A Brief History of Movie Ratings
Early Beginnings
In the early 1900s, as motion pictures became popular, people in many cities began to raise their concerns about the content of movies. In 1907, Chicago was the first city to create a board to regulate films. By 1929, as many as 100 cities and towns had passed censorship laws.
The entertainment industry reacted, preferring self-regulation to government interference. As a result, in 1922, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association (MPPDA) was founded, led by Will Hays. At first, the MPPDA created a list of "do's and don'ts " that members agreed to follow, thus holding off from having any form of censorship from cities and towns.
However, the invention of "talking movies" created further situations in which some type of regulation was being demanded. On March 31, 1930, the MPPDA agreed to new production guidelines known to this day as the "Hays Production Code." The code laid out in specific detail what was and what was not considered appropriate content. Some of the overriding principles included:
* No picture shall be produced that lowers the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
* Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
* Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
Changes in the Standards in the 1960s
The Hays Production Code remained in place until the mid-1960's. By then, social values had dramatically changed and the code was considered out of step with the times. In the summer of 1966, amidst a more open and frank mentality permeating society, three incidents occurred that added pressure to change the old system of stringent movie-making guidelines.
* Within weeks of becoming President of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Jack Valenti had to decide what to do about the release of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" This film would have been the first time that blatant sexual language such as the word "screw" and the phrase "hump the hostess" would be used onscreen. The MPAA required that the word "screw" be deleted, but decided the film could use the "hump the hostess" phrase.
* A few months later, the MGM studio was preparing to release the Michelangelo Antonioni film "Blow-Up." This was the first time a major distributor attempted to market a film containing actual nudity. However, the Production Code Administration in California denied giving the film their standard Hays Production Code seal of approval. To go around this, MGM decided to distribute the film through a subsidiary company, effectively disregarding the voluntary agreement that MPAA member companies would not distribute films without the seal of approval. The MPAA realized that it now had to determine how to deal with a serious breakdown in their self-regulation policy.
* Meanwhile, in April 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutional power of states and cities to prevent the exposure of children to books and films deemed inappropriate according to their own local standards. This put further pressure on the MPAA to determine how to market movies in a way that the public would accept. These three events caused the existing system of ratings to be no longer viable. Jack Valenti said, "I knew that the mix of new social currents, the irresistible force of creators determined to make 'their' films and the possible intrusion of government into the movie arena demanded my immediate action."
Shortly after this time, under the direction of Jack Valenti and the MPAA, a new ratings system was developed with the agreement of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) and the governing committee of the International Film Importers & Distributors of America (IFIDA) representing independent producers and distributors. On November 1, 1968, the MPAA announced a new voluntary system in which movies would be rated according to one of four categories:
* G - General Audiences
* M - Mature Audiences
* R - Restricted Audiences
* X - No one under 17 admitted
This rating system was intended to allow the movie industry the flexibility to create whatever content they wished, while placing the responsibility on parents to decide which movies their children should see. There would be no content regulation or stamp of approval on films, but rather a system that provided parents with information in advance about the appropriateness of each movie for any audience, including children.
Further Updates to the Ratings in the 1980s and 1990s
Since 1968, the system has gone through a number of revisions to the ratings, including:
* Replacing the M rating with PG and PG-13
* Replacing the X rating with NC-17
* Adding "brief" descriptions of why a movie received its rating
As a result, the system we have today now contains 5 ratings:
* G - GENERAL AUDIENCES - ALL AGES ADMITTED
* PG - PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED - SOME MATERIAL MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
* PG -13 -- PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED - SOME MATERIAL MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13
* R - RESTRICTED - UNDER 17 REQUIRES ACCOMPANYING PARENT OR ADULT GUARDIAN
* NC-17 - NO ONE UNDER 17 ADMITTED
Early Beginnings
In the early 1900s, as motion pictures became popular, people in many cities began to raise their concerns about the content of movies. In 1907, Chicago was the first city to create a board to regulate films. By 1929, as many as 100 cities and towns had passed censorship laws.
The entertainment industry reacted, preferring self-regulation to government interference. As a result, in 1922, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association (MPPDA) was founded, led by Will Hays. At first, the MPPDA created a list of "do's and don'ts " that members agreed to follow, thus holding off from having any form of censorship from cities and towns.
However, the invention of "talking movies" created further situations in which some type of regulation was being demanded. On March 31, 1930, the MPPDA agreed to new production guidelines known to this day as the "Hays Production Code." The code laid out in specific detail what was and what was not considered appropriate content. Some of the overriding principles included:
* No picture shall be produced that lowers the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
* Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
* Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
Changes in the Standards in the 1960s
The Hays Production Code remained in place until the mid-1960's. By then, social values had dramatically changed and the code was considered out of step with the times. In the summer of 1966, amidst a more open and frank mentality permeating society, three incidents occurred that added pressure to change the old system of stringent movie-making guidelines.
* Within weeks of becoming President of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Jack Valenti had to decide what to do about the release of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" This film would have been the first time that blatant sexual language such as the word "screw" and the phrase "hump the hostess" would be used onscreen. The MPAA required that the word "screw" be deleted, but decided the film could use the "hump the hostess" phrase.
* A few months later, the MGM studio was preparing to release the Michelangelo Antonioni film "Blow-Up." This was the first time a major distributor attempted to market a film containing actual nudity. However, the Production Code Administration in California denied giving the film their standard Hays Production Code seal of approval. To go around this, MGM decided to distribute the film through a subsidiary company, effectively disregarding the voluntary agreement that MPAA member companies would not distribute films without the seal of approval. The MPAA realized that it now had to determine how to deal with a serious breakdown in their self-regulation policy.
* Meanwhile, in April 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutional power of states and cities to prevent the exposure of children to books and films deemed inappropriate according to their own local standards. This put further pressure on the MPAA to determine how to market movies in a way that the public would accept. These three events caused the existing system of ratings to be no longer viable. Jack Valenti said, "I knew that the mix of new social currents, the irresistible force of creators determined to make 'their' films and the possible intrusion of government into the movie arena demanded my immediate action."
Shortly after this time, under the direction of Jack Valenti and the MPAA, a new ratings system was developed with the agreement of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) and the governing committee of the International Film Importers & Distributors of America (IFIDA) representing independent producers and distributors. On November 1, 1968, the MPAA announced a new voluntary system in which movies would be rated according to one of four categories:
* G - General Audiences
* M - Mature Audiences
* R - Restricted Audiences
* X - No one under 17 admitted
This rating system was intended to allow the movie industry the flexibility to create whatever content they wished, while placing the responsibility on parents to decide which movies their children should see. There would be no content regulation or stamp of approval on films, but rather a system that provided parents with information in advance about the appropriateness of each movie for any audience, including children.
Further Updates to the Ratings in the 1980s and 1990s
Since 1968, the system has gone through a number of revisions to the ratings, including:
* Replacing the M rating with PG and PG-13
* Replacing the X rating with NC-17
* Adding "brief" descriptions of why a movie received its rating
As a result, the system we have today now contains 5 ratings:
* G - GENERAL AUDIENCES - ALL AGES ADMITTED
* PG - PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED - SOME MATERIAL MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
* PG -13 -- PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED - SOME MATERIAL MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13
* R - RESTRICTED - UNDER 17 REQUIRES ACCOMPANYING PARENT OR ADULT GUARDIAN
* NC-17 - NO ONE UNDER 17 ADMITTED
