Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.
Directed by Kirby Dick
sexuality
orgasm
bias
private investigator
rating
hypocrisy
censorship
mpaa
corporation
film production
social & cultural documentary
media bias
film censorship
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Cast
Kimberly Peirce
Self - Director of 'Boys Don't Cry'
Wayne Kramer
Self - Director of 'The Cooler'
Kevin Smith
Self - Director of 'Clerks' and 'Jersey Girl'
John Waters
Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame'
Matt Stone
Self - Producer of 'South Park' and 'Team America'
Kirby Dick
Self - Filmmaker and Interviewer
Maria Bello
Self - Actress in 'The Cooler'
Allison Anders
Self - Director of 'Gas - Food - Lodging'
Mary Harron
Self - Director of 'American Psycho'
Jamie Babbit
Self - Director of 'But I'm a Cheerleader'
Darren Aronofsky
Self - Director of 'Requiem for a Dream'
Lawrence Lessig
Self - Copyright Attorney and Author
Crew
Kirby Dick
Director
Kirby Dick
Writer
Amy Vincent
Director of Photography
Kirsten Johnson
Director of Photography
Popular Reviews
73 reviews
Bator
7.0★ · 05/14/26
God i really miss the bouncy, quirky, rough around the edges editing style of the 2000s
God i really miss the bouncy, quirky, rough around the edges editing style of the 2000s
D
10.0★ · 05/03/26
'We don't wanna restrict the film artist. We want to give the artist the freedom to make the films they want to make... but we do not want to make it totally free"
'We don't wanna restrict the film artist. We want to give the artist the freedom to make the films they want to make... but we do not want to make it totally free"
nadia g
6.0★ · 09/18/25
very interesting….erm is following these ppl around and recording them legal? 😃
very interesting….erm is following these ppl around and recording them legal? 😃
ytfbatumn
Interesting to learn about the double standards of the MPAA and the arbitrary set of guidelines they base their decisions on.
Interesting to learn about the double standards of the MPAA and the arbitrary set of guidelines they base their decisions on.
The Peepee Poopoo Man
7.0★ · 01/09/25
This is why I mostly prefer our Canadian rating system, shit tends to make more sense (and identifies different severity levels with American PG/PG-13/R titles rather than lumping all arbitrary shit together to make a polarizing spectrum) as things are more nuanced and carry a lot less stigma.
This is why I mostly prefer our Canadian rating system, shit tends to make more sense (and identifies different severity levels with American PG/PG-13/R titles rather than lumping all arbitrary shit together to make a polarizing spectrum) as things are more nuanced and carry a lot less stigma.
