However, to disobey the Motion Picture Association of America's rating board can lead to the dreaded "NC-17" rating, and those movies won't play in most theaters.
The ire toward the MPAA and its ratings surfaced again on Wednesday when comedian Mike Birbiglia, director of the movie "Don't Think Twice," spoke out asking why his new movie, about a group of New York City improv comics, got an R rating while the very violent "Suicide Squad" got a PG-13.
Here's his tweet:
Suicide Squad has machine gun killings and bombings and got a PG-13 rating. @Dontthinkmovie gets an R because adults smoke pot. Confusing?
- Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) August 3, 2016Director Judd Apatow also chimed in when he added this comment while retweeting Birbiglia:
Studios own the ratings board. Violence sells so they make pot and sex the scary thing so they seem caring. https://t.co/S3VpKxUXbu
- Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) August 3, 2016The ratings board (whose members are kept secret - not even the filmmakers who are pleading their case to the board know who they're pleading to) has often been criticized for allowing more violence in movies than sex. In fact, a 2013 study showed that gun violence in PG-13 movies exceeds violent R movies.
If you want a real deep dive on how twisted the MPAA rating system really is, seek out the Kirby Dick documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated."