English 122
12-1-11
The Current Rating System in the United States
The current content rating system in use for film, the MPAA, is the only content rating system that is legally enforced in the United States. For this reason, the system has caused controversy. Many have claimed that the system is unbalanced, as the MPAA bases the level of appropriate content for all people in the United States off of the opinions of an unidentified council of people over the age of forty (Jenkins). The stance on how the system’s effectiveness is a relative stance, however, the secondhand effects of the system are obvious and existing today. Decisions have been made by film distribution companies that have affected the way films with objectionable …show more content…

So the ratings system also corrals the studio filmmakers in a way; it's a win- win-win situation. [Laughsj 1 mean, they're nothing if not clever. At the end of the quote, Kirby mentions how violence is able to slip through the system and receive lower ratings compared to films with sexual content receiving higher ratings. An example of this questionable reasoning: The film Blue Valentine is a drama film about a married couple that is going through a rough patch in their lives. Both he and she are having problems with their commitment to one another and begin to question if they are good enough for each other. In the film, there is a sex scene that is under a minute that takes place while the two characters are married. Now, when looking at a film like this, does a film that is about a married couple expressing their love for one another deserve an NC-17 rating (which it received)? Is not this a normal part of married life, physical expression of love? When comparing this film to another film that received a lower rating, one might raise an eyebrow. The film The Human Centipede is an R rated horror film about a surgeon who connects three people’s gastric systems from their mouths to their, well, one doesn’t have to think too far how something like this would be accomplished. All of this is for one sick person’s sexual gain. When looking at and comparing the two of these films, which do you think parents would find more