Controversy
There was a legal battle over the decision by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which determines film ratings in the United States, to give Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! an X rating, which was normally reserved for hard-core pornography. This marginalized its distribution and reduced its chance of box-office success. The film's distribution company in North America, Miramax, filed a lawsuit against the MPAA over the X rating. When the case came to court in New York, it gave rise to a general debate on cinema, censorship, and sexuality in the United States.
The attorney for Miramax claimed that the AAP (Average American Parent) was not well served by a system that was lenient on films with hard violence and drug use while being harsh with films depicting sex. Miramax lost its case in court and the film was ultimately released unrated. However, numerous other filmmakers had complained about the X rating given to their films, and in September 1990 the MPAA dropped the X rating and replaced it with the NC-17 rating, with Henry & June the first film released with the new rating. This was especially helpful to films of an explicit nature that were previously unfairly regarded as pornographic because of the X rating.
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