Hollywood was once an unlimited creative outlet that was an emotional crutch for the United States. The peak of Hollywood was during the 1930’s and 1940’s when the country faced tough times through The Great Depression, World War II, and the New Deal. However, the industry was forever changed after the Paramount Decision of 1948.

 This was essentially an antitrust move by the government to create competition in the industry. Previously, the major five studios in the industry: MGM, Fox, Paramount, RKO, and Warner Brothers were vertically integrated establishments. Each studio had its own departments in charge of production, distribution, and exhibition. The Paramount Decision broke this integrated system by forcing the five major studios to sell their theater chains. This meant that studios now had to compete to book theatres for their films. Ultimately, this decision crushed the monopolies of the movie industry. 

By this time, however, television was the new flourishing form of entertainment. This was based on the suburb migration and the idea that conformity and consumerism went hand in hand. People replaced going to the movies watching Television in the comfort of their own homes. 

The rating system that has been put forth by the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) is ultimately corrupt, conservative, and sexist. The screening that we viewed in class this week, This Film is Not Yet Rated, sought to expose the MPAA rating board members. The association is the only rating system in the world that keeps its members anonymous and out of the public eye. During the filming of the documentary, this was the only rating system offered to the public. If a film was to get an NC-17 rating by the board, it limited to access to advertising and theater bookings a film could obtain. 

The worst part about the MPAA rating system is that they claim to rate movies based on the idea that children need to be protected from certain content so that they do not become deranged. However, they have absolutely no child experts, researchers, or psychiatrists on the board; only ordinary people. Ah yes, this is obviously the logical route to take. You know what, the next time I have a medical emergency I will completely avoid the hospital and go to an ordinary person that I happen to find on Craig’s List so they can treat my symptoms. The logic is infallible. 

What is extremely cruel about this system is they mainly based rating violations on sexual acts. They bring us all down to a level of perversion and childish behavior when European rating systems are more strict on violence being shown in films. A film is four times more likely to get an NC-17 rating from a sex scene than from a shooting spree. It is especially discriminatory when films are more likely to get the deadly rating from a homosexual sex scene or a scene that shows female pleasure, rather than a heterosexual sex scene or male orgasms. 

Overall, the MPAA is completely absurd, limits what directors can put in their own movies, and impacts our society by shaming certain groups for experiencing pleasure.