Today I finally managed to see Black Swan, so discovering Gary Susman’s MPAA-lambasting piece at Popeater was well-timed. I’ve unrolled previously my thoughts on Blue Valentine’s NC-17 rating, but Susman has pointed out some new (read more enraging) details about the MPAA that may have influenced their decision.
Simply put Black Swan is drawing comparisons to Blue Valentine because both involve a scene where oral sex is preformed on a woman – but while the former got an R rating, the latter received the dreaded (and box office killing) NC-17 rating. As the Weinstein Company has pointed out in their press release, the MPAA has a clear double standard when it comes to violence and sex in their ratings, noting films that deal with violence against women or rape have often garnered an R while movies involving women’s ardent pleasure are branded with NC-17. Susman furthers this disparity argument drawing comparisons between the films’ supposedly scandalous scenes.
While both scenes portray the same sex-act, Black Swan does so amid a wild and unhinged night of debauchery which is displayed by a series of close-ups that Susman calls, “a discreetly shot scene, most of the action takes place on [Natalie] Portman’s face as she reacts to [Mila] Kunis‘ oral ministrations.” I’d argue it’s pretty salacious as there are also some intense close-ups of Kunis diving in, though I wholeheartedly agree with an R rating. In contrast, in Blue Valentine Ryan Gosling goes down on Michelle Williams in a one take scene revealed in a long shot in profile. The drive of the latter scene is to appear an earnest and realistic (as much as I hate the use of that word in narrative film) approach to sex, while the former is glossy in the way of most American mainstream cinema. Susman reasons this is a major difference to the MPAA, “Both scenes are about the characters letting go of their inhibitions. Both are arguably crucial to the plot. But the Williams‘ scene is all about pleasure and emotional intimacy. The Portman scene is creepier and more surreal, reflecting the character’s drug high and her ongoing psychological breakdown.” See, as long as it’s not actually about a woman enjoying sex, it’s fine. Anything else is illicit and smutty – or so says the MPAA.
While his point is as well-argued as it is disturbing, Susman’s next revelation rattled me more. Does who made the movie affect the rating? Susman unpacks that Black Swan is a movie with A-list stars, helmed by a highly acclaimed director (Darren Aronofsky), and produced by Fox Searchlight which is, “part of the same studio family as 20th Century Fox, one of the six major studios that make up the MPAA membership and pay its salaries.” (Emphasis mine.) Conversely, Blue Valentine stars two actors best-known for their indie work, directed by the largely unheard of Derek Cianfrance, produced independently and purchased by the Weinstein Company, who has no MPAA member ties.
Susman asserts, “It shouldn’t matter, of course, who financed, directed or stars in a film; the ratings board ought to rate it strictly on its own merits. Historically, however, that hasn’t been the case. As Kirby Dick asserted in This Film Is Not Yet Rated, his 2006 documentary about the inner workings of the ratings board, the MPAA has historically been more lenient toward the studios that pay the bills…than it is to indies who are not members but must submit their films anyway if they want a rating that theater owners will accept as valid. Many independent directors (including Aronofsky, interviewed in Dick’s film) have complained over the years that they’re held to a harsher standard than their studio counterparts.”
While I have seen This Film, and have oft railed in favor of its arguments, I hadn’t put this together for this particular comparison. It’s infuriating that two dramas that are both stunning and deserve an audience are being regarded so differently by a mysterious group of censors who maintain a stunning amount of control over what we as American audience members can see. And while the Weinsteins have backed down on their fight to appeal The King’s Speech’s R rating (awarded for a scene in which Colin Firth lets loose a string of four letter words), they lawyered up in defense of Blue Valentine as the current rating will bar it from thousands of theaters throughout the US.
Does this sound ridiculous to you? Sound off. Sign the petition to show the MPAA you can choose which movies are appropriate for you.
What’s an MPAA rating you find absurd?