The Ratings System

1
The Ratings System
2
Beginnings

• Motion Picture Association of America-
  responsible for rating films before viewing by
  the public.
• Result of an intra-studio attempt to police
  themselves before the government got involved.
• Will Hays- Postmaster General under President
  Harding- runs the MPAA in the 1920s.

3
The Production Code

• The Production Code
• Content that was highly discouraged under the
  Production Code-
• Nudity, Adultery, homosexuality, gratuitous and
  unpunished violence, and religious blasphemy.
• The Divorcee- the first film to be released under
  the Production Code.
• Premise- a divorced woman takes on three lovers
  after she discovers her husband cheated on her.

4
Pre-1968 Ratings System

• G- General Audiences
• M- Mature Audiences
• R- Restricted (no one under 16 unless accompanied
  by an adult)
• X- Adults only (no one under 16 period)
• Many were confused by the M and R ratings- so the
  MPAA added SMA (Suggested for Mature Audiences)
  in 1970, which was later replaced by GP (General
  Patronage).

5
The Rating System changes

• 1968- A new rating system was introduced
• G- General Audiences
• PG- Parental Guidance Suggested
• R- Restricted Audiences (no one under 17 admitted
  without an adult)
• X- Adults Only (different than what you think)
• Midnight Cowboy the only X Rated film to win Best
  Picture (today this film is Rated R)
• 1984- PG 13 was added due to the intense scenes
  shown in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• 1990s- NC-17 was added to differentiate the X
  rating from adult movies

6
The PG-13 debate

• Prior to 1984, when three films associated with
  Steven Spielberg triggered calls for yet another
  addition to the list of ratings, other films had
  been released that suggested there needed to be a
  middle ground between PG and R. The summer of
  1982 featured Poltergeist, which was highly
  frightening for a PG-rated film (yet not severe
  enough for an R). Violent scenes in the 1984
  PG-rated films Indiana Jones and the Temple of
  Doom (which he directed) and Gremlins (which he
  produced), were the final straws.

7
PG-13

• Public outcry about the violence led Spielberg to
  suggest a new PG-13 rating to Jack Valenti, who
  conferred with theater owners and then introduced
  the new rating on July 1. The rating still
  allowed children under 13 to be admitted without
  a parent or guardian, but it cautions parents
  about potentially shocking violence or other
  offensive content. The first movie to gain
  widespread theatrical release with a PG-13 rating
  was 1984's Red Dawn (although the first to
  receive the classification was Dreamscape). It
  took a year for the PG-13 logo to shift into its
  current form.

8
How films are rated

• Members of the MPAA's Classification and Rating
  Administration, which consists of a
  demographically balanced panel of parents, view
  the movie, discuss it, and vote on the film's
  rating. If the movie's producer is unhappy with
  this rating, they can reedit the film and
  resubmit, or appeal to an Appeals Board. Appeals
  generally involve a film which was rated R for
  which the producer is seeking to have the rating
  changed to PG-13, or a film rated NC-17 for which
  the producer is seeking to have the rating
  changed to R.

9

• Forbidden Fruit effect- The debate over ratings-
  Are they a good thing to have or are they just
  shedding an unwanted light on a film, enticing
  younger people to go see it?
• Should there be an NC-21 rating for films that
  contain drinking and excessive drug use?

10
R versus PG-13

• If a film contains male rear nudity, it is more
  likely to be given a lower rating than if the
  nudity were female.
• If a film contains strong sexual content, it
  usually receives an R rating. The film Lost in
  Translation had a scene in a strip club that had
  brief topless nudity and a song in the background
  that repeated a sexually explicit phrase.

• The scene was brief and the rest of the film had
  PG-13 level content, but the film still received
  an R rating. In the case of I Capture the Castle,
  a shot of a topless woman got the film an R
  rating "for brief nudity." In every other country
  with a similar ratings system (such as the UK,
  Australia, and Canada), the film received an
  equivalent of G or PG.

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• A reference to drugs, such as marijuana, usually
  gets a movie a PG-13 rating at a minimum. A well
  known example of an otherwise "PG movie" getting
  a PG-13 for a drug reference is Whale Rider. The
  film contained only mild profanity, but received
  a PG-13 because of a scene where drug
  paraphernalia was briefly visible. Critic Roger
  Ebert criticized the MPAA for the rating and
  called it "a wild overreaction."

12
History versus ratings

• Films that have legitimate historical or
  educational value are often granted leniency.
  Some have argued that level of violence in Saving
  Private Ryan merited an NC-17, but that the film
  was given leniency because it was a historical
  war movie. This argument also came up when The
  Passion of the Christ was released without cuts,
  with an R-rating.

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Foreign Rating Systems- Germany

• Freigegeben ohne Altersbeschränkung (FSK o.A.)
  for all ages
• FSK 6 no one under 6 years admitted
• FSK 12 people 12 or older admitted, children
  between 6 and 11 only when accompanied by parent
  or legal guardian
• FSK 16 people 16 or older admitted
• FSK 18 only adults (18 or older) admitted.
  Replaced by Keine Jugendfreigabe.
• Keine Jugendfreigabe "no youth admitted", only
  adults.
• SPIO/JK checked for possible violation against
  applicable law. Not rated by the FSK. It's legal
  to sell such a title to a person which is 18 or
  older.

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Foreign rating System- Canada

• G - General - Suitable for viewing by all ages.
• PG - Parental Guidance
• 14A - Suitable for viewing by persons 14 years of
  age or older. Persons under 14 must be
  accompanied by an adult.
• 18A - Suitable for viewing by persons 18 years of
  age or older. Persons under 18 must be
  accompanied by an adult.
• R - Restricted - Admittance restricted to persons
  18 years of age or older.
• A - Adult - Admittance restricted to persons 18
  years of age or older. Contains predominantly
  sexually explicit activity.

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Foreign Rating System- the UK

• Uc (Universal  Children) Suitable for all.
  Videos classified 'Uc' are particularly suitable
  for pre-school children. (Video only.)
• U (Universal) Suitable for all. (The board state
  that while they cannot predict what might upset a
  particular child, a 'U' film should be suitable
  for audiences aged 4 and over.)
• PG (Parental Guidance) General viewing but some
  scenes may be unsuitable for young children. (It
  is the board's policy that movies rated 'PG'
  should not disturb a child of about 8 years of
  age or older however, parents are advised to
  consider whether the content may upset young or
  more sensitive children.)
• 12A (12 Accompanied/Advisory) Suitable for 12
  years and over. No one younger than 12 may see a
  '12A' film in a cinema unless accompanied by an
  adult. (Exclusively for cinema, '12A' was first
  implemented on The Bourne Identity and not,
  contrary to popular belief, on Spider-Man, which
  was first released months before, under the
  previously fully restrictive 12 certificate, and
  then immediately re-released to take advantage of
  the new guidelines.)
• 12 Suitable for 12 years and over. No one younger
  than 12 may rent or buy a '12' rated video.
  (Until 31 August 2002, this mandatory certificate
  used to apply to cinema exhibitions as well.)
• 15 Suitable only for 15 years and over . No one
  younger than 15 may see a '15' film in a cinema.
  No younger than 15 may rent or buy a '15' rated
  video.
• 18 Suitable only for adults. No one younger than
  18 may see an '18' film in a cinema. No one
  younger than 18 may rent or buy an '18' rated
  video.

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Other Foreign rating systems

• Italy
• T - all admitted (equivalent to the MPAA G or
  BBFC U)
• VM14 - no one under the age of 14 admitted
• VM18 - no one under the age of 18 admitted
• Mainland China No ratings system

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Swedish Film ratings

• Suitable for all ages
• 7 years Suitable for children of at least 7 years
  of age. Younger children are not admitted unless
  accompanied by an adult 18 or older, may include
  drug use.
• 11 years Suitable for children of at least 11
  years of age. Children of at least 7 years of age
  are admitted if accompanied by an adult 18 or
  older, may include mild drug use, mild depiction
  of sexual activity.
• 15 years No one under 15 years of age admitted,
  may include strong drug use, depiction of strong
  sexual activity.