Om uitgebracht te worden in de Amerikaanse bioscopen, moet een film eerst gekeurd worden door de MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). Deze organisatie bepaald voor welke bevolkingslagen de film geschikt is en geeft de film een rating, variërend van G (alle leeftijden) tot NC-17 (een commeriële doodsteek voor een film, aangezien veel bioscopen in de V.S. zulke films niet willen draaien).

Documentairemaker Kirby Dick, die eerder het voor een Oscar genomineerde Twist of Faith maakte, probeerde een film over de MPAA en haar ratingsysteem te maken. Dat werd de onthullende documentaire This Film Is Not Yet Rated, en daarover sprak website Coming Soon de regisseur.

Presuming you've never had to deal with the MPAA on your previous documentaries, what was the motivation for investigating them?

My first experience was when I was on the editorial board of the IFP-West magazine "Montage," which was the precursor to "Filmmaker," and I decided to do an article on the MPAA. Of course, when we found out that the names of the raters were secret, we hired a photographer, and the idea was that she was going to go in and take a picture of the raters while they were watching a film. Well, she got in a little early and got a picture of them waiting to start, and one was knitting. That was the only published photo of the raters once they became secret until our film. That was a different building and they don't have the kind of security that they do now. Now, they're obsessed with security. The way you saw my tape handed in to be rated is the way I assumed that all films go in. There's no sign on the building. You can't walk into the lobby. You announce yourself standing on the sidewalk at the gate. They act like they're the CIA or something.