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The Ratings System

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X- Adults Only (different than what you think) ... Videos classified 'Uc' are particularly suitable for pre-school children. ( Video only. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: 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.

11
  • 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.

13
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.

14
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.

15
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.

16
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

17
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.
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