How Do Filmmakers Rate the MPAA?
film colleagues are trying to prove that America’s “optional” content ratings system, designed to protect children from sexual and violent content, is flawed by a lack of clear standards and the inaccessibility of the board. The polemic by Kirby Dick features interviews with a dozen or more fringe filmmakers, mostly artist types whose works are ubiquitous, yet who continue to struggle to get their films out. Also highlighted are clips of the MPAA ratings board’s founder, Jack Valenti (who passed away last month). Interspersed are juxtaposed clips of similar sex scenes to highlight biases in favor of Hollywood films and vanilla heterosexuality. These scenes echo Michael Moore’s quixotic comparisons, but with less crass need to belabor the point. Whatever your opinion of the polarizing documentarian or his politics, this kind of film would not exist without Michael Moore. Though Dick (who brilliantly uses censorship bars to flaunt his last name in the opening credits) is much more polite
