Unlike a lot of adolescent rites of passage — getting a drivers license, gambling and taking that first sweet sip of brew at midnight on your 21st birthday — seeing an R-rated movie in the theater, sans parents, isn’t determined by law.
Though depending on the theater and the vigilance of the ticket sellers, it can sure feel like it, especially if you are 16.
In the United States, the rating of movies is a voluntary system managed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO). Every member of the MPAA, which comprises executives from the six major studios—Disney, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal and Warner Bros.—has agreed to submit their movies for review. And every member of NATO, which includes the vast majority of independent and chain theaters, has agreed to enforce it, albeit with varying results.
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The MPAA says that the ratings system was designed to inform parents about movie content that they may not want their kids to see. But protecting innocent minds wasn’t at the front of Jack Valenti’s mind when he created the ratings system back in 1966. At the time, Valenti, who was president of the MPAA for 38 years, was concerned with warding off “the odious smell of censorship …. and the possible intrusion of government into the movie arena.”
He realized, and rightly so, that if the movie industry policed itself, the government would stay out of the movies.
So who actually rates the movies?
Their only qualification is having children between the ages of 5 and 17; they receive no training in film or psychology. When a film is submitted, eight parents are selected to watch a movie and give their opinions on whether it should receive a G, PG, PG-13, R or NC-17 rating. They also list the factors, such as nudity, language and violence, which informed their decisions. After the ballots are compared, a rating is determined.
The MPAA keeps the parent reviewers anonymous to protect them from the machinations of studio executives and filmmakers. But critics say there is a lack of accountability and transparency in the system, which has drawn criticism from both liberals and conservatives, but especially from the filmmakers whose work is at the mercy of eight anonymous parents.
Furthermore, the ratings standards seem so flexible as to be arbitrary: Experts have pointed out that inspirational family dramas such as Billy Elliot and Erin Brockovich have received the same R rating as gratuitously violent movies, such as Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.
While the MPAA will not release the criteria its parent reviewers use to rate movies, we can infer a few things based on precedent.
What earns a movie an “R” rating?
1. The f-word as a verb
If the word is used only as an expletive and three times or fewer, it will likely be granted a PG-13 rating. But even one use of the f-word as a verb, even as a participle, guarantees an R.
2. Tobacco use
In 2007, the MPAA announced that parent reviewers would factor tobacco use when rating movies. Universal Studios went a step further and banned tobacco products in movies rated G, PG and PG-13.
3. Hard drugs
Regardless of the rest of a movie’s content, any depiction of illegal drugs will earn a film at least a PG-13 rating; but a graphic depiction of hard drug use will typically be slapped with an R. No less than Roger Ebert has called this particular criterion “a wild overreaction.”
4. Nudity
This is a tricky one: Shirtless men are allowed in G-rated films, while topless women usually earn at least a PG-13; but naked men nearly always garner an R-rating (see: Sideways), while fully naked women are routinely seen in PG-13 movies (see: Titanic, rated PG-13). And you can forget about sex. Even non-graphic depictions of love-making will render an otherwise tame movie unacceptable for 16-year-olds (see: Never Let Me Go).
5. Extreme and graphic violence
A movie has to be approaching the sadistic to get an R-rating. Think torture. The Dark Knight and the three Lord of the Rings films are all very violent and rated PG-13. The uber-gory Saving Private Ryan, not to mention Passion of the Christ, “one of the most violent movies ever made” are both rated R, despite the fact that many people well over 17 found the imagery disturbing to say the least.
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26 comments
Stacy
Profanity is really just words. But this rating system says torture pg13. Profanity r. People are offended by the dumbest things.
Keith Pyne-Howarth
What is wrong about a 13 year-old boy becoming aroused? it is perfectly natural and just part of growing up. Your average teenage boy gets "aroused" many times every day. The only thing to be concerned about is your weird fixation on it. Frankly, it is none of your business what his sexual responses are, and you should only be concerned, beyond a good, factual discussion of the birds and the bees, if he ASKS you for your help or shares his concerns about sexuality. Moreover, how many other potentially "arousing" situations are you going to "protect" him from? Do you propose that he live out his teens with his eyes covered and his hands tied behind his back?
I should also note that a good portion of the male teenage population will become "aroused" by seeing shirtless men in G-rated movies, maybe even your son. Just to give you one more thing to be absurdly worried about.
G
No nudity at all should be allowed except for above R. Because, whether you like it or not, 13 year old boys (and up of course) will see non sexual nudity of a woman and be curious AND aroused by it. I will not have my young son watching a fully nude woman in a pg-13 movie! Ridiculous. Society has no standards these days. And you women really want your men looking at these naked women too? His eyes should only be on you Missy, not some naked actress on screen.
Dario Western
I am a nudist and I think nudity of men, women and children alike in a non-sexual context should be given a G rating. It's totally harmless.
People who are turned on by all depictions of nudity, especially in non-sexual contexts are pretty sick minded individuals and they need to get help.
LaserMan676
You see I don't get why a cirtin amount of language is allowed in PG-13 and R rated movies I mean how is one bad word gonna effect a child less than constant language.
Mara
I saw "Rare Exports", a Finnish christmas movie with quite some full frontal male nudity, and it was 16+ rated here in the Netherlands for violence and "scariness" reasons only, but not for sex, cause nudity is not considered sex in my culture. I've been taking my daughter (8) and son (10) with me to the public sauna for years, where nudity is the norm. On tv or on film, it is no different as far as i'm concerned.
David
Examples of non-sexual nudity include: taking a shower, walking around casually, reading a book, watching TV, etc. If people think those things are sexual and erotic (and, thus, only for R rated movies), then I have a bridge to sell you.
David
I said NON-SEXUAL nudity! That is different from the kind of nudity most people think about. Contrary to popular belief, nudity does NOT equal sex. If it did...sigh...there are many naturist/nudist resorts that would be in heaps of trouble since most allow people of ALL AGES (yes, that includes families with children) to attend. If people of all ages can be allowed to visit nudist resorts where they can see nudity of all ages, why can't they be allowed to see nudity in films? That's why I said that non-sexual nudity should be allowed in G rated movies.
Noah
I think there should be nudity in R and PG-13 movies but not a lot in PG-13 movies
David
I'm glad they have full nude in movies it nice
Noah
nudes are the best
nudes are not ok
i ment to say nudes are not ok not nuse
nudes are not ok
nuse are gay and they shouldn't be in movies people who like nuse turn up never having a girlfriend
thanks again make sure to comment back
Noah
full nudity should only be in R rated movies a little nudity is fine in pg-13 movies though
nudes are not ok
that is retarded and stupid that they show nudes and all that stuff they shouldn't allow any of that stuff i think if that was gone the movie theaters would make more money than they do.
michael.c
who ever puts the rating system is messed up in the
relly nudity in G rated movies
THINK AGAIN PEEPS!!!!!!!!!!!
hi
I think thare shood not be any nudes in any movies
Andy
They did this to prevent government censorship but they in fact they created censorship within their own artists and studios. The ratings system is a joke. Check out The Kings Speech which got a R for too many F words used by a king that stuttered. Dumb.
James Beckham
Return of the King and Dark Knight should have been rated R.
David
The one I disagree with is the nudity. Non-sexual nudity of BOTH genders SHOULD be allowed in G-rated movies, as long as it remains non-sexual and doesn't become perverse or sexual in nature. It said that shirtless men can be allowed in G-rated movies while shirtless women are given a PG-13 at least? Why? Like I said, both genders should be allowed to be nude (not just from the waist up...I mean fully nude) in G-rated movies as long as it is non-sexual.
What, do parents not give their kids the "birds and bees" talk and do kids not know what different body parts people have? While I have no kids of my own, if I did, I'd rather they see a non-sexual nude scene than someone getting graphically killed and dismembered. I worry about how other parents raise their kids with the opposite mindset (that they'd rather their kids see violence instead of nudity). And then, we wonder why many kids are so violent these days. Hmmm...put 2 and 2 together, people.
tg
Full nudity in G-rated movies? I'm glad you DON'T have children!!!
tanya
Now that I know its parents rating the movies I see why things rated pg and that are considered family movies these days are totally inappropriate for children . Im not allowing my daughter to watch what passes as a family movie anymore and havent for a long while . But really it is getting old having to watcb a movie first to decide if she can watcb it or not . We need a betted rating system because what passes as family content is still full of sexual content at the least cussing and lord knows what else . Was glad to see this though as it explains it all a bit better . Parents please start being more concerned about what your see .
Gary Lindsay
Something is wrong with the movie ratings when sex or swearing keep teens out, but dismemberment is OK.
Trae Barlow
Our society encourages people go out and watch acts of violence in public (UFC, Boxing) but love-making is only considered appropriate behind closed doors.
--John Lennon
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