Imagine that Motion Picture Association of America President Dan Glickman announced today that the film rating and lobbying organization has streamlined its current five-category system down to three categories. Rather than G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17 (see chart to the right), the new system will be A (All Admitted), U-18 (Under 18 requires adult supervision) and 18+ (Only 18 and Older Admitted). Glickman said the rating system will continue to be voluntary and film raters will continue to base their decisions primarily on language, adult themes and violence. He said the new system addresses concerns of major studios and film critics about inconsistency in ratings assignments; fewer categories makes for easier and cleaner assignments. He also said the large number of independent producers not submitting their films for review was an additional reason for the change, adding that experimental filmmakers could take comfort that their work would not be "branded unacceptable" under the new system.Support or challenge the soundness of Glickman's reasons for the new code.
2 comments:
First off, I think with only 3 categories to choose from, the critics who decide what the movie ratings are will have a tougher decision to make and it will inhibit some movies from getting a fair rating. However, no system will ever be perfect and personal responsibility is needed to make sure the audience is suited to the movie.
Secondly, I don't think the independent film makers will start letting their movies be rated now just because the rating system has changed. They don't let their movies be rated for more reasons than that (ex: it doesn't matter to them what the rating is, they will still be getting their movie published and played) To be "branded unacceptable" would be a disgrace to why they are independent producers in the first place.
Why wouldn't sorting any collection of items into three groups be easier than sorting them into five groups, particularly if the argument has been made that there is little substantial difference between or among the various groups? For example, in this case, what really is the substantive difference between PG and PG-13 and which of the two is the more rigorous rating? In either case, a child can view these films without an adult.
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