The MPAA - Stay or Go?

[EvilNed]

To gawp at Jessica Alba of course ... doi! Good answer.

[MikePizzoff]

I never quite understood the difference between R and NC-17. I mean, you have to be 17 to see an 'R' rated film... so WHAT GIVES?

[MinionZombie]

NC-17 is only for those over 17, whereas with the "R" rating, kids can get in to see it as long as they're accompanied by an adult - therefore, that means more ticket sales, which means more money, and that's one of the reasons why people want an "R" rating for their horror movie...i.e. LAME. NC-17, for some reason, has the stigma of being pornographic, and what I really think is lame, is that certain places won't advertise such films, that is PATHETIC, really puritanical too...NC-17 just means it's a hardcore film, and "hardcore" doesn't always mean porn... Geez, the American rating system is as retarded as the broadcasting system - e.g. why are we still only mid-way through the respective latest seasons of The Simpson's, Family Guy, Two and a Half Men etc when they all kicked off in f*cking SEPTEMBER 2006 - answer - the scheduling is PISS POOR. Weeks on top of weeks, where no new episodes are shown, flung about left and right ... lest we forget the THREE MONTH GAP between episode 6 and episode 7 of season 3 of Lost... Yep ... the MPAA is that retarded.

[LouCipherr]

The MPAA, along with the RIAA and the FCC need to be disbanded completely. I think just about everyone here knows the reasons why. I'm all for guidelines and warnings (hell, they put 'em on CD's) - I mean, how else would I keep my son, who is 11, from seeing something like The Devil's Rejects? but the whole rating system is just a moot point. Warn people of the content, but let the people make their own educated decisions as to whether to view the movie or let their kids, etc. view it.

[Danny]

i dont see why the u.s doesnt follow the same rules as the uk film wise, the bbfc's latest overhaul means the ratings are much farer and have changed with the times, over here weve got E - everyone, only used in music dvd's or the like. Uc - anyone under 3 years old U - universal, not even "mild peril", suitable for anyone over 3 years old PG - parental guidance, aimed at people 8 or older, but has mild languageg adn violence adn each parent should judge if its fit for there child to watch 12 - no one under 12 years of age 12A - anyone over 12 or under if they are with an adult, which was created for films like spiderman 2 (the first film to use it) adn the lord of the rings, basically to rake in more moolah and i dont foresse this one lasting long 15 - noone under 15 years of age 18 - noone under 18 years of age R18 - the "bow-chicka-bow-wow" films only allowed to be sold in sex shops read more on em here: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/general/index.php but the gist is simple enough ,100 people from all backgrounds between 18 and like 65 who judge a film on its merits, its content and how offensive it is, and if it would be offensive in another culture as well, thats what the mpaa shoudl do to.

[DjfunkmasterG]

i dont see why the u.s doesnt follow the same rules as the uk film wise, the bbfc's latest overhaul means the ratings are much farer and have changed with the times, over here weve got E - everyone, only used in music dvd's or the like. Uc - anyone under 3 years old U - universal, not even "mild peril", suitable for anyone over 3 years old PG - parental guidance, aimed at people 8 or older, but has mild languageg adn violence adn each parent should judge if its fit for there child to watch 12 - no one under 12 years of age 12A - anyone over 12 or under if they are with an adult, which was created for films like spiderman 2 (the first film to use it) adn the lord of the rings, basically to rake in more moolah and i dont foresse this one lasting long 15 - noone under 15 years of age 18 - noone under 18 years of age R18 - the "bow-chicka-bow-wow" films only allowed to be sold in sex shops read more on em here: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/general/index.php but the gist is simple enough ,100 people from all backgrounds between 18 and like 65 who judge a film on its merits, its content and how offensive it is, and if it would be offensive in another culture as well, thats what the mpaa shoudl do to. 10 ratings to our 5. If that was the case I will stick with the MPAA.

[Danny]

not to make you sound simple but theres 9 on there.....

[MinionZombie]

*ahem* To get pedantic, I believe it was the first Spider-Man film to be used with 12A initially. There may be a whole list of ratings there, but the BBFC rate fairly and evenly and, a very key point, they are open to the public. You don't have to hire a private detective to find out who is doing the rating. Pre-1999 they were a bunch of dicks, mainly because of the big man at the top, after that period they've gotten progressively cooler and much more modern and relaxed. They still have a big issue with violence connected to sex and vice versa ... sometimes rightly justified, sometimes a bit puritanical, but as far as consensual sex in mainstream films go, they're pretty damn laid back ... even R18 is fairly laid back, although that's where you'll find the classic BBFC hefty cuts ... mind you, just download your porn! As for mainstream (anything 18 and under), bans are a thing of the past, and cuts are once in a blue moon ... and a fair few of that small number at distributor imposed (e.g. Severance would have been 18 for one small clip, but the distributor chose to take it out to get a 15 rating ... no doubt to pull in the Shaun of the Dead audience ... was a good film though, but Shaun was loads better ... mind you, Severance wasn't about zombies - but it was a horror comedy, so therefore they got a lot of "it's like Shaun" nods from critics/advertisers).

[EvilNed]

Here's how Sweden works, it's a bit complicated, so bear with me: 7 - Anyone can see it, kids under 7 need a parent. 11 - People under 11 can see it with their parents. 15 - Only people over 15 allowed. Phew! Well, that's that. 7 is for anything that doesn't contain violence. 11 is for films that contain mild violence or destruction, such as godzilla. 15 is for films that contain more extreme violence and fast paced action, as well as plenty of blood. Sex and profanity is not something they bother with. Films with sex or nudity in them will still get passed for 7. As for cutting, the Swedish Film Institute hasn't censored (or banned or cut) a film since 1995 I think. Infact, I believe it's more or less officially stated that they never will ever again. However, they sometimes make small cuts in films that are borderline 15 so that it can be released under 11. But when they release it on DVD later, it's fully uncut. I've only experienced this once, however, and that was when I saw LXG. They tried getting Postal 2 banned. Videogames is everyones new Scapegoat. But the court threw the case out.

[coma]

not to make you sound simple but theres 9 on there..... TOO MANY! Got to keep it simple Here's how Sweden works, it's a bit complicated, so bear with me: 7 - Anyone can see it, kids under 7 need a parent. 11 - People under 11 can see it with their parents. 15 - Only people over 15 allowed. Phew! Well, that's that. 7 is for anything that doesn't contain violence. 11 is for films that contain mild violence or destruction, such as godzilla. 15 is for films that contain more extreme violence and fast paced action, as well as plenty of blood. Sex and profanity is not something they bother with. Films with sex or nudity in them will still get passed for 7. As for cutting, the Swedish Film Institute hasn't censored (or banned or cut) a film since 1995 I think. Infact, I believe it's more or less officially stated that they never will ever again. However, they sometimes make small cuts in films that are borderline 15 so that it can be released under 11. But when they release it on DVD later, it's fully uncut. I've only experienced this once, however, and that was when I saw LXG. They tried getting Postal 2 banned. Videogames is everyones new Scapegoat. But the court threw the case out. Nice! I likes it

[Danny]

in france however in depth shots of penetration during sex can still be a U. dirty bar-stards

[MinionZombie]

How is having 9 ratings complex though? Surely it makes things easier, as there are far less borderline situations to come across, because there are more ratings to 'play with'. As for 12A, that's fairly rare use, only used on films that would be PG, but are perhaps just a bit too much for some (Lord of the Rings fell into this category, the adverts famously noted that kids under 8 should be discouraged from viewing the films in the cinema). The Swedish seem pretty chilled out, which is cool ... found it strange with sex/nudity coming into "11" rated films ... odd ... just a cultural clash I guess. hehe, Postal 2 ... such a fun game (interestingly there's new research that has come out showing that (generally) well balanced and adjusted kids - i.e. the vast majority - aren't affected at all by violence in games. Only kids who have problems are affected by such games - which makes sense, and just proves what the pro-gaming side have been hammering on about for years and years. I wonder what the Postal movie will be like? ... hmmm ... a Boll-ock movie I might actually watch/make it through... Ooh, speaking of videogame-to-movie conversions, Hitman: The Movie is underway, and no Vin Diesel in sight (yay) ... instead, Timothy Olyphant ... interesting choice...and not a sniff of Boll-ock in sight...maybe it'll be at least passable/not bad.

[Danny]

of course you can be vilent as hell as long as its not against humans. case in point the cartoon samurai jack, a wandering samurai killing people, surely not on cartoon network right?, so they change the enemies to robots and they get a PG. same goes for lord of the rings, loads of violence but its goblins that bleed black blood so it gets a lwoer rating, least thats how it works in the u.k

[MinionZombie]

The first LOTR got a PG anyway, that caused a fuss and it was all 12/12A from then on. The overall tone of the film wasn't that dark or that violent either, but the second and third were rather dark and actually a little bit scary here and there... Then of course there was Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles ... good that they've long since given up on that lameness and it's back to normal ... well ... sort of, it's gone all txt msg now...you seen the ad, "TMNT". If an ad exec actually mentioned txt msg'n at ANY point in that meeting I'd love to know and be guided towards their location so I could give them a slap. I blame txt msg'n for obesity! *charges forth in a Daily Mail style crusade manner ... misguided but generally well meaning*

[LouCipherr]

7 - Anyone can see it, kids under 7 need a parent. 11 - People under 11 can see it with their parents. 15 - Only people over 15 allowed. Now that is a rating system I could live with.