IndieFlix

Dear April Showers’ Fans, Friends and Family,

Yesterday, I was introduced, via a phone call, to one of Hollywood’s biggest and most influential groups; the MPAA or the Motion Picture Association of America; the person or persons behind the curtains that rate movies. A film rating is not only a tool for audiences to prejudge content but it is a marketing tool for studios and exhibitors alike. More importantly, the MPAA is not impartial nor independent. See below…

The following was taken from Wikipedia:

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) was since 1922, originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America(MPPDA) (pre – 1942 and 1946 – 1948), is a non-profit business and trade association based in the United States, which was formed to advance the business interests of movie studios.

1. Walt Disney Pictures (The Walt Disney Company);
2. Columbia Pictures (Sony Corporation);
3. Paramount Pictures (Viacom);
4. 20th Century Fox (News Corporation);
5. Universal Studios (NBC Universal);
6. Warner Bros. (Time Warner).

• A G-rated motion picture contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence or other matters that, in the view of the Rating Board, would offend parents whose younger children view the motion picture. Some snippets of language may go beyond polite conversation but they are common everyday expressions. No stronger words are present in a G-Rated motion picture. Depictions of violence are minimal. No nudity, sex or drug use are present in the motion picture.
• A PG-rated motion picture should be investigated by parents before they let their younger children attend. The PG Rating indicates, in the view of the Rating Board, that parents may consider some material unsuitable for their children, and parents should make that decision. There may be some profanity and some depictions of violence or brief nudity. But these elements are not deemed so intense  as to require that parents  be strongly cautioned beyond the suggestion of parental guidance. There is no drug use in a PG-Rated motion picture.
• A PG-13 rating is a sterner warning by the Rating Board to parents to determine whether their children under the age of 13 should view the motion picture, as some material might not be suited for them. A PG-13 motion picture may go beyond the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities or other elements, but does not reach the restricted R category. The theme of the motion picture by itself will not result in a rating greater than PG-13, although depictions of activities related to a mature theme may result in a restricted rating for the motion picture. Any drug use will initially require at least a PG-13 rating. More than brief nudity will require a PG-13 rating, but such nudity in a PG-13 rated motion picture generally will not be sexually oriented. There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence. 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 word used in a sexual context. The Rating Board nevertheless may rate such a motion picture PG-13 if, based on a special vote by two-thirds majority, the Raters feel that most American parents would believe that a PG-13 rating is appropriate because of the context of manner in which the words are used or because the use of those words in the motion picture is inconspicuous.
• An R-rated motion picture, in the view of the Rating Board, contains some adult material. An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously. Children under 17 are not allowed to attend R-rated motion pictures unaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Parents are strongly urged to find out more about R-rated motion pictures in determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to an R-rated motion picture.