Interesting MPAA rating
03-04-05 | 01:11 AM
#1
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Interesting MPAA rating
From IMDB:
An interesting decision. Maybe next someone should try to make a war movie with 30 bare breasts and see what happens. 
Film with 30 Uses of F-Word Gets PG-13 Rating
Apparently agreeing with producers that any young person old enough to be recruited by the military should be able to see what life in the military is all about (Edit: Uhhh...don't you have to be 18 to be in the military?), the MPAA has decided to allow the documentary Gunner Palace to open with a PG-13 rating, instead of an R. The film, about a group of U.S. soldiers living in a bombed-out palace that had once been owned by one of Saddam Hussein's sons, reportedly features more than 30 scenes in which the f-word is uttered. Although the MPAA has previously rejected demands to provide additional detailed information about its movie ratings, it did so for what may be the first time in the case of Gunner, noting specifically that the film uses "strong language not heard in previous PG-13-rated films." It added, "We want parents to take note of this important cautionary warning so they can better guide their children's movie viewing."
Apparently agreeing with producers that any young person old enough to be recruited by the military should be able to see what life in the military is all about (Edit: Uhhh...don't you have to be 18 to be in the military?), the MPAA has decided to allow the documentary Gunner Palace to open with a PG-13 rating, instead of an R. The film, about a group of U.S. soldiers living in a bombed-out palace that had once been owned by one of Saddam Hussein's sons, reportedly features more than 30 scenes in which the f-word is uttered. Although the MPAA has previously rejected demands to provide additional detailed information about its movie ratings, it did so for what may be the first time in the case of Gunner, noting specifically that the film uses "strong language not heard in previous PG-13-rated films." It added, "We want parents to take note of this important cautionary warning so they can better guide their children's movie viewing."
Last edited by Joe Molotov; 03-04-05 at 01:13 AM.
03-04-05 | 01:41 AM
#2
DVD Talk Legend
That's what I'm motherfucking talking about!
I read this news in Variety last week and I applaud the appeals board for giving it the PG-13. Seriously, children today are foul mouthed little punks. A PG-13 should be loaded to the brim with uses of "fuck," "shit," and "poop."
But in all seriousness, the film shows what situations are like when you're in the army. Sadly, in today's society, people start thinking about joining the army, navy, and the air force when they're in their early teens. Shouldn't teens be shown how the army really is and not some fabricated bullshit?
I read this news in Variety last week and I applaud the appeals board for giving it the PG-13. Seriously, children today are foul mouthed little punks. A PG-13 should be loaded to the brim with uses of "fuck," "shit," and "poop."
But in all seriousness, the film shows what situations are like when you're in the army. Sadly, in today's society, people start thinking about joining the army, navy, and the air force when they're in their early teens. Shouldn't teens be shown how the army really is and not some fabricated bullshit?
03-04-05 | 02:22 AM
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From: Oregon
Originally Posted by Matthew Chmiel
Shouldn't teens be shown how the army really is and not some fabricated bullshit?
People have already been complaining about the MPAA's double standards; them playing parent and breaking their own generally understood rules about the relation between ratings and content has just made things worse.
03-04-05 | 02:56 AM
#5
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how does the MPAA work.... i have wondered this.... do they sit around as a group and watch every single fucking movie and give it a rating if so i want that job hah
HOWEVER, when a film tries to appeal it's rating, the film is than submitted to the appeals board. This board consists of industry executives hired by the MPAA. They watch the film and decide if it should be given a lower rating. In this case, Gunner Palace secured it's PG-13.
Teens CAN see rated R movies--it just takes a parent or guardian who, if you think about it, ought to be with them to discuss the realities of military life anyway.
A. They were too poor to go to college after high school.
B. They'd rather go into the military than go to college or go staight into the work force.
03-04-05 | 06:29 AM
#6
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This is a non issue for a few reasons:
1. It is a documentary
2. It will probably only be in "art-house" type theaters
3. What teenager is going to go see a documentary?
1. It is a documentary
2. It will probably only be in "art-house" type theaters
3. What teenager is going to go see a documentary?
03-04-05 | 07:58 AM
#8
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Originally Posted by Joe Molotov
An interesting decision. Maybe next someone should try to make a war movie with 30 bare breasts and see what happens.
03-04-05 | 08:16 AM
#9
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yet language from a film like Billy Elliot still gets the R-rating, or even say the recent Academy Award documentary winner: Born into Brothels. The MPAA rating's board are hypocrites in my mind.
03-04-05 | 09:01 AM
#10
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by Giles
yet language from a film like Billy Elliot still gets the R-rating, or even say the recent Academy Award documentary winner: Born into Brothels. The MPAA rating's board are hypocrites in my mind.
03-04-05 | 10:16 AM
#11
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Originally Posted by Groucho
Have you seen The Bounty? Bare boobies everywhere, and it got a PG. Presumably because it's "native" boobage.
03-04-05 | 10:25 AM
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From: Directionally Challenged (for DirecTV)
Originally Posted by Joe Molotov
An interesting decision. Maybe next someone should try to make a war movie with 30 bare breasts and see what happens.
Much like the FCC, no method to the madness.
03-04-05 | 10:49 AM
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To be fair, the actual recruitment process starts much earlier. Junior ROTC programs were always present at my high school, and many of those kids were freshmen. Yeah, they hadn't actually signed with the military, but they were being groomed to.
As for the rating, I think it's cool to see the MPAA taking context into consideration.
As for the rating, I think it's cool to see the MPAA taking context into consideration.
03-04-05 | 11:31 AM
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From: Las Vegas, NV
Originally Posted by Rypro 525
or Merchant of Venance which has a 2 second boob shot and is rated R just for that, or Amadeus which also has a 2 second boob shot and is R as well. (well the dc is at least)
Oh, there's more nudity than that. Plus it deals with tightwad issues like homosexuality.
Originally Posted by Giles
yet language from a film like Billy Elliot still gets the R-rating, or even say the recent Academy Award documentary winner: Born into Brothels. The MPAA rating's board are hypocrites in my mind.
03-04-05 | 03:57 PM
#15
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The MPAA are prudes.
In terms of the language of GUNNER PALACE - the word fuck and motherfucker are used numerous times:
"fuck" is utterred once as a sexual act - which has always been warranted an R-rating. The appeal board was apparently very lenient in giving this film a PG-13.
In terms of the language of GUNNER PALACE - the word fuck and motherfucker are used numerous times:
"fuck" is utterred once as a sexual act - which has always been warranted an R-rating. The appeal board was apparently very lenient in giving this film a PG-13.
03-04-05 | 06:23 PM
#16
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
This is a non issue for a few reasons:
1. It is a documentary
2. It will probably only be in "art-house" type theaters
3. What teenager is going to go see a documentary?
1. It is a documentary
2. It will probably only be in "art-house" type theaters
3. What teenager is going to go see a documentary?
03-04-05 | 08:47 PM
#17
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From my experience in seeing the film - I didn't get the sense it was a pro-war docu, I thought it fairly portrayed what soldiers have had to enact and endure during the Iraqi war.
03-05-05 | 11:26 AM
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From: Near the Great Salt Lake
Hey, I'm a teenager who has seen quite a few documentaries, several of them in theaters... (Of course I'm pretty sure I don't represent the average teenager in my movie tastes.)
Anyways, this is a rather interesting incident - and is another reason, I believe, that we need a new ratings system here in the United States. Films such as "Fahrenheit 9/11" (which I'm admittedly not very fond of, though not necessarily for the politics) should not have the same rating as "Basic Instinct" or "Eyes Wide Shut."
Anyways, this is a rather interesting incident - and is another reason, I believe, that we need a new ratings system here in the United States. Films such as "Fahrenheit 9/11" (which I'm admittedly not very fond of, though not necessarily for the politics) should not have the same rating as "Basic Instinct" or "Eyes Wide Shut."
Last edited by Sondheim; 03-05-05 at 02:52 PM.
03-05-05 | 12:20 PM
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From: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
I find this interesting only because Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 got an "R" rating, with only a few "f" words in it. If Gunner Palace has a pro-war slant (I have no idea if it does or doesn't), I think the MPAA has some answering to do.
03-07-05 | 11:20 AM
#20
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Fahrenheit 9-11 also had a public beheading in it - although it was shot from a very far distant and happens very fast. As for Gunner Palace the film is pretty much talking heads and features no violence (implied death, but no onscreen carnage).
03-15-05 | 04:56 AM
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The MPAA is too outdated to work as it now stands. They need to change some of the guidelines. In this day and age, why try so hard to censor what 17 year olds see? If they can drive, work, and in some states voluntarily live on their own, they can't choose their own films??
I'm pleased that this recieved a PG-13 rating, at any rate. I like Matthew's point about the documentary being shown in a realistic light.
I'm pleased that this recieved a PG-13 rating, at any rate. I like Matthew's point about the documentary being shown in a realistic light.
