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| "Censorship, Uncensored." |
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This Film Is Not Yet Rated
DVD/APPROX. 94 MINS/2006/USA R18+
DVD/APPROX. 94 MINS/2006/USA R18+
Censorship has existed in the film industry since it's inception, with early codes of conduct existing in the 1930s to try and curb what the general
populace could watch in the cinema. Strange rules called the Hayes Code came into being, with arcane laws about couples on beds having to keep
one foot on the floor each, so they didn't get too sexy!
Now, documentary maker Kirby Dick goes behind the curtain of a shadowy organization, the MPAA, the American film censor that gives out the
supposed non-compulsory ratings. Though not required, ratings go a long way towards dictating how many screens will show a movie, whether TV
will run ads, if large chains like Blockbuster will stock the film and generally how much profit a movie can make. The director aims to find out how
much power the MPAA wield and why the censors of America remain anonymous and unaccountable to the people that they are meant to serve.
Kirby does this is two extremely clever ways. First, he presents half the documentary as a straight talking heads piece, cutting interviews with
directors who have been victims of the whims of the MPAA, like Kevin Smith and John Waters. He uses stock footage, uncensored and problematic
movie clips and some amusing animations that help illustrate the sometimes weird standards by which films are appraised.
The second thread of the movie has Kirby hiring a fantastically no nonsense private investigator. Her job is to try to use her skills to get names and
pictures of the people who sit on the ratings board. These parts of the movie are exciting to watch but make you wonder at the ridiculous lengths
that this excellent filmmaker had to go through to just get a little accountability from the people who have such power over his work.
The film delves into many aspects of the shady and incredibly controlled world of the film industry. From the anti-communists witch hunts of ‘50s
Hollywood, in which a fear of far left infiltration was used to hobble the unions, allowing a greater measure of control for the already powerful
studios, to today and the way major corporate films are treated more leniently and given greater assistance as far as what cuts are needed. Indie
filmmakers complain in the movie that they are slapped with adult ratings but are never given a clear idea of what they might remove to get a
more commercial certificate.
One fascinating aspect of the movie is the way in which sex is given a far rougher ride (pun intended) than screen violence when it comes to harsh
rating discussions. Gay sex is treated with the utmost distain, with more graphic scenes of masturbation in American Pie (you know which bit...)
being passed with lesser ratings than a far less explicit scene in Teen lesbian comedy, But I'm A Cheerleader. Although horror fans who read this
won't be bothered that their favourite movies are being left alone, just think about that for a moment...
According to the MPAA, beheadings, dismemberments and violence against women is more morally acceptable to these supposedly ethical
guardians then a flash of pubic hair or a scene of graphic love making, even if that scene is about passionate love rather than exploitative
pornography. A mans erect penis in this context could damage an impressionable mind more than say, Joe Pesci's scenes of depraved insanity in
Goodfellas. I'm against censorship but if I supported it, this kind of thinking would seem bizarre at best.
One interviewee makes the valid point that violent movies that show no blood despite being shot through with hails of bullets might be more
damaging than realistic films that show the gory consequence of bodily assault. Surely, by this rational Saving Private Ryan would have a lower
rating than James Bond movies which are bloodless exercises in unreality. The film goes on to present arguments that these movies create an
ease in the mind with violence because guns make people fall over rather than explode with blood.
Another interesting angle is the way that the film industry colludes with the US army to create positive images of US soldiers as heroes. Has this
created a steadily more war-like America over the last 50 years? I wouldn't like to say but it's these kind of opinions and ideas that make this an
essential watch for adults who want to make their own choices about what they see, with the nanny states controlling the media.
The culmination of the private investigator’s threads brings the whole proceeding to a neat finish, with at least some of the staff being revealed,
but when the film got a NC-17 rating (in a hilarious and weird filmic loop in which the subject of the documentary, censorship, started to directly
impact on the direction of the movie) it of course means that few people in the states will ever hear of this great film.
Film fans of any stripe should see this, most countries have censorship organizations although it's doubtful that they are as secretive and corrupt
as America’s (but who knows?) and this movie offers an insight into just what they don't want you to see.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated is released on UK R2 DVD on April 9th 2007 by ICA films
populace could watch in the cinema. Strange rules called the Hayes Code came into being, with arcane laws about couples on beds having to keep
one foot on the floor each, so they didn't get too sexy!
Now, documentary maker Kirby Dick goes behind the curtain of a shadowy organization, the MPAA, the American film censor that gives out the
supposed non-compulsory ratings. Though not required, ratings go a long way towards dictating how many screens will show a movie, whether TV
will run ads, if large chains like Blockbuster will stock the film and generally how much profit a movie can make. The director aims to find out how
much power the MPAA wield and why the censors of America remain anonymous and unaccountable to the people that they are meant to serve.
Kirby does this is two extremely clever ways. First, he presents half the documentary as a straight talking heads piece, cutting interviews with
directors who have been victims of the whims of the MPAA, like Kevin Smith and John Waters. He uses stock footage, uncensored and problematic
movie clips and some amusing animations that help illustrate the sometimes weird standards by which films are appraised.
The second thread of the movie has Kirby hiring a fantastically no nonsense private investigator. Her job is to try to use her skills to get names and
pictures of the people who sit on the ratings board. These parts of the movie are exciting to watch but make you wonder at the ridiculous lengths
that this excellent filmmaker had to go through to just get a little accountability from the people who have such power over his work.
The film delves into many aspects of the shady and incredibly controlled world of the film industry. From the anti-communists witch hunts of ‘50s
Hollywood, in which a fear of far left infiltration was used to hobble the unions, allowing a greater measure of control for the already powerful
studios, to today and the way major corporate films are treated more leniently and given greater assistance as far as what cuts are needed. Indie
filmmakers complain in the movie that they are slapped with adult ratings but are never given a clear idea of what they might remove to get a
more commercial certificate.
One fascinating aspect of the movie is the way in which sex is given a far rougher ride (pun intended) than screen violence when it comes to harsh
rating discussions. Gay sex is treated with the utmost distain, with more graphic scenes of masturbation in American Pie (you know which bit...)
being passed with lesser ratings than a far less explicit scene in Teen lesbian comedy, But I'm A Cheerleader. Although horror fans who read this
won't be bothered that their favourite movies are being left alone, just think about that for a moment...
According to the MPAA, beheadings, dismemberments and violence against women is more morally acceptable to these supposedly ethical
guardians then a flash of pubic hair or a scene of graphic love making, even if that scene is about passionate love rather than exploitative
pornography. A mans erect penis in this context could damage an impressionable mind more than say, Joe Pesci's scenes of depraved insanity in
Goodfellas. I'm against censorship but if I supported it, this kind of thinking would seem bizarre at best.
One interviewee makes the valid point that violent movies that show no blood despite being shot through with hails of bullets might be more
damaging than realistic films that show the gory consequence of bodily assault. Surely, by this rational Saving Private Ryan would have a lower
rating than James Bond movies which are bloodless exercises in unreality. The film goes on to present arguments that these movies create an
ease in the mind with violence because guns make people fall over rather than explode with blood.
Another interesting angle is the way that the film industry colludes with the US army to create positive images of US soldiers as heroes. Has this
created a steadily more war-like America over the last 50 years? I wouldn't like to say but it's these kind of opinions and ideas that make this an
essential watch for adults who want to make their own choices about what they see, with the nanny states controlling the media.
The culmination of the private investigator’s threads brings the whole proceeding to a neat finish, with at least some of the staff being revealed,
but when the film got a NC-17 rating (in a hilarious and weird filmic loop in which the subject of the documentary, censorship, started to directly
impact on the direction of the movie) it of course means that few people in the states will ever hear of this great film.
Film fans of any stripe should see this, most countries have censorship organizations although it's doubtful that they are as secretive and corrupt
as America’s (but who knows?) and this movie offers an insight into just what they don't want you to see.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated is released on UK R2 DVD on April 9th 2007 by ICA films
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