5) Who decides what I see in a trailer?
Trailers and other advertisements for a movie are made by the company that produced or distributed the film in order to promote that movie. For all movies that have been or will be rated by CARA, the MPAA’s Advertising Administration, a separate body, reviews all promotional advertising to ensure that: a) it does not mislead parents or consumers as to the proper rating for the motion pictures, b) the material included in the advertisement is suitable for the audiences who will be viewing it and c) the rating of the motion picture and other relevant information is included in the advertisement.
6) Why does it seem that when I see movies from 10 or 20 years ago some material that was o.K. Then is given a higher rating today and, on the other hand, other material is not rated as strongly?
The rating system is a flexible one, meant to consider parental attitudes at the time the motion picture is rated. The raters attempt, as much as possible, to mirror the views of a contemporary cross-section of parents in the country. Thus, you may notice, for example, that as the concerns of parents about teen drug use or sexual activity increase, motion pictures which contain elements of illicit drug abuse or strong sexual content will be assigned a higher rating, reflecting the views of American parents.
7) Is cartoon violence assessed differently than realistic violence?
In reviewing a movie, the Rating Board will seek to assign the rating that most American parents would assign that same movie, keeping in mind various factors, including the level of violence. The realism of the violence may be one of the considerations. However, simply because a motion picture is animated does not mean that it is appropriate for children of any age. In fact, animated motion pictures have been assigned ratings from G to NC-17.
8) Why do I see children in the theater for movies that are Rated r?
The R rating means that any child under the age of 17 may be allowed into the movie only if he/she will be viewing the movie with his/her parent or adult guardian. A movie that is rated R means that the rating board believes that the picture contains adult material, and signifies to parents that they should find out more about the film before they allow their children to accompany them to the film. The rating is a strong warning to parents concerning the language, violence, sexual content or other elements of the film, and indicates that it is not appropriate for young children. However, the decision of whether or not to bring their children with them to the R rated movie is left to parents.
Text 3. Award ceremony
1. Lead-in
a) Match the directors with the films they've made:
Steven Spielberg Ang Lee
ET Hulk Star Wars Munich Brokeback Mountain Sense and Sensibility Jaws Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
b) How many of Spielberg's and Lee's films are mentioned in the text?
Oscar nominations announced
T
he
nominations have been announced for this year’s movie Oscars. At an
early-morning ceremony in Los Angeles, the films were announced that
will be in the awards ceremony on 5th March.
Steven Spielberg's ‘Munich’ and Ang Lee's ‘Brokeback Mountain’ are likely to be the big winners at the Oscar ceremony in five weeks’ time. Spielberg’s highly controversial drama about the 1972 Olympic massacre, and what happens after it, is one of the five nominations for Best Picture. Some had speculated opposition to the movie and its themes might harm its Oscar chances, but that hasn’t happened. Spielberg’s also nominated as Best Director.
The other Best Picture nominees are ‘Capote’, a dark character study of the writer Truman Capote, ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’, George Clooney’s account of the clash between the anti-Communist US Senator Joe McCarthy and broadcaster Ed Murrow, and ‘Crash’, an engrossing portrait of contemporary Los Angeles life, the only one of the nominees not set primarily in recent history. The fifth and final nomination is for Ang Lee’s thoughtful drama ‘Brokeback Mountain’, about a gay relationship between two cowboys which begins in Wyoming in the 1960s. ‘Brokeback Mountain’ leads the field overall with eight nominations, including Best Director, Best Actor for Heath Ledger and Best Supporting Actor for Jake Gyllenhaal.
The nominations confirm that 2005 was a good year for independent movies in Hollywood and a less good year for the big studios. The Oscar voters have shown they favour intelligent movies with well-crafted scripts on meaty topics.
Nominations for Best Foreign Language film include the Palestinian movie ‘Paradise Now’, about two childhood friends who volunteer to be suicide bombers, and the South African film ‘Tsotsi’, a tough thriller set in Johannesburg.
Vincent Dowd, BBC