Should films be censored and do the MPAA ratings actually work?

I received an interesting set of questions from a student about film censorship: Do you believe that censorship is a good or bad thing and why? Do you believe that the current rating system is effective in controlling what people see? Should older movies be remade, edited for content or should they be left in their original form?

I've tackled all three of them in detail, including talking about the re-release of Star Wars, why director's cuts are so popular (with commentary on Blade Runner) and why there were two versions of Saturday Night Fever, one "R" rated and one "PG" rated. Finally, I also talk about whether the MPAA rating system works and why HBO and TiVo have kicked the legs out of ratings.

But why not just read my article? Check out On Censorship, the MPAA and the Movies and hopefully add your own two cents too.