Similar to my previous blog, I've done research on this field of study before for another class in the past. I believe the article in our book must be addressing the liability of production studios including sexually explicit scenes such as graphic sex scenes and full nudity in feature-length movies and box office blockbusters. The examples of censorship are many.
Consider the rating system. A "G" movie we would all likely feel safe taking our young children to. We know it's likely going to be some animation with singing or something like Air Bud: Golden Receiver, with a lovable pooch of some popular variety. A "PG" movie may contain some violence and might give our little ones a nightmare if they're not old enough to understand it. A "PG-13" movie is recommended for adolescents or older, people who have had a few more life experiences and can understand the context and concepts that the movie may represent. Up until this level, most production studios have no problems with rating their movies as such. It's after this level that producers start to consider their material more carefully.
"NC-17", like "PG-13", has an age limit to be admitted by oneself. This reduces the amount of potential ticket-buyers, since young teenagers are often afforded enough responsibility by their parents to be dropped off at a theatre and left unattended. Similarly, movies rated "R" significantly cut down their potential number of viewers. "R" also usually carries with it some sexually explicit material, which touches on a whole new level with regards to sponsorship, and that's what Sex and the Cinema refers to.
If you're a potential sponsor like McDonalds, you're not as likely to endorse a sexually explicit movie because you want to cater to the larger family consumer base. You'd rather offer toys resembling the latest Dalmations movie than a nude Barbie Doll. Movie producers consider where they're getting their funding in addition to who's going to be buying their tickets at the theatres.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Movies are a form of business, and executives are of the habit of doing tried and tested means for successful business ventures. It can have a limiting affect on different levels of public exposure to controversial themes such as homosexuality, and it may lead to children being "sheltered" by over protective parents, but I don't think it's large enough of a concern to worry about for the general population. I may change my opinion after I read the actual article =)
And that's the two main points I remember, as well as what I found on a quick Google search. Now onto the article!
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