On Oct. 14, we ran an editorial criticizing the Motion Picture Association of America's movie-ratings system, arguing "the MPAA should work harder to make its system more precise and less arbitrary."

Legendary former MPAA head Jack Valenti was not pleased. His full rebuttal is here; below are two snippets:

I have been an avid reader and admirer of The LA Times for 40 years. I write you now to give you a brief résumé of the movie industry's voluntary film rating system. The facts of its birth, design and collide with your Oct. 14 editorial [...]

The rating system will be 38 years old on Nov. 1. Is it fair to say that nothing lasts that long in this brutal marketplace unless it is providing some kind of benefit to the people it aims to serve -- in this case, parents.