Why all the fuss? A Movie Jury

So if the ratings system keeps movies in check and keeps movie-goers informed, why is there such a stink about it? Why do so many people complain that it isn't as effective now with the changes that we've seen in society? It seems to me that if there are so many people commenting on and criticizing the current system, there must be something wrong, right?

Well, that's a call that everyone can make for themselves, especially since this blog is not going to change the world and cause thousands of people to storm the MPAA and demand change. The reason that I say that it's up to each person to decide for themselves is because of the way that I see the system.

The way that it all works is that there is a board of 8-13 people, parents from around the nation who have no connection with the movie industry (the raters on the board become part of the Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA). They watch the movies and decide the best ratings, based on certain requirements. This seems logical, seeing as parents are mostly the ones who are concerned about the ratings.

What comes to mind when thinking about this is a movie jury (and this is the way that I see it). The case and verdict (the rating) are ultimately decided by the jury (the ratings board), then presented to the judge (the MPAA), and finally told to the defendant (the filmmaker). A court jury, though, makes one decision out of two options, and the "movie jury" makes one decision out of five options.

Five is really not that many, but there is one key difference between the jury and our "movie jury." The court jury is working under strict guidelines set by the law, guidelines that MUST be followed under penalty of the law. The line between guilty and not guilty is many times a very fine one, but it is more or less clearly defined. The lines between the options for the movie jury (between the ratings), though, have become very blurred especially in the last few years.

Sometimes juries make mistakes and we can't blame them for that, and it's the same with the ratings board. They can't be blamed for the blurred lines of decision, but the lines are blurred nonetheless. So the change doesn't necessarily need to be made in the system, but in the guidelines of the system and their implementations. A jury is making a big decision, but because they have so much information and so many guidelines, they can take the blame for a poor decision. The movie jury has a big decision to make, but they have limited guidelines and so don't seem so blamable.

The board isn't to blame, they are just the decision-makers who have to base their decisions on blurry guidelines. The ratings are what need to be changed.