Time to get a little local, here. Premier Doug Ford has shown his disdain for having review boards, clearly. He already suspended the duties of the Ontario Film Review Board this time last year, but in 2020 he has gone one step further. According to the latest bill being read — labeled as a means of providing provincial financial relief during the pandemic — Ford is hoping to abolish age related restrictions and ratings on films altogether (although noted exceptions include adult pictures, and “video games” [although video games are mentioned as different than film here, outside of the “moving picture” similarity]). It is recommended that providers (I assume streaming services, distribution sites and the like) offer a summary of what graphic contents films contain, but it isn’t mandatory. The bill and its many components can be found here. BlogTO did a nice summarization of the extents of this shift, which can be found here. I’m just going to offer my two cents, so here they are.

What does that mean, in the grand scheme of things? Well, censorship has always been a tricky subject. On one hand, it leads to the silencing of art, and censorship has been used corruptively in the past (I don’t even know where to start with that). Then, review boards can be used as business partnerships, instead of, you know, a means to protect viewers as intended. Here’s a quick clip of an interview with Trey Parker and Matt Stone discussing South Park: The Movie shortly after the film was released.

Disclaimer: Some graphic content discussed, even with bleeping. Reader discretion is advised. I notice the irony of a warning in a review board article, but there you go.

So, clearly, review boards can be used nefariously, even when they’re not fully silencing artistic visions, personal beliefs, or entire groups of voices (our in depth look at the Hollywood example of this, the Motion Picture Production Code, can be found here). On the other hand, I do want to at least briefly discuss the importance of having some sort of a signifier to warn viewers. Clearly, there are people who don’t have personal restraint or parents that know how to exactly approach these situations, and wandering eyes will continue to wander. Do I believe in having at least a safety net that can help those that care about a film’s content know what they’re getting into? Yes. Then again, the same oblivious people ignored the ratings for Pan’s Labyrinth and brought their children to this non-family film anyway. Negligence will always exist, I’m afraid. Anyway, having this option is nice. I personally don’t adhere to it, mainly because I haven’t had to (I don’t have any children, although I do have a nephew who is growing, but his parents come to me to ask my thoughts on a film’s appropriateness anyway).

A review board in general can be a decent idea if not misused (which, as we clearly can tell, they often are). The OFRB raked in heaps of money, charging a lot for each minute of film that they need to review. In a time of crisis, doing away with these boards — while terrible considering the loss of jobs (and that’s never a topic to take lightly) — might help with having additional money to use elsewhere. Compared to other lines of work that are imperative, the ickiness of a film doesn’t really matter quite nearly as much (again, not a statement on those that work these jobs, because losing employment is awful no matter what, especially during a pandemic). Review boards in 2020 feel like an additional feature, since we have access to so much information, that we can swerve past any obstacles that viewers in the ‘60s may not have been able to know ahead of time. Many people stream, and sites come with descriptions that can be used to warn them.

The Ontario ratings system as we know it.

If providers adhere to the suggestion that a general description of a film’s taboo contents, then maybe this shift won’t be so bad. Then again, I can recall being a child renting videos, and their descriptions were far too specific: I would await the “decapitation” scene in a film, since the back of the box warned me that there would be one. A general description should suffice. Worst comes to worst, enough people do thorough examinations on platforms like IMDb, or in the review sections of online retailers, that those can also be used if need be. Not having to answer to specific ratings might be nice, particularly with the silly qualms that filmmakers found themselves having to deal with (especially with different regions). A film getting a hard time for swearing even briefly (something The King’s Speech faced, for instance) is a waste of time, money, and energy. Prioritizing a naked human body over gallons of blood lost due to violence makes zero sense. These are discussions parents can have with their kids, not trivial hiccups for studios and filmmakers to have to worry about. Besides, we can also do away with the wasteland that is known as PG-13: films too safe for adults and too edgy for kids meant to make money (enough good ideas have been destroyed due to this).

At the end of the day, I hate censorship of any sort, but I empathize with the caution and preparedness that many viewers wish to have, either for themselves or for their loved ones. Not everyone wants to be challenged, made to feel uncomfortable, or caught off guard. As a temporary fix to help the economy, maybe doing away with review boards in Ontario (or wherever) can help, especially since there’s hardly a complete necessity for them in this day and age. If this ends up being a permanent decision — to rid us of ratings of any sort — I personally would be unchanged, but, again, I would feel for those that do want them for their own reasons. I also hate to see many go jobless, or need to find work in a completely new field during this pandemic. However, I don’t think that the abolishing of ratings is a bad idea in general. The silencing. The sneaky business practices. The corruption. All of that we can do away without, especially in an artistic medium (anywhere, really). Let’s just hope that people are going to be responsible (news flash: that’s impossible to guarantee for everyone). Research the films you want to see thoroughly, as you always should have been (not to reveal plot, but to at least know what you’re getting in to, if you’re a sensitive viewer).

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.

Film Ratings in Ontario: What Does This Change Mean?