Are ethics and the law the same or different?
-PG-13 movies, officially allowed one non-sexual "f***" per script, are using the allotment.
-"Filmmakers are certainly using it more often, taking advantage of it" says Joan Graves,head of the Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Rating Administration.
-Before the adoption of the PG-13 rating in 1984, profanity would periodically pop up in Pg movies.(Beetlejuice sneaked in the word and still secured a PG rating.
- The MPAA's Classification and Rating Administration's guidelines state:"A motion picture's single use of one of the harsher sexually derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context."
- MPAA's guidelines then add that if two-thirds of the rating board members believe that the word is used more than once in a legitimate "context or manner" or as to be "inconspicuous," then the movie could still be rated PG-13.
-The Social Network, The Tourist, The Adjustment Bureau, Iron Man 2 and Wall Street:Money Never Sleeps to recent films used "f***" more than once and still secured PG-13.ratings.
As much as it doesn't offend me, I know that the guidelines are there for a reason, and that is to allow people to know what level of offensive content will be in a movie of a certain rating. Breaking this code, as they have done, is very unethical, as is not punishing them for breaking it.
ReplyDeleteIs the MPAA government sponsored or just part of the film industry? If part of the government it could be argued that the standards should be quite rigid, but if just the latter they could set the standards according to their own whim.
ReplyDeleteThe easy way around this problem is to avoid them altogether. No money coming in equals a quick change of mind. I avoid Hollywood and am that much better off for it.
i see comments on breaking the rules to get more money...they can easily edit one word out, if they want to maintain a lower setting, its not limiting what people can say in a movie its supposed to give people a choice as to what they have to listen to or watch without the MPAA rating, all we have to go off is movie reviews which all suck
ReplyDeleteit doesn't offend me to use obscenities, but i do see there being a reason for these ratings. if i was a parent i could easily see how this would infuriate me. just because my parents would have thoroughly beat my ass if i had cussed in front of them. as i got older the rules had changed a bit but its the basic foundation that is important. i see this as being a way for companies to make more money and stay current with how times change but i still think that the MPAA should learn to evolve with the rest of the world and still be friendly to all ages.
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