Now that's just rude!

Sometimes movie ratings baffle me. Some movies are given PG or PG-13 ratings though their content is borderline shocking and offensive, my favorite being the PG-rated "All the President's Men" and its 9 f-words. (Yes, I counted.) However, it's stranger when movies are given strong ratings for small scenes. For example:

Trois Colours : Rouge (Three Colors : Red)
Rated R for a brief but strong sex scene.

A shot that lasts less than 5 seconds. God forbid we see an unsexy, un-stylized sex scene. And what nudity do we witness? A butt.

However, you can imagine my perplexity with the next two ratings:

Primer
Rated PG-13 for brief language. (There are no curse words.)

Kiss of the Spider Woman
Rated R for a crude sexual remark.

Nothing was bad in terms of violence, sexuality, or cursing in either. However, in mentioning the dilemma to my parents, they asked if the movies had any derogatory terms. That's when it struck me: both briefly use a derogatory term for a gay man that starts with an "f" and means a bundle of sticks. I hate the word so I understand taking action for it; but it still feels weird to have strong rating for a small scene. At the same time, it's kinda interesting how serious the MPAA takes it. They really don't want people to use the term for any reason whatsoever. That's good for them, I don't mind that. So why did the filmmakers feel the need to use it? In "Spider Woman", it has some relevance because it deals with a Brazilian revolutionary sharing a jail cell with a gay window dresser. But in "Primer", he just uses it to use it. Why?