Smoking signals
May 18, 2007

In case you missed it, the MPAA's film ratings board will now consider smoking along with sex, violence and adult language when issuing ratings.  Apparently, illegal teen smoking has traditionally been a factor in ratings assignment, but any old smoking will now be considered grounds for a more mature rating. The factors Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA) arbiters will take into consideration: Is the smoking pervasive? Does the film glamorize smoking? And, is there an historic or other mitigating context?
If a film's rating is affected by scenes of smoking, the rating explanation will include reasons such as "glamorized smoking" or "pervasive smoking."
Any additional information for parents is a good thing, since the ratings remain a dependable but exceedingly blunt instrument for gauging the appropriateness of certain films for children.
The new rules do reflect beautifully on The Weinstein Company--no favorite of indie rentailers recently--for deciding last year to include anti-smoking PSAs on DVDs that depict smoking.

Posted by Marcy Magiera on May 18, 2007 | Comments (1)