to a debate over sex vs. violence in the movies; the MPAA has long been seen as having a rather blasé stance on blood and guts, while sequences of two consenting adults having intercourse give the puritanical group the willies. We’ve witnessed it time and time again, and it always seems to shine a light on how our society is still A-OK with brutality, but uneasy with knocking boots… (Revisit another MPAA controversy, about the BEREAVEMENT poster, right HERE.)
In a Variety article deliberating on this very issue comes a quote from Ratings board chairperson Joan Graves, who admits that the MPAA will now have a new outlook on what it means to be an R-rated film. From the article: Graves says the org is taking steps to correct some of those issues. For instance, the MPAA plans to revisit its stance on horror pics, which have evolved considerably from spooky frights to torture porn.
“I do think the R has a very big envelope for that genre,” Graves admits.
We all know that the system is a joke – all you have to do is take a look at the terrific documentary THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED for that to be made plainly obvious. So is it about to get fixed? And if so, does that mean less blood and more titties at the multiplex? Hard to say, but I’m betting Lionsgate is glad SAW is out of commission right now.
Close your eyes, MPAA!
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