The MPAA: Looking a Little Yellow These Days

The MPAA has been stepping up its efforts to regulate marketing materials on the Internet for a while, but somehow I missed the release of its new yellow tag, used to identify movie trailers that are "approved for age-appropriate Internet users." These "users" are defined as visitors to sites that are frequented mainly by grown ups or accessible only between 9 PM and 4 AM. An April trailer for Rob Zombie's Halloween remake became the first to receive the yellow tag, which allows the studios the use racier or more violent scenes in their trailers--far more graphic than the tame green tag would allow. The yellow tag is still a step down from the red tag, which, when it comes to Internet trailers, requires viewers 17 and older to sign in and pass an age verification test which matches names, birthdays and zip codes against pubic records (Uni's recent hit Knocked Up ran this kind of trailer). Kudos to the MPAA for trying to evolve their system for changing times, but you have to wonder how effective these tags are going to be in protecting under-age viewers, who seem to be able find pretty much whatever they are looking for on the Internet anytime they want it. Nevertheless, here are the new guidelines for the yellow tag from the New York Times:

A draft of the association's guidelines reveals the middle ground it has staked out for yellow tags. Permitted, to name a few, are "some scenes of gunfire"; "some sexuality, some nudity, some less graphic sexual slang"; "some blood, wounds"; and "some limited depictions of minors using illegal drugs."

Strictly off limits are "excessive scenes of violence or guns/weapons involving minors"; "graphic sexual scenes, including depictions of rape"; "stronger profanity"; and "excessive blood."