Rating the Ratings
Rating the ratings by Stephen Whitty/The Star-Ledger
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2008/08/post_3.html
The way in which feature films are given MPAA ratings often appears haphazard, governed more by studio muscles and politics rather than a reasonable set of guidelines.
The highly political nature of this governing body was featured in Kirby Dick’s Documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, which came out in 2006.
Most recently, controversy buzzed about regarding Kevin’s Smith’s latest film entitled Zack and Miri Make a Porno, starring Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks, when it was slapped with an NC-17 rating—which was overturned by the appeals board and given a box-office friendlier R rating.
The article talks bout the current flawed system and lists examples of movies and their ratings to delineate the inconsistency within the system. The author ponders what and who governs these guidelines and laments the politics that clearly influence and dictate the direction of the board.
Categorizing a subjective and nuanced product, something that is difficult to be scientifically calibrated seems to be a consistent challenge not only for movie ratings but also in a variety of fields beyond the arts. A product that is measured/judged on opinion is naturally subject to subjectivity. Finding the best method of categorization will be an interesting and relevant challenge.
3 – Organization {and, of, vs} Retrieval
5 – Concepts and Categories
7 – Controlled Names and Vocabularies
8 – Classification
12 – Enterprise/Institutional Categorization & Standards