Sucker-punched at the theater
Most parents are careful about checking MPAA ratings before taking their children to the movies. But thanks to an unannounced change, they might be noticing some unpleasant surprises at the Cineplex. Since April 2009, movie previews are no longer approved for all audiences.
The Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Ratings Board substantially changed its policy earlier this year so that promotional clips from upcoming films no longer need to be suitable for "general" audiences. The change went into effect without any announcement or opportunity to comment.
An unannounced switch
Before the policy switch in April, any trailer displaying a "green band" (the green screen that shows before the preview starts) in theory couldn't include anything inappropriate for general audiences. A green-band trailer could, at the most, imply that the movie it was promoting had violence, strong language, nudity, drug use, or other mature content.
Now the green-band trailer language has been switched from "approved for all audiences" to the much vaguer "approved for appropriate audiences." But there's no indication of who the appropriate audience might be.
In addition, the MPAA's new policy is misleading. The trailer for the comedy Extract (rated R for "language, sexual references and some drug use") inexplicably still carries the original green-band "approved for all audiences" language, even though the promo clip includes references to the male anatomy, marital sexual frustration, and marijuana smoking.
What you can do
To express your concerns about this change and ask that trailers reveal their rating, contact:
Chairman/CEO Dan Glickman
MPAA
1600 Eye St., NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 293-1966 (main)
(202) 296-7410 (fax)
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