Rating hurts funding and distribution channels for anything that is not bland, "family-friendly" content. Go to any modern cinema complex in the western world and you will see what I mean: dozens of rooms, no real choice.
You can argue that the internet solves this, but it's not really the case: for example consider the current YouTube "demonetization crisis" or the arbitrary rules imposed in walled gardens such as app stores. The bigger danger -- and there are many examples of this -- is that "think of the children" can be used by politicians to advance more nefarious censorship agendas. For example, trying to rate content that presents non-conventional ideas.
I don't think movie ratings are the cause of bland movies. The mass market has voted and superhero/transformer movies that cater to 15 year old boys are the biggest moneymakers. All the original programming has moved to TV, which is also subject to restrictions but is not the bland wasteland it used to be.
You can argue that the internet solves this, but it's not really the case: for example consider the current YouTube "demonetization crisis" or the arbitrary rules imposed in walled gardens such as app stores. The bigger danger -- and there are many examples of this -- is that "think of the children" can be used by politicians to advance more nefarious censorship agendas. For example, trying to rate content that presents non-conventional ideas.