A few years ago, there was a kerfuffle in Christian movie-critic circles over the revelation that “Dr.” Ted Baehr is sometimes paid to promote films that he reviews for his magazine, Movieguide.
I was reminded of that yesterday while watching the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, which notes that the MPAA’s ratings appeal board includes two religious representatives, one Protestant and one Catholic. And while the film doesn’t mention it, both of these church representatives write film reviews, too.
The Protestant rep since 1968 has been James Wall, a Methodist minister (incorrectly identified in the film’s “dialogue” as an Episcopalian priest, but correctly identified in a titles sequence later on) who reviews films for The Christian Century, a magazine that he edited from 1972 to 1999; and the current Catholic rep is Harry Forbes, a layman (incorrectly identified in the “dialogue” as a clergyman) who reviews films for the Catholic News Service.
Wall and Forbes are obviously not being paid to promote films, so their situation is different from that of Baehr; and for all I know they might not receive any payment for their work with the MPAA. But still, I cannot help but wonder: Is it possible for film critics to be so cozy with the industry — to the point where they have a say in determining what a film is rated, and thus an indirect say in how films might be re-edited before they are shown to the public — without being in some sort of conflict of interest?
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