Rationale

MPAA Rationale

I start the essay off by delivering a snappy hook, a head twisting fact, and then the thesis itself. The snappy hook is there to serve its self-titled purpose, using popular movies to connect with readers. The head-twisting fact will set the mood for the rest of the paper and make the thesis seemed less harsh than if it came without the strong fact. At last, the thesis states how the paper will continue for the following nine pages and serve as a guide for what readers should expect to be proven and what will follow.

The first couple sentences serves the same purpose as the hook in the first paragraph, but also sets the MPAA on the cutting board for the following facts. Using Ableman and Gubbins’ study, I’ll show that parents may not follow the MPAA’s ratings in the first place, therefore placing it at a low state of importance to its targeted demographic. The quote really serves this purpose well, making it seem less “how I was raised” and more “how the average child is raised.” To avoid making movies the winning adversary in the MPAA paper I’m setting up, I used Herbert and Hammond’s guide to set movies in the right light for readers. Their quote shows just how much good a movie can serve besides entertainment. The following source returns to the first, describing how kids themselves aren’t deterred to watching ‘unsuited’ movies for their age. After describing the study procedures, the quote that I use shows how children don’t mind the ratings—to the point of either infliction or rebellion. Wilson’s article describes how violence is tricky to pin down in ratings, since violence could be whimsical or gritty and be rated based on surface value. The next article acts as both the final point for the MPAA’s service to parents and the introduction to “ratings creep.” By describing the lack of restriction on PG-13 movies, we start to see less strain placed onto children about smoking and a good Segway for the next topic.

The topic of “ratings creep” comes up as another hook, but jumps right into the thesis’s statement to map out where the reader is at in the paper.