How Are Movie Ratings Determined??

This is a documentary about the process of how movies are rated. It features producers, directors, and actors, that have been part in making movies that most of us have never heard of. Why? Because they received an NC-17 rating and got little to no funding for advertising.

This documentary tries to uncover the mysteries of why some of these movies got that NC-17 rating, and just how the process works in general. As of the time this was filmed (2006) the whole process was 100% secret, and nobody knew the identities of those who rated films. This documentary hires a private investigator to find these identities, and also interviews producers, directors, and actors as mentioned above. It compares side-by-side scenes from movies that received an R, and those that received an NC-17; which are extremely similar in terms of content, camera angles, etc. It raises an obvious question as to why, and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is very vague and confusing when they attempt to give answers.

The documentary also reveals that in the USA, violence is basically unlimited, while sexual situations are highly censored. However, in European countries, they are nearly the complete opposite, by being very liberal when it comes to sex, and very suppressive on violence. Again, why? The documentary answers the questions as best as it can, but in the end, the MPAA is still very secretive, confusing, and vague. But what it does a great job of is showing the major inconsistencies in the rating system and puts the right questions out there to hopefully change the system for the better. It is a tough topic though, since it does flirt with the boundaries of the First Amendment and censorship, as well as give a general indication of the content in the movies being rated so that parents can choose what they let their children watch. The latter was the original purpose for movie ratings, but does the MPAA do a good job at it? This documentary would say "no," and they do give convincing evidence of why.

This Film is not yet Rated is an award-winning documentary, that I feel is very valuable to Park students who aspire to be in the film industry later on in their careers. It even ends with quite a big f**k you to the MPAA, which I found quite hilarious, and definitely worth watching (you can find it on Netflix). However, I will end by saying that it does show the full uncensored scenes from the NC-17 movies as examples, but we're all adults and professionals here, right?

Network Styles

     It is a well known fact that networks play shows that are similar, specifically original series.  In todays world, with thousands of channels, they must work hard to get an audience, to do this they focus on niche markets that are interested in only a few story lines.  What I find most interesting however, is that it is not only the type of show, such as crime or comedy but the entire look and feel of the programming.  The color pallets are the same as is the over arching concepts and editing styles.  USA for example has  many original shows.  They all have the same concept of a main character who is good at what they do even though they are not accepted in the professional world.  A detective who must pretend to be Psychic, a lawyer without a degree, a doctor without a hospital. On top of that these shows all have the same colors, witting, and quick edits around witty comments.





Somewhat new to the mix of original series AMC has "The Walking Dead" "Hell on Wheels" and "Breaking Bad" all of which share the down and dirty feel with people on the brink of disaster just trying to hold on, again the same colors and cinematography.





FX does the same with shows like "Wilfred" and "Always Sunny in Philadelphia." I find it interesting that they don't necessarily stick to a topic, but a feel.  USA is witty whether it is a medical show or a cop show. AMC is dark and cinematic with a dying father or a world overrun by zombies.  This tells us that we don't really care what kind of show we watch, as long as it plays the same emotional tune.