The MPAA film rating system is a US film content rating system introduced by the American Film Association (MPAA). Depending on the rating, the audience for a film may be limited by the exclusion of children and teenagers. The MPAA rating plays an important role in a film’s rental fate.
The system was introduced on November 1, 1968 and with some minor changes is still in use today.
Rating system
At present, the rating system MPAA looks like this:
- Rating G (General audiences)
- Restrictions: The film is shown without restrictions.
- Description: The total audience. Spectators of all ages are allowed. This rating shows that the rated film does not contain anything that most parents would find unacceptable to watch or listen to even the youngest children. Nudity, sexual, and drug use scenes are absent; violence is minimal; dialogue passages may go beyond polite conversation, but do not go beyond normal daily expressions.
- PG rating (Parental guidance suggested)
- Restrictions: Children are advised to watch the film with their parents.
- Description: It is recommended to have parents present. Some material may not be suitable for children. This rating shows that a rated movie may contain some scenes that young children might not like to watch with their parents. The material that may be present in the film should be explained and disassembled with the children before they are allowed to attend the film. There are no obvious sexual and drug use scenes; nudity, if present, is only very limited, horror and violence do not exceed moderate levels.
- PG-13 rating (Parents strongly cautioned)
- Restrictions: Children under 13 years old are allowed to film only with their parents.
- Description: A strong warning to parents. Some material may not be suitable for children under 13 years old. This rating shows that a movie judged may not be appropriate for children. Parents should be especially careful when allowing their young children to watch. There is no gross or prolonged violence; there is no sexual orientation to nudity; some scenes of drug use may be present; and occasional use of gross sexual language may be heard.
- PG-13 rating (Parents strongly cautioned)
- Restrictions: Children under 13 years old are allowed to film only with their parents.
- Description: A strong warning to parents. Some material may not be suitable for children under 13 years old. This rating shows that a movie judged may not be appropriate for children. Parents should be especially careful when allowing their young children to watch. There is no gross or prolonged violence; there is no sexual orientation to nudity; some scenes of drug use may be present; and occasional use of gross sexual language may be heard.
- Rating R (Restricted)
- Restrictions: Adolescents under the age of 17 are allowed to film only if accompanied by a parent or legal representative.
- Description: Under 17 years old a parent or adult guardian is required (age may vary in some regions). This rating shows that the evaluation committee concluded that some material in the evaluated film is intended for adults. Parents should learn more about the film before taking their children to watch it. An R-rating can also be assigned because of the language, topic, violence, sex, or picture of drug use used in the film.
- Rating NC-17 (formerly X).
- Restrictions: Individuals under 17 years of age are not allowed on the film.
- Description: Persons under the age of 17 are not allowed to participate in the film. This rating shows that the Scoreboard believes that most U.S. parents would decide that the film is obviously for adults and that children 17 years of age and under are not allowed to see the film. A movie may contain explicit sexual scenes, multiple sexually-oriented languages, or excessive violence. The NC-17 designation, however, does not indicate that the film is obscene or pornographic.
- For films not rated by the American Association, the NR (Not Rated) symbol is usually used, and for films that were released before the introduction of the rating system, that is, before November 1, 1968, the U (Unrated) symbol is used. These designations, however, are not officially adopted by the American Association.
Applying for a film rating from the American Film Association is voluntary. In this way, film companies can release films for distribution without any of the ratings. However, it should be understood that without an MPAA rating, it will be much harder for producers to find a distributor and negotiate with him on more favorable terms for distribution.
Movies without ratings are often found in cinemas with limited distribution, on television or in streaming video services. In such cases, it is possible to reach the widest audience for showing regardless of the rating.
Early Hollywood days
Interestingly, for the first time, films were censored not because of the actions of film studios, but because of the decisions of various city authorities. Thus, at the beginning of XX century in New York and Chicago, it was the police who decided which films could and could not be shown in wide distribution.
In turn, in 1915, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that films do not belong to the Freedom of Speech Act and therefore must be regulated by the state. As a result, government regulation of film distribution was not limited to a few states, but became a matter of national scope.
In 1922, leading film studios formed the American Film Association in response to the new distribution regulation law. The purpose of this organization was to promote the interests of the film industry. In turn, the company was headed by former postmaster William Hayes. He not only lobbied politicians on behalf of film directors, but also explained to studios the boundaries between “acceptable” and “unacceptable” content in films.
During the 20s directors became bolder. Of course, by today’s standards, a naked foot in a frame or a word hinting at eroticism does not seem unusual. Nevertheless, at that time it was considered scandalous. Films such as The Wild Party 1929 with Clara Bowe and She Hasn’t Been Fair to Him 1933 with the beloved May West openly challenged angry conservatives and leaders of religious movements.
The Hayes Code
In 1930, Hayes introduced his own movie code, which soon became known as the Hayes Code. The basic idea was that films should depict “the right standards of life”. In theory, the code was supposed to help studios avoid the threat of state censorship, but in practice it was not very effective.
Things changed in 1934 when Hayes appointed Joseph I. Brin as head of the new PCA. Thus, each new film had to undergo an application process to be released. For example, the directors of “Casablanca” 1942 had to change the final scene to soften the sexual tension between the characters Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
In the 40s, several directors decided to circumvent state censorship and released films independently of film studios. One of the most prominent of these films was a western “Outlaw” 1941 with the actress Jane Russell. The film showed the main character’s slightly naked breasts, which at that time was considered unacceptable. After five years of fighting with censors, the director Howard Hughes nevertheless convinced United Artists to release the film. As a result, the film became financially successful and showed that in the U.S. there is a significant demand for such films. In 1951, the Hayes Code was tightened by Breen, but it was already too late.
Modern rating system
Hollywood continued to follow the Hayes Code in the early 60s. But when the old studio system collapsed and the cultural preferences of society changed, many realized that it was necessary to come up with a new way to evaluate films. In 1968, the American Film Association created the MPAA rating system.
Originally, the system had four classes: G, M, R and X. However, MPAA did not take the copyright on the name of the rating X. As a result, it played a cruel joke on them. The fact is that after a while, pornographic movies began to get ratings with one, two, or even three X.
Over the years, the system has been revised many times. In 1972, the M rating was changed to PG. Twelve years later, the violence in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Destiny and the Gremlins, both of which received PG ratings, forced the MPCC to create a PG-13 rating. And in 1990, the MPAA released the NC-17, a rating designed for popular movies such as Henry and June and Dream Requiem.