THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED Documentary

I just rented THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED from Netflix.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing this ever since I personally had to deal with the MPAA when creating a film poster for a film that got a PG 13. The process is long – first you have to get the exact wording of the rating for the film along with the logo for that. Then you have to have the poster itself approved by the MPAA before they can be used. I guess the images on the poster have to match the rating it was given. Otherwise you’d have the possibility of naked copulating cartoon characters for kids’ movie posters I suppose? It’s a strange procedure. You can’t email them the proof of the poster, you have to actually mail them a physical copy and then you only get a letter that says that they conditionally approve the poster. Once the client has spent a bunch of money printing out the posters, you then have to mail another copy of the actual poster to them. So they have the power to pull the plug on your design even after it’s been printed. I bet they have a big movie poster collection – maybe they Ebay them off later.

Anyway, THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED is about the more widely known film ratings board that sets the ratings for movies. I don’t want to give away the plot, because it’s very clever. Let’s just say, they make the MPAA look very silly and they use their own language against them. It’s a very interesting commentary on censorship with some great interviews, notably John Waters and Kevin Smith, who both have a great sense of humor about all the sillyness involved.