When sex doesn't sell

Atom Egoyan isn’t a pornographer. His films, which include “The Sweet Hereafter,” are artistic, meritorious productions meant to furnish audiences with thought-provoking experiences. But as the MPAA would have you believe, his most recent effort is instead intended for men who show up alone in trench coats.

“Where the Truth Lies,” Mr. Egoyan’s current film, stars Kevin Bacon and Collin Firth – two legitimate, respected and established actors. But the MPAA has reportedly responded to a ménage a trios scene in the flick with an NC-17 rating.

How bad is this for the film? Forget about Blockbuster carrying it when the movie hits video and DVD – company policy prohibits stocking NC-17 works. Ditto a number of movie theaters. And promotion won’t be easy either, since a plethora of newspapers deny advertisements for such films.

The NC-17 rating has always been a gray area. It is unclear whether the rating was meant as an intermediate step between the MPAA-imposed R and the self-imposed X of the porn industry, or an MPAA-imposed tag for the porn industry. But the reality is that the R rating has become so all-encompassing of everything adult but tasteful that the rare application of an NC-17 screams of pornography, even when such clearly isn’t the case.

There was hope when Jack Valenti, the longtime head honcho of the MPAA, stepped down that this would be reformed. But such clearly isn’t the case. The trade organization, instead, is continuing to engage in the sort of puritanical censorship-by economy that ought to frighten artists everywhere.