Sex, drugs, violence, and strong language
are almost a given in the motion picture industry of our time. When the movie
industry was originally established, the movies generally promoted strong
family unity and good morals, but that changed quickly. Today’s movie industry
is full of immorality. The set of rules that categorize movies into different
ratings have mutated into something shameful. They are lax and allow almost
anything into movies that children are able to access. The scary part is that
many people don’t even notice it happening.
Back before the current rating system was in place, even before
the Motion Picture Association of America (“MPAA”; the rating board of movies)
was created, movies weren’t rated at all. Movies were subject to multiple, very
strict censorship boards. Movie producers had to pass the varying standards of
every one of the boards if they wanted their films to be shown in theaters. The
restrictions enforced by the boards were extremely difficult to get past, and
in response to this, the MPAA was formed. The MPAA’s job was to judge whether a
movie was moral or immoral. If the board decided it was immoral in any way, it
was disapproved and not allowed to be viewed in theaters. Suggestive dancing,
excessive swearing, and passionate kissing were just a few of the disqualifying
factors. This rating system was called the “Hays Code”, after the original
chairman of the MPAA, and many producers and theaters complained that is was
nothing more than censorship.
Jack Valenti, a subsequent chairman of the MPAA, hated the Hays
Code. He went to the National Association of Theater Owners, other
shareholders, and the US government, and together they introduced the rating
system still in use today. Movies are now rated by a board of parents who rate
movies based on how much warning they believe a parent needs to know about a
movie’s contents. These groundbreaking changes in the rating system over the
past century show how much the content and regulation of the movie industry has
changed. The restrictions have gone from extremely strict to extremely
accepting.
Even in the currently used system, the ratings have changed. When
it was first implemented, there were four categories: G, M, R, and X. G meant
“Acceptable to ‘general’ audiences, including children.” M was for “mature”
audiences. R meant “restricted” and kids under 17 were required to be
accompanied by an adult. The X rating meant that kids under the age of 17 were
not allowed. Because of confusion among many parents, the rating “GP” (later
PG) was created, meaning parental guidance was suggested. Boundary-pushing
movies, like “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” caused the rating “PG-13”
to be created, which encompassed movies too violent or thematic for PG. Fairly
quickly, the “X” rating became associated with pornography, causing movies,
newspapers, and magazines to refuse to advertise for any X-rated movie. This
killed any movie rated “X”. To fix this problem, the MPAA dropped “X” and
“NC-17” was introduced, which, consequently, also became associated with
pornography.
Over time, the restrictions for each rating have become more
lenient as well. Yes, some movies, originally rated PG or PG-13, have been
re-rated to R, but this doesn’t mean movie ratings have become stricter. It
just means that the movies have been re-rated to fit the changes in the
movie-rating system, which is, in my opinion, still too lenient. Also, any
small changes in the ratings causing greater strictness have been overshadowed
by blatant allowances elsewhere. One of the biggest allowances in rating restrictions
has been the acceptance of nudity in movies.
Looking at the PG rating, the MPAA rules state that, “there may be some profanity and some depictions of violence or brief nudity.” Even though the MPAA doesn’t state that PG means “for children,” that is what PG has come to mean for the general populace. If they are showing “brief nudity” in movies which parents believe are geared towards children, something has definitely changed in how the MPAA is rating movies.
According to the MPAA, PG-13 movies “may go beyond the PG rating
in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities or other
elements, but do not reach the restricted R category.” The meaning of the PG 13
rating is “Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for
children under 13.” Before the MPAA was formed, and during the Hay’s Code,
nudity wouldn’t have been allowed in anything under an R rating. Yet, now the
MPAA is allowing nudity to be rated PG and PG-13.
Originally, the MPAA created a specific guideline for controlling
the amount of nudity shown in PG-13 movies. The description of the PG-13 rating
states, “More than brief nudity will require at least a PG-13 rating, but such
nudity in a PG-13 rated motion picture generally will not be sexually oriented.”
Now, compared with no rule, this rule is pretty safe. However, it doesn’t
help that they haven’t followed that rule. In the new release, “Limitless,”
there is a graphic sex scene that shows a woman’s chest, completely bare. That is sexually-oriented nudity! The movie
“Titanic” does the same thing, except not during a sex scene. Though it isn’t
sexually oriented, it is still only rated PG-13. Another, “21,” is almost
always situated in a strip club. The singular purpose of a strip club is sexual
in orientation.
Nudity is getting more and more prevalent in movies. During the
year 2000, out of a total of 147 movies rated PG-13, 8 movies had a rating that
included nudity (about 5.4%). During the year 2010, out of a total of 177
movies rated PG-13, 19 movies had a rating that included nudity (about 10.7%).
Just in the past 10 years, the number of movies with nudity has gone up more
than 5%, from one out of twenty, to one out of ten. The MPAA is allowing more
movies with nudity to be rated PG-13 now, than they were back in 2000.
MPAA Ratings Chief Joan Graves states, “The ratings system exists
for one purpose: to inform parents about the content of films.” Now, the MPAA
generally does a good job of telling people what is in a movie, but when it
comes to rating and categorizing the films, the MPAA is not doing its job well
enough. The MPAA’s ratings are supposed to be a quick way of knowing the
general content of a movie. However, with these changes in rating policy, the
MPAA is falling short of its mark. The MPAA rating system is becoming less and
less adequate, and people need to know and understand this. With the way the
motion picture industry is headed, people will need more than just the MPAA
system to be informed on movie content.
