Dick sticks it to the MPAA

The documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated has been out on DVD for some time. It's really quite remiss of me to have waited for so long to see it. And so, please consider this post to be an unapologetic plug for this film. Add it to your NetFlix queue IMMEDIATELY. And, it has to be NetFlix because Blockbuster doesn't carry it. Why? Because Blockbuster doesn't carry NC-17 films. Yes, this is an NC-17 documentary!!! And it was, undoubtedly, granted such a rating because it's a scathing indictment of the very organization that hands down those ratings-- the Motion Picture Association of America, or, as I like to think of them, The Uptight Soulless Suburban Los Angeleno Housewifely Sellout Association of America. The USSLAHSAA--- that's not a difficult-to-remember acronym at all, is it?

In any case, this documentary tackles a number of topics near and dear to this blog-- everything from why sex is perceived as scarier than senseless violence out there in the wilds of America to why the fact that those with lots of money are in a position to silence voices saying important things is actually a whole lot scarier than any sex act could ever be.

Also, I highly recommend watching all the bonus materials on the DVD. In the deleted scenes section, there's an extended interview with Baltimore's own, John Waters. I've said it before and I'll say it now: thank god for John Waters. In his discussion of how most movie ratings are predicated on the fears and anxieties of the nameless, faceless, Republican scaredy cats on the ratings boards of the MPAA, he says (I wrote it down, so I think this is a pretty accurate quotation) "Hollywood would show spread eagle pink if they could. We all would!" and then, extending the thought a minute later, "One of the main reasons people go to the movies is to see people naked!" And I don't know about you guys but that's sure why I go to the movies! Well, that and to understand the psychology and sociology behind why people like getting naked, of course...

And then there's a little short with director Kirby Dick taking Qs and making As in a Q&A session that's also well worth watching. At the end of it, he discusses how there are studies that show how depictions of graphic yet consequenceless violence are proving to be detrimental to our psyches and yet there hasn't been a single study that shows how depictions of graphic, pleasurable sex have similar effects. He speculates that maybe teenagers could perhaps stand learn about humanity through the viewing of sex. The last thing he says in the Q&A is, "You know, more sex, I think is... (and here, he kinda shrugs and smirks (and he's cute and articulate and has nice dimples)) ...better!"

From his mouth to the gods' ears.