Not yet Rated

Recently I saw the Documentary This film is not yet rated. It is an excellent film, and I highly recommend it. There is one clip that caught my attention. The director and actress form the film The Cooler were interviewed on the subject of censorship. The director stated that his film originally received a NC-17 rating (No child under the age of 17 admitted, period), due to one sex scene. An NC-17 practically means that the film is doomed financially. The advertisers pull their money, the movie theaters refuse to play it. The movie has no chance of making a profit.

The controversial scene consisted of oral sex between a male and female. For one second, there is a shot of the female’s pubic hair. The review board felt that it was too much for an R rating. They gave the director and ultimatum: loose the pubes and you get your R rating.

The director was furious with the decision. His artistic work would be compromised for one second of pubic hair. Ultimately, he caved in, due to the pressure from his production company, and took out the scene in theaters. But you can find the scene on the DVD.

However, there is a twist to the whole story. Around the same time The Cooler was in theaters, Sin City, an over the top violent thrill ride, was in theaters with an R rating. The director explained that his kids most likely would be harmed more while watching Sin City than being exposed to a pubic hair for one second. Obviously he did not condone for Kids to watch an R rated film, but he merely pointed out that there is a double standard when it comes to violence and sex.