Land of the Free

The idea of censorship is an issue of major importance to me. My beloved comics books have been plagued with idiot government officals looking to make a name for themselves by picking on an easy target during election years for decades. The FCC has made waves about going after cable networks the past few years (they don't use the public airwaves, morons), and the TV industry has started to pull back on their attempts to diversify their products. Let's also not even mention the freakin' debates over whether Saving Private Ryan on ABC or a PBS documentary chronicling soldiers' experiences should have the F-Bomb. Sure, let's hack up a masterpiece that would otherwise run uncut over a word that military personnel (and most others) use in conversation.

An interview I read with [This Film Not Yet Rated] director Kirby Dick is what got me on this tangent. He explains what he found when he did an investigation of the MPAA Board that rates the motion picture industry. As a father, I have to say I like having the idea of the ratings, but as an American, I have troubles with how they get to the ratings-- and how directors and studios "play the game" to get the rating they need.

For example: I was watching Eight Below with my kids (4 and 2-1/2 years old), and I was disappointed that they needed to say "Hell" so much (at least three times) to get the coveted PG rating.

The MPAA's guidelines are nebulous at best and contradictory at worst. Here's the link. Hopefully it works. If not, it's from tvguide.com's Insider section for 9/1. It's worth a look.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Insider/default.htm?cmsGuid={1773DCD6-A322-4087-AAF4-685E134AAD23}