Date: 15th September 2000

DGA Proposes New Rating System


The Directors Guild of America has endorsed the findings of its task force on violence, which, among other things, called for a "zero tolerance" approach to keeping kids out of R-rated movies.

The move comes in the wake of an FTC report critical of the entertainment industry's enforcement of its own ratings system and a congressional hearing into violence and sex in the media. In a statement on Thursday, the DGA also called for a uniform ratings system that would comprise all entertainment media, including films, TV, electronic games, and music. It said that such a ratings system ought to provide more information than the current one and "should give parents and other consumers the most detailed information possible regarding the true nature and content of a film -- or other media -- and the reason for its rating so that they can make informed decisions for themselves and for their children."

In many ways, the statement echoes the proposal contained in President Clinton's State of the Union speech last January. At the time, it was quickly rejected by MPAA chief Jack Valenti who said that a universal, detailed system would be regarded as too complicated.

Source: Studio Briefing