Good speech today chelsea!!  you were very well spoken and your words and points were all very clear.  but maybe next time use some more creativity to make it more memorable...but overall u did a very nice job!!! **Ashley

 

great job today! awesome eye contact and you established credibility by saying you were a movie buff yourself.  be careful making comments like "a little sex never hurt anyone" because a lot of people would disagree with that and it adds an element of controversy to your speech that may make people question your message and take the focus away from the real issue. I found your speech to be very interesting

--Caitlin

 

I really found your speech to be interesting and well written. Although you need to add in that funding would also be necessary to market the new system and educate the publc about it.

-Caitln

 

CHELLSSSSEAAA-

i thought you really took a real way of looking at a problem. i loved your visual aid, it really proved your point.

-brielle

 

 

Chelsea -- i didnt realize tthe problem here, so great job finding it! your speech was very informative and your points were clear. You also did an awesome job in the q&a portion!! you did an awesome job today and your eye contact was great. my only advice to you would be to watch your fillers and your pitch was a bit over enthusiastic at parts, but aside from that you did a great job! - danielle

 

Chelsea- Nice job today! i liked how you made the speech very conversational and casual. It made it easy to relate to the subject you were talking about. Your eye contact was realloly strong as well. The only thing is that i noticed you playing with your cards a lot...but thats really it! -Jen

 

Chelsea, good presentation! I did not know all that went into movie ratings before. YOu did a lot of research.

-Natalie

 

 

Chelsea, I really enjoyed hearing your speech, you really are a movie buff. Watch your fillers, that is my only advice.

-Mark

 

 

Topic: Movie Rating System

By: Chelsea Levine

 

Introduction

I. A. Attention Getter: with a show of hands, how many of you have been to the movies (AA)? Now, how many of you have been shocked or surprised by the content of the film you have been watching in regard to it’s rating (AA)?

II. As an avid movie watcher myself, I often pay close attention to the content of the movie and try to take in more than just the story line (CR).

III. In recent years, the Motion Picture Association of America has been under fire for the many controversies surrounding it’s current rating system in regard to censorship and sex vs. violence.

IV. The subject of this scrutiny is mainly in reference to the notorious NC-17 rating, which, over time, has developed a stigma for being the modern version of the dreaded X. I will be discussing the controversies surrounding the rating system. I will also explain my plan to expand the movie rating system, which will in time satisfy all complaints of the parties involved.

 

Transition: While it may seem that the rating system does not apply to us, as young adults with seemingly limitless access to the mass media, in actuality, we do not realize how much we are still being restricted. As teenagers we are the target audience of most motion picture studios, therefore this is a problem that we, too, should be aware of (EA).

 

Body

 

I. The rating system was originally designed as a way to warn parents of a movie’s content so that they could decide whether they wanted their children to see it, but many argue that the MPAA has gone way past its boundaries and is acting as more of a censorship organization than a public service.

A. America’s current rating system consists of 5 ratings, which are described on the MPAA website as: G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17.

B. But have you ever thought to wonder just how those ratings get decided (AA)?

1. I recently watched “This Film Is Not Yet Rated,” a documentary that provides an incredibly informative insight into the movie-rating world (CR).

 

a) The movie pointed out that the MPAA is the only rating system in the world that does not reveal who they are.

b) In order to become a movie rater, there is no kind of training involved or set of standards to follow, other than your morals, of course. Raters are to simply give the movie a rating based on their personal opinion as a parent.

C. Usually, filmmakers never know why their movie gets the rating it does.

1. Movie producer Matt Stone’s independently funded film, Orgazmo, for example, received an NC-17 rating for it’s “overall sexual content.”

2. When he asked for suggestions as to what he could cut out to fix it, he claims the overall attitude of the MPAA was, “We don’t give specific notes because then we’d be a censorship organization; we just give the rating.”

D. While this may be true, when the MPAA gives out its NC-17 rating, it is an act of censorship within itself.

1. In an interview with CNN, president of Miramax pictures Mark Gill said, an NC-17 rating ‘is absolutely the kiss of death for anything but the tiniest of art films.’”

a) NC-17 is almost always associated with the porno rating X, immediately limiting the film’s ability to market: movie studios won’t release them, most movie theaters won’t show them, newspapers won’t accept ads for them, and video stores won’t stock them.

b) Therefore, independent filmmakers have no choice but to either accept the NC-17 rating and receive no advertising budget, or cut down the film in hopes that after re-submission it will receive an R rating.

c) Accepting the NC-17 rating guarantees extremely limited exposure to the public. If the public has no way of knowing about the movie, then it is impossible for them to see it – also known as, censorship.

Transition: Not only is the actual NC-17 rating a controversial topic, but also the standards for what constitutes this rating in the first place.

 

II. Many filmmakers argue that movies are more likely to get an NC-17 rating because of explicit sex scenes as opposed to gruesome violence.

A. Our society is sending out the wrong message when it allows for its youth to be poisoned by images of violence but restricts exposure to sex, which is one of the fundamentals of life.

1. Director of “This Film is Not Yet Rated” pointed out that 4 times as many films get an NC-17 rating for sex than violence.

a) Maria Bello, actress in the NC-17 rated movie “The Cooler,” compared her movie to Scary Movie, which she had recently seen in theaters and received an R rating.

(1) Why, she asks, can a movie where in the first ten minutes a woman’s breast implant is stabbed out of her chest get an R rating, and her movie receives an NC-17 because of a glimpse of her pubic hair?

2. Honestly, when did a little sex ever hurt anyone?

a) New York Times writer Jane E. Brody argues, “Based on clear evidence that media representations influence teenage eating, smoking, and drinking habits, adolescents are almost certainly affected – negatively, by sexual references.”

(1) While people can assume that seeing sexual behavior negatively affects kids and teenagers, there are no studies to back it up.

(2) And even if studies were to conclude that seeing sexually explicit scenes in movies did promote sexual activity, as long as it is safe sex, nobody is getting hurt.

(a) There is more condom advertisements in the media now than ever before, from Trojan ads to MTV’s “It’s Your Sex Life,” campaign. When is the last time you saw an anti-gun commercial?

3. Violence in the media, though, has been proven to ignite similar behaviors.

a) A study done by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary concluded, “Children who watch significant amounts of television and movie violence are more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior, attitudes and values.

 

b) Also, a study done by the Universities of Wisconsin and Michigan proves “One in four college students…said they experience lingering effects of a frightful movie or TV experience from childhood. These effects range from inability to sleep to avoidance of situations portrayed in those movies.”

c) It is evident that not only does violence in the media promote violent behavior, but it also has lasting psychological effects.

4. True, a parent does not want to sit in a movie theatre with their child watching an awkward sex scene. But allowing a child to see someone’s head being blown off instead doesn’t make you any better of a parent.

B. Within the dilemma of sex vs. violence, straight sex vs. gay sex is also an issue.

1. In “This Film is Not Yet Rated,” several movie scenes are shown next to one another, depicting almost identical sex scenes, except to the left were gay couples and to the right were straight couples.

a) The people are in the same positions, making the same sounds and lacking the same amount of clothing.

(1) Yet, the movies where the couples were gay received an NC-17 and the movies with straight couples received R, and in some cases, even PG-13.

(2) For example, in a scene from Boys Don’t Cry, Hillary Swank, who plays a lesbian pretending to be a boy, is shown wiping her mouth off after performing a sexual act on her girlfriend, this movie received an NC-17 rating.

(3) Memoirs of a Geisha, on the other hand, contains a scene where a woman prostitute sticks her fingers inside herself to show that they are wet and that she has just had sex. This is a PG-13 rated movie, and not any less offensive or sexual than Boys Don’t Cry.

(4) If the MPAA is going to allow for sex scenes, they have no right to discriminate between gay and straight sex.

 

Transition: Now that I have enlightened you to the problems within the movie rating system, I will explain my plan to improve it.

III. The movie rating system must be reconstructed to contain multiple, more descriptive ratings such as FN for full nudity and GV for graphic violence. The MPAA should give movies multiple ratings so that it is absolutely clear as to what is going to be seen.

 

A. This multiple ratings system will be extremely effective in solving the problem of sex vs. violence.

 

1. Because movie raters concentrate so much on making sure inappropriate sex scenes don’t make it to the eyes of children, violence, which should be the primary concern, is slipping through the cracks and showing up in movies with ratings that are associated with children.

 

2. With my system, there will be no surprises as to what the content of the move entails. If it’s restricted for violence, you will know about it before going to the theater instead of having to find out after you’ve paid.

 

B. Also, any stigma that a certain rating has acquired will be removed, so not only can no movie ever lose money because it gets a certain rating without reason, but also the MPAA will no longer be responsible for censorship.

 

1. According to Matt Stone during his interview in “This Film is Not Yet Rated,” because the MPAA gives no specific notes as to why they rated a movie a certain way, the filmmaker has to guess what was wrong with it. Then, he/she must cut it down in hopes that they do not remove something unnecessarily or leave something in that was inappropriate before resubmission.

 

a) But, if the MPAA were to adopt my system, the “specific notes” would be reflected in the rating itself. Instead of a vague PG-13, a movie could get EV and SN, and you would know that it contains Extreme Violence and Some Nudity.

 

b) The age restrictions will be removed, therefore, one can decide for themselves and their family as to whether a movie is appropriate for viewing or not.

 

2. Also, the only thing holding a movie back from public release is the NC-17 rating.

a) Consequently, if this rating no longer existed, movies that otherwise the public would have no access to would be available, eliminating the censorship that derives from it.

 

Transition: While my new and improved rating system is easily implemental; it also requires little funding that can be quickly and easily paid for.

IV. The money that will be spent is nothing in comparison to how much money is going to be made.

 

A. The removal of the NC-17 rating will allow studios to release a surge of new movies. This will, in effect, gross more money and pay for any necessary actions needed to execute this plan.

1. The only thing that really needs to be paid for is someone to come up with the official new set of ratings, which could be done by the movie ratings board themselves using the words they use when taking notes on movies.

2. The MPAA should pay their board as much overtime as necessary to make up the complete set of ratings, and all money spent would be made up from the increase of movies that studios will be allowed to release with the removal of the NC-17 rating.

 

Transition: Hopefully now you realize just how crucial a change in the movie rating system is and how affective my plan is to improve it.

 

Conclusion

 

I. I have introduced you to the current debates about censorship and sex vs. violence in the movie rating system

II. Additionally, I have introduced a plan to make a new, indiscriminating movie rating system that will in quick time pay for itself, will allow all filmmakers the chance to have their voices heard and let people decide for themselves what is appropriate and what is not.

III. The next time you decide to see a movie, stop and think about how it makes you feel to know that you’re not necessarily seeing a filmmaker’s artwork, but rather what part of that art the MPAA thought was appropriate enough for you.