MPAA

[katikat]

Okay, I apologize to all the Americans on my flist or the ones surfing through LJ but... ARE ALL AMERICANS COMPLETELY GA-GA OR WHAT???

Yup, it's about MPAA's rating system. I found a site where the owner posted a letter her friend received from the domestic counsel of MPAA. In the letter they say that ratings such as NC-17, R etc. etc. are a trademark of MPAA and that by using them the owner of said site is pronouncing that MPAA is sponsoring this site and giving its okay to it. And that if she doesn't change the rating, they'll legally proceed against her.

I mean WHAT?! O.O Sorry, but things like this DO happen only in America. All people with the slightest sliver of power are going all bonkers about it and making themselves immediately all-mighty. This is NOT normal and I hope that the Americans will wake up soon for they are making themselves ridiculous in front of the whole world!

The site with copies of the letter can be found here.

Comments

[sharona1x2.livejournal.com]

In a way, I can see the MPAA's POV. Those are their trademark ratings, so they have a right to be protective of them. I really should start changing the ratings I have at my sites. It would be nice if fandoms would get together to come up with a universal coding for fics.

Ack, I'm going to have to change everything on Jade's site, too. This is going to take a while... everything she has is either R or NC17!

[seraphim-grace.livejournal.com]

it;s a lot bonkers, especially as movies don't have to use them and cinemas will run films without them, the evil dead comes to mind as it got an X. and most of the ratings on american films aren't those at all, in fact as i understand it from film studies only the symbol is copywrited not the actual rating as they aren't names and can't be.
besides I'm british, just remember that in america you can copyright an idea which you can't over here. Silly silly people, it;s just beacuse films have to pay to get rated where if you're writing and someone tells you that you have to pay to get it read by an agency we laugh at them.
the british ratings if you want to use them are U (universal) PG 12 12a (PG with parental approval) 15 and 18, and the british board are a lot more open because you cant' rate ages now can you.
to give you an idea LotR was 12a but hellboy was 12 (ie the more people want to see it the more likely it will be given the a) anything worse than that is a 15 but if it shows complete nudity and really vile sexual acts it will be an 18. Any good slasher used to be an 18 but they've really relaxed the rating when they stopped banning films.
hope that helps.

[sharona1x2.livejournal.com]

We're sue happy here in the US. It's pretty sad, really. I'd rather go through my sites now and change what I have to before I get asked to change things. I'm thinking of just using lemon and lime warnings, since most people who read slash know the difference. Sex is pretty much the only thing I warn for. ^_^

[keire-ke.livejournal.com]

I've read that before, and really, what is their problem? The rating's symbols are widely accepted, not because people think they're approved by the MPAA, but because they know what level of content to expect!

The sue-happiness is really too much for me to understand, sometimes. Here any equivalent of MPAA would probably be laughed at. *nods*