Movie ratings - a timeline - Never Forgotten: a Foster's Home Community

Ccook50 · 10-01-2007, 07:13 AM

It's been almost 40 years since the Motion Picture Association Of America instated the movie rating system in regards to the films' content, which was brought about when attention was drawn to some rather off-color dialogue in the 1966 movie Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? Another film, MGM's Blow-Up in 1967 raised eyebrows even further.

The late Jack valenti, who helmed the MPAA, met with some industry organizations to set some standards to movies so parents will know which ones they could safely send their children to. There were four ratings as introduced in November of 1968:

G - General Audiences; all ages admitted.
M - Mature audiences.
R - Restricted; no one under 16 (later 17) admitted without parent or adult guardian.
X - Adults only; no one under 17 admitted.

"G" was not an indication that a film was strictly for kids; Paramount's 1971 film A New Leaf received a rating of "G" in spite of the fact that the words "hell" and "damn" were used several times, "S.O.B." was uttered twice, and one scene had a woman about to remove her bikini top.

In the space of two years, a change was affected. "M" was too grey an area to determine if a film had adult content or off-color language, so it became "GP" in 1970. This stood for "General Audiences; Parental Guidance Suggested." However, many patrons who couldn't read fine print too well thought it stood for "General Public", so in 1972, "GP" was changed to "PG" for "Parental Guidance."

In 1984, Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom was about to be released with a "PG" rating when some parents were outraged by some graphic scenes. This prompted the introduction of "PG-13," meaning "Parental Guidance; children under 13 strongly advised." In 1990, elements of a movie's content (sex, language,nudity) were added to PG, PG-13 and R movie ratings blocks in print ads, and an adjustment was made to an existing rating. "X" had pretty much outlived its usefulness as it entailed mainly porno house fare, so for the more artsy adult films, "NC-17" was introduced. The first film to be branded NC-17 was Henry & June.

It's a flawed system to be sure. But for better or worse, the ratings system has become a mainstay of cinema.

10-01-2007, 07:13 AM	#1
Ccook50 Foster's Legend Don't forget to turn left at Greenland Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cumming GA Posts: 510	Movie ratings - a timeline It's been almost 40 years since the Motion Picture Association Of America instated the movie rating system in regards to the films' content, which was brought about when attention was drawn to some rather off-color dialogue in the 1966 movie Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? Another film, MGM's Blow-Up in 1967 raised eyebrows even further. The late Jack valenti, who helmed the MPAA, met with some industry organizations to set some standards to movies so parents will know which ones they could safely send their children to. There were four ratings as introduced in November of 1968: G - General Audiences; all ages admitted. M - Mature audiences. R - Restricted; no one under 16 (later 17) admitted without parent or adult guardian. X - Adults only; no one under 17 admitted. "G" was not an indication that a film was strictly for kids; Paramount's 1971 film A New Leaf received a rating of "G" in spite of the fact that the words "hell" and "damn" were used several times, "S.O.B." was uttered twice, and one scene had a woman about to remove her bikini top. In the space of two years, a change was affected. "M" was too grey an area to determine if a film had adult content or off-color language, so it became "GP" in 1970. This stood for "General Audiences; Parental Guidance Suggested." However, many patrons who couldn't read fine print too well thought it stood for "General Public", so in 1972, "GP" was changed to "PG" for "Parental Guidance." In 1984, Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom was about to be released with a "PG" rating when some parents were outraged by some graphic scenes. This prompted the introduction of "PG-13," meaning "Parental Guidance; children under 13 strongly advised." In 1990, elements of a movie's content (sex, language,nudity) were added to PG, PG-13 and R movie ratings blocks in print ads, and an adjustment was made to an existing rating. "X" had pretty much outlived its usefulness as it entailed mainly porno house fare, so for the more artsy adult films, "NC-17" was introduced. The first film to be branded NC-17 was Henry & June. It's a flawed system to be sure. But for better or worse, the ratings system has become a mainstay of cinema. __________________ "God forgot to make stupidity painful." --Ivan Stang (Church of the SubGenius) Last edited by Ccook50; 10-01-2007 at 07:13 AM.