Except the MPAA ratings are non-binding and fully voluntary. A government censorship panel would be literal censorship, whereas the MPAA is a voluntary association.
The MPAA ratings are censorship, just of a de facto kind. Sure they might be theoretically different, but in terms of real world effects it definitely results in censorship. It might be technically voluntary, but there's plenty of theaters/chains that won't screen anything that doesn't have an MPAA rating.
If there was a government system in its place, the members would at least be known and accountable to the public
No one even knows who any of the people on the MPAA ratings board are except for its head. If it was a government board, the people would all be known, and would be accountable to the public, if only to a minor degree. It's hard not to be more accountable than if you're invisible.
Yeah, you don't go to jail if you sneak into an R-rated movie when you're 15
Nor do I think you should if a movie was rated R by the government. The ratings would just be that: ratings. Not proscriptions. I'm not proposing that movies get banned like they are in other countries.
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My bracket wasn't good enough to beat SuperNiceDog's in the GameFAQS Rivalry Rumble. Congrats!
This is Yesmar.