Motion Picture Association of America

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is a U.S.-based trade organization that promotes the interests of the American movie and television industries locally and abroad. It was created in 1922 under the name Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America and while its composition of members has changed over the decades, there have generally been five to eight film producing companies which form the MPAA, including Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox,[Page 1124] Warner Bros., Universal, Sony, and Disney. While these major companies (usually known as the Majors) are everyday competitors in terms of productions and market share, they nevertheless form a united system similar to an oligarchy when working with a common agenda under the MPAA. This entry discusses the role of the MPAA and ...