MPAA film rating system
The MPAA film rating system issystem used inUnited States which attemptsratemovie based on its content, helping patrons decide which movies may be appropriatechildrendifferent ages. It was createdregulated byMotion Picture AssociationAmerica (MPAA). Other countries use their own motion picture rating systems.
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2 The Rating Process 3 Original Ratings 4 Current MPAA Ratings 5 EffectsRatings 6 CriticsSystem 7 External links |
History
The MPAA film rating system was institutedNovember 1968 as an alternativefederal regulationmotion picture content byUnited States government. The United States came rather latemotion picture rating, as many other countries had used rating systemsdecades.
AfterProduction Code approval system was abandoned in1950s, movies had become more explicittheir portrayal"realism." The realism movement had its advantagesdisadvantages: whileallowedmovies like Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960)be filmed,also sparkedriselow-budget exploitation movies that became moremore explicittheir sexualviolent content. The violent contentsuch movies as Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs\ shockedalarmedmore conservative segment ofpopulation. In 1967, two movies were released containing explicit profanity (UlyssesI'll Never Forget What's His Name),this was seen asimpetus forformregulationbe instituted. Afterseriesmeetingsgovernment representatives,Motion Picture AssociationAmericaNational AssociationTheater Owners agreedimplementuniform ratings systemallits movies,system that would be enforced by distributorsexhibitors (including movie theaters).
The rating system, legally,entirely voluntary; however, few mainstream producers outsidepornography niche declinesubmit torating system duepotential effects on revenues (see NC-17, below), sosystem hasde facto compulsory status inindustry.
Some foreign films do not bothersubmit torating system, reasoning thatwill not be distributed widely beyond their art-house audience, socostexpenseunnecessary.
WhenDVD home video format became popular, many film producers started translating sometheir "R" rated moviesDVDextra outtakes included which were never rated byMPAA,then attemptinguse this asmarketing angle. For example,DVDAmerican Pie exclaims onbox, "UNRATED! The Version You Couldn't See In Theaters".
The Rating Process
The MPAA does not publishlistwhat exact words, actions,exposed body partsuseddeterminemovie's rating, other than stating that iffilm uses "one ofharsher sexually-derived words" once,getsPG-13 rating at least,an R rating if these wordsused more than once. Any drug reference getsmoviePG-13 at least. Members ofMPAA's Rating Board viewmovie, discuss it,vote onfilm's rating. Ifmovie's producerunhappythis rating, he can re-editfilmre-submit it, or can appealan Appeals Board. Movie publishers generally specifydesired MPAA ratingtheir contract withmovie producer, so itcommonhearproducers re-editingorderachievedesired rating, by trimming several seconds offilm footagequestion.
Original Ratings
The original movie ratings consisted of:
- Rated G – Acceptable"general" audiences, including children.
- Rated M – For "Mature" audiences.
- Rated R – Restricted. Children underage17 (originally 16) must be accompanied byparent or "guardian" (i.e., supervised by an adult).
- Rated X – Children underage17 not admitted.
Current MPAA Ratings
The current MPAA movie ratings consist of:
- Rated G – General Audiences. All ages admitted.
- Rated PG – Parental Guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitablechildren.
- Rated PG-13 – Parent strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriatechildren under 13.
- Rated R – Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
- Rated NC-17 – No one 17under admitted.
EffectsRatings
One ofunintended side effects ofrating systemthatG rating has been associatedchildren's filmsis widely consideredbe commercially badfilms targeted at adults. Innumbercases (such asmovie Sneakers) directors have intentionally added profanityorderavoidG rating.
Confusion (many parents thought films rated "Mature" contained more adult content than those that were "Restricted") led tointroduction ofGP rating (General audiences - Parental guidance suggested)1969. This was later (1970) changedPG (Parental Guidance suggested), andage limit raised17, though children could still be allowed into theaters without being accompanied by an adult.
Duringearly 1980s,numberPG-rated movies containing surprisingly violent content sparked off an overview ofratings system. Two violent PG-rated movies affiliatedSteven Spielberg—Indiana Jones andTempleDoomGremlins—werecatalyst forMPAAmodifyratings systemintroducePG-13 rating1984 (July 1). This rating still allows children under 17be admitted withoutparent or guardian, butrating does note that parents"strongly cautioned"be awarepotentially shocking violence or sexual content.
The first movieofficially be released withPG-13 rating was 1984's Red Dawn. The new rating also sparkedwavegenerally mediocre PG-13 "teen movies."
Many films whichrated "R" have been targeted at teenage audiences. In 2000, dueissues raised by United States Senator Joseph Lieberman (Democrat from Connecticut),National AssociationTheater Owners,major trade association inU.S., claimedstarted strict enforcementID checks"R" rated movies.
The X rating was never officially trademarked byMPAA,it was usurped byadult entertainment industry topoint where an X rating was universally seen as being equatedpornography. Before this occurred,most critically acclaimed X-rated movies were Midnight Cowboy (1969), which won three Academy Awardswas nominatedfour more;A Clockwork Orange (1971), which was nominatedfour Academy Awards. (Both films were re-rated "R" several years later.) A few movies have been rated Xviolence, including Henry: Portrait ofSerial Killer (1986). A large numbernewspapersTV stations refusedplace any adsX-rated movies,move that guaranteedkissdeathany movie labelled withX rating.
Whennumberfilmmakers choserelease their movies without an MPAA rating rather than let them be labelled X,MPAA introducedNC-17 (notchildren 17 or under) rating on September 27, 1990differentiate MPAA-approved adult-oriented films from unapproved X-rated movies.
The first moviebe releasedan NC-17 rating was HenryJune1990. However, several large newspapers continuerefuse adsNC-17 movies. Whilenumbermovies have been released withNC-17 rating, nonethem have been large box-office hits,NC-17still seenmany circles as being guaranteed money loser.
CriticsSystem
The movie rating system has hadnumbercritics, including Roger Ebert, who argues thatsystem places too much emphasis on not showing sex while allowingportrayalmassive amountsgruesome violence. Moreover, he argues thatrating systemgeared toward looking at trivial aspects ofmovie (such asnumbertimesprofane wordused) rather than atgeneral theme ofmovie (for example, doesmovie realistically depictconsequencessexviolence).
See also: Production Code, X-rated
