{"id":115,"date":"2017-11-27T17:46:04","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T22:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/mcifall2017\/?p=115"},"modified":"2017-11-27T17:46:04","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T22:46:04","slug":"class-discussion-1128-ratings-pleasures-of-media-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/mcifall2017\/2017\/11\/27\/class-discussion-1128-ratings-pleasures-of-media-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Class Discussion 11\/28: Ratings & Pleasures of Media Use"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Film Is Not Yet Rated<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This documentary explains how movies are rated and the biases and agencies behind the ratings. These ratings are made by an anonymous group of parents who rate the film based on what they think is appropriate and inappropriate for children and teenagers to see. Certain societal structures and ISAs (family, church, etc.) in society about sexuality, violence, and language have created the standards they set for the movies. Movies featuring unfamiliar non-normative ideas, as well as independent movies are likely to reach the NC-17 or R rating. This hinders advertising for the movie which ultimately loses millions of dollars in revenue, as people are not aware of the movie or discouraged to see it because of the NC-17 or R rating.<\/p>\n

Additionally, films featuring strong female sexuality and pleasure are typically rated R or NC-17 which disrupts representation of various aspects of women in film, as those movies do not make as much money as those featuring male sexuality and pleasure rated for younger audiences.<\/p>\n

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Salon.com:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Tomatometer gender gap is real\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

According to the Sa1on.com article, there is often a discrepancy between male and female ratings of female-centric movies. For example, the \u201cGhostbusters\u201d reboot, received significantly higher scores from female critics than their male counterparts.\u00a0While 79.3 percent of women who reviewed the film gave it a positive review, just 70.8 percent of male critics agreed with them. This is the typical pattern for female-centric movies, with about an 8 percent average difference in ratings between males and females. This leads to a lower Rotten Tomato Tomatometer score, which discourages people from seeing female-centric movies.<\/p>\n

Additionally, movies labeled as \u201cchick flicks\u201d such as A Walk to Remember<\/em> and Twilight<\/em> had a larger difference in male and female ratings than movies such as The Notebook<\/em> where males were given an equal weight in the narrative or movies that were \u201cspunky comedies about relationships between women featuring backstabbing such as Bring It On <\/em>and Mean Girls<\/em>. Because higher rated movies receive more views and attention, this perpetuates stereotypes of women and teenage girls and decreases the depth of women characters in movies, as movie studios try to appeal to this same narrative.<\/p>\n

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Graphic from Salon.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

In \u201cThis Film Is Not Yet Rated,\u201d it talks about a group of anonymous parents who rate movies into the categories: G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 or X. The ratings are meant to represent a parent\u2019s view of the movie and whether it is or isn\u2019t appropriate for children of all ages. To decide this, they create certain standards, which are idealized by societal norms. What structures of family, education, and religion are in place that create these standards and how do they continue to maintain societal norms? How does it limit representation to the masses of people who do not fit in the mold of “normal” families or religions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sex and sexuality is often a theme in PG-13, R, and NC-17 rated movies. The focus on sex and sexuality is more often than not from a male\u2019s perspective (male writers, producers, directors, etc.). However, according to the documentary, when sex and pleasure is shown from the female perspective, it is considered more inappropriate and rated as such. Why do you think it is considered more inappropriate and rated as such?<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Sa1on.com article, there is often a discrepancy between male and female ratings of female-centric movies. For example, the \u201cGhostbusters\u201d reboot, received significantly higher scores from female critics than their male While 79.3 percent of women who reviewed the film gave it a positive review, just 70.8 percent of male critics agreed with them. This is the typical pattern for female-centric movies, with about an 8 percent average difference in ratings between males and females. This leads to a lower Rotten Tomato Tomatometer score, which discourages people from seeing female-centric movies. How does this contribute to the lack of female opinions and representation in movies and media? Would a film featuring strong female sexuality from the female\u2019s perspective receive an equal rating from men and women?<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Salon.com article, movies labeled as \u201cchick flicks\u201d such as A Walk to Remember<\/em> and Twilight<\/em> had a larger difference in male and female ratings than movies such as The Notebook<\/em> where males were given an equal weight in the narrative or movies that were \u201cspunky comedies about relationships between women featuring backstabbing such as Bring It On <\/em>and Mean Girls<\/em>. How does this perpetuate stereotypes of women being catty along with the \u201cmean girl\u201d stereotype, and media\u2019s representation of women in movies? How is the government able to control and\/or continue this if they are able to restrict media?<\/span><\/p>\n

The reading from the textbook discusses the government\u2019s restricting control on media including films, the internet, and video games. How does this allow for the government to control things based on the societal norms through police enforcing laws regarding media and the government controlling media, which can lead to decreased access of the public space of the internet and television?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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