Too bad it's not just a suggestion system. It actively helps censor what we see.
Oh well, at least we live in an age where there is easy access to films not rated by the MPAA. And it's ten times better than the Hays Code.
Any restrictive censorship organization like the Hays Code or the MPAA or the Comics Code of Authority, etc. are terrible and overstep their boundaries. I mean what gives them the right to restrict releases for NC-17 rated movies? They force cuts, make things very difficult for people who don't do things their way, which in my opinion is just plain wrong.
The Comics Code of Authority was terrible, too. You couldn't even have the word 'Horror' in your title! Still, I've noticed a few loopholes comic book companies still managed to make (the Batman comics were still pretty violent).
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The biggest problem I have with the MPAA is that it's not a definitive code. If you aren't given clear definition of what is and is not acceptable under your code it is extremely open to incorrect interpretation and abuse.
Give filmmakers sets of rules to follow and go from there.
http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/why-was-tmp-g-rated.273628/page-6#post-11177178
Late 1960s
*G - Most mainstream movies
*M - Edgy movies
*R - Very edgy movies
*X - Even edgier movies
Early 1980s (before PG-13)
*G - Kids' movies
*PG - Most mainstream movies
*R - Horror movies, Sex comedies, art movies, hard-core action movies
*X - Porn
Today
*G - Animated kids' movies
*PG - Live action kids' movies
*PG13 - Most mainstream movies, including stuff as mild as The Devil Wears Prada and some of the Harry Potter films, as well as stuff as brutally violent as Taken, and everything in between. Almost all summer action movies go here.
*R - Slasher movies, sex comedies, art movies
*NC17 - Really edgy art movies