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This Film Is Not Yet
Rated
Directed by: Kirby Dick
Starring: Becky Altringer
Genre:
Documentary/ Independent
Run Time: 97 min.
Release Date:
September 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Ever wonder who the people
are who decide the ratings of films? You know the G, PG, PG-13, R and
NC-17? I’d personally not thought that much about it simply because I
could care less what a film is rated. If it looks good, regardless of
its MPAA rating, I’ll see it. Not to mention the dichotomy between the
American rating style versus European countries.
Ever notice how phobic Americans are when it comes to sex and nudity
onscreen? We can put a bullet through a hundred heads but show a little
pubic hair and you’ll get slapped with an NC-17. Why is that? Why are we
so afraid to show our kids and the general population a little skin, but
we’re ready and willing to let them see brain matter? In Europe, the
exact opposite is true (they put the higher ratings on violence), and
this is brought to the forefront in Kirby Dick’s excellent documentary,
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED.
What Kirby did was infiltrate the MPAA system by finding out who was on
this incredibly secretive board so that those who make films — and have
them rated by these people — know who stands in judgement of their
cinematic work.
Mr. Dick (love his last name by the way) dissects the MPAA system and
discovers so many problems as to boggle the mind. There apparently is no
tried and true way to rate a film. It pretty much depends on the MPAA
raters and how they “feel” about it. If they happen to be in a bad mood
that day, you’re screwed.
The F-word is likely to get you an R rating unless you use it just once.
A gay love scene will most likely get you an NC-17 but a “normal”
man/woman sex scene (of the exact same type) will get you an R.
Homophobia in Hollywood appears to be alive and well.
The most disturbing element is that violence is condoned over sex. What
message does this send our society? That violence is more natural than
physical attraction? {shiver!} A James Bond film has never been given an
R rating (all of them have been lower), but Bond has killed more people
than almost any movie character. They get away with this by not showing
the blood that results from gunshot wounds. How convenient. But films
like BOYS DON’T CRY get slapped with an NC-17 rating because of their
sexual content (never is a bullet let fly in Boys Don’t Cry).
When Kirby Dick puts up these side-by-side comparisons onscreen, it’s
smackingly obvious how biased the MPAA board is toward human sexuality
but very accepting of violence.
Kirby hires a private detective to help him reveal who the MPAA raters
are and to dispel the myth that these are infallible people. On the
contrary, they are extremely fallible.
My advice: don’t go and see a flick based on its MPAA rating. Go see it
because it interests you.
(Note: This is exactly why The Film Review Stew
does not list MPAA ratings)
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Image from This Film Is
Not Yet Rated
DVD cost: $21.99
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Newsworthy:
This Film Is Not Yet
Rated was kept under wraps by the filmmakers during more than a year
of research into the MPAA's rating practices as Mr. Dick tried to
uncover Hollywood's best-kept secret - the identities of the ratings
board members themselves.
Movie Quote: "Why
can't I know the names of the people who stand in judgment of my film?"
Other Actors/Actresses
from This Film Is Not Yet Rated
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