The Hollywood Reporter has posted a story today where the Motion Picture Association of America’s Classification And Ratings Admission has announced a change of wording that will accompany the “R” rating certificate on future movies receiving the rating.
Previously, the wording accompanying the rating went “Children under 17 not admitted without parent.”
Going forward, the new advisory will read “Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures.”
Gee, you think?
You mean the “graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity” which is already noted in the R rating for 300 needs to be reinforced with the additional warning that it wouldn’t be appropriate for parents to bring their you children with them to see it?
If this the MPAA’s ideas of their recently promised improvements to their much (and quite possibly rightfully so) maligned ratings system, then I can’t say that I’m impressed. If this is the best that CARA chairwoman Joan Graves, MPAA general counsel Greg Goeckner and MPAA chairman and CEO Dan Glickman can come up with, than perhaps its time for them to clean out their desks and get some new blood in there.
Right now, I can only imagine that the meetings leading up to this revision mirror an early scene from Mel Brook’s 1974 classic Blazing Saddles– “We’ve gotta protect our phoney baloney jobs, gentlemen!”
