Your continued donations keep Wikipedia running!

Motion Picture Association of America

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), originally called the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association, is a non-profit trade association based in the United States which was formed to advance the interests of movie studios. Its members consist of eight major studios: the Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Studios, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. The organization produces the well-known voluntary film rating system.

1 Purpose
2 Leadership
3 Criticisms
4 See also
5 External links

[edit]

Purpose

The MPAA has sought to protect its members' interests by political lobbying for changes in copyright and criminal law. It seeks to promote digital rights management technologies, which are seen by some as infringing users' rights, and by others as striking the proper balance between consumer wants and artists rights. The motion-picture equivalent of the RIAA, the MPAA has taken strong steps to try and reduce the number of file-sharing sites online where copyrighted films are made available. In April and May of 2005, signs appeared on the homepages of LokiTorrent and EliteTorrents (two large BitTorrent trackers), stating that each had been taken down due to their encouraging the illegal distribution of copyrighted media.

[edit]

Leadership

In 1922, the movie studio bosses hired Will H. Hays to be the first president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. A former U.S. Postmaster General and election campaign manager for U.S. President Warren G. Harding, Hays was responsible for the creation of the Production Code in 1930. He served until retiring in 1945 when Eric Johnston took over and the name was changed to the Motion Picture Association of America. Johnston presided over the difficult Hollywood blacklist period and remained in office until his death in 1963. Ralph Hetzel acted as interim head until 1966.

From 1966 to 2004, Jack Valenti served as the president of the group, becoming nearly synonymous with the organization thanks to his long service and high profile. On September 1, 2004, he retired at the age of 82. He was replaced with Dan Glickman, a former Agriculture Secretary during the Clinton administration.

[edit]

Criticisms

Some of the MPAA's actions have been controversial. One example is the film rating system; many believe that the intent of the various ratings has been subverted (for example, there is widespread access to R-rated movies even for those under 17), and that the NC-17 rating spells commercial death for a film, undermining its purpose. Film critic Roger Ebert has called for an entirely new system of ratings designed to address these issues. Some people criticize film-makers for editing their works to conform to the various ratings (for example, they might excise some extreme violence or sex to avoid an NC-17, or even "spice up" a children's movie so as to move from G to PG and appeal to older children).

Other critics attack the MPAA for its action on copyright issues. They claim that it inhibits legitimate uses of its products through laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and that it is too draconian in pursuing copyright infringers. The MPAA replies that it is only attempting to limit losses from file-sharing and other technology, although many valid arguments exist to make its moves highly controversial.

Since the MPAA contains many large corporations that dominate the industry, allegations of monopoly are often brought up by critics.

Furthermore, the MPAA has recently been accused of copyright infringement by Film director Kirby Dick over a controversy concerning his recent documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated.

[edit]