The way movies are rated and who rates them in Hollywood, from G or NC 17 will, for the first time ever be completely on the books, this will begin at the Sundance Festival. Once the secrets are shown the powers that be want to start bringing in new blood to try and improve them. The good folks over at yahoo.com give us this:
To date, the identities of the people who hand out the various ratings such as the family-friendly “G” and the much-feared “NC-17” have been a closely guarded secret. For the first time in its 38-year history, the group that operates the system plans to make its ratings rules and regulations public. It will also describe the standards for each rating, and detail the appeal process.
In addition, it plans to publish the identities of its senior raters.MPAA chairman Dan Glickman and CARA chairwoman Joan Graves will discuss the planned changes over breakfast Sunday with filmmakers, producers and directors at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah
There is a lot more to this article from yahoo.com and it is really worth checking out. There are two feelings I got when I read this news article, curious and nervous. Curious obviously because of all that goes on behind the closed doors of the movie censors. How much is too much in the eyes of these viewers. Who are they? What demographic are they from? Is there really a difference between showing one or two butt cheeks?
Censors should be examined just as much as what they are examining, I’m glad in so many ways that this is happening. With all of the problems radio show hosts and news organizations have had in recent years we really need to start looking at who is telling us what we should and should not be exposed to.
Changing it though makes me a little nervous. Not because I think that the standards for the film ratings are perfect, not even close but because there is such a thing as being too liberal. I have a bad feeling that when exposed to the light of day a lot of these regulations are going to look very silly and even though the heads of this organization are saying different I can’t help wondering if they are going to through out the baby with the bathwater. I am nervous that a beer exec. will grease the wheels so that the other censors look the other way when two girls make out with Budweiser in the background. Or that people will take their kids to see movies and the new rating will be too low, and children will be traumatised. Or course it could turn the other way and the new and improved system could be so strict that movies become as lukewarm and safe as television.
For now we just don’t know what is going on behind closed doors. I applaud the people who are willing to put themselves on the line for secrets that should be revealed.
