Movie Ratings Meanings for Parents: PG, G, PG-13, R and NC-17 MPAA Ratings Explained

The current MPAA movie ratings system began in 1968 as a replacement for the old US Motion Picture Production Code of 1930. During the turbulent 1960s the Production Code was rendered increasingly ineffective as studios themselves began to bypass the code to release racier films in an attempt to revive their faltering fortunes. Unlike the Production Code, which sought to censor films based on their content, the MPAA ratings system was designed to inform moviegoers of potentially offensive content through different ratings. The difference may sound subtle, but its implications are profound for parents trying to decide what movies are appropriate for their children to watch. The meanings of movie ratings for parents and the differences between a G rating, a PG rating, PG-13, R and NC-17 ratings have a direct impact on the movies you see.

Movie Ratings Meanings for Parents

Remember that MPAA Movie Ratings are not law - they are a voluntary system enforced by theater chains and studios as a means of self-regulation. The motion picture industry has always sought to avoid government restrictions by imposing its own means of regulation.

Also remember that movie ratings meanings evolve over time. The ratings board, a committee of 10 - 13 parents, reflects both current trends and current society - thus, a movie that may have earned an R rating by 1970's contemporary standards may receive a PG rating today as a result of societal changes over time.

G Movie Ratings

The common perception is that a G rating means that a film is a children's movie. It does not. This rating simply means that the motion picture contains nothing in the ratings board's opinion that parents would find offensive for children. G-rated movies may contain mild language (words like stupid, idiot, heck, darn) and violence but no nudity, sex or drug use.

Be aware that what constitutes mild language and drug use varies between individuals - thus, a character drinking a beer may be considered drug use to some, but not to others.

PG Movie Ratings

The PG rating is meant as a warning to parents to check out the film for themselves before allowing their younger children to watch it. PG movies may contain elements that parents may find unsuitable for children in the opinion of the ratings board.

PG films may contain some limited profanity; violence may be depicted a bit more graphically; brief nudity may be present but these elements are not deemed intense enough to warrant a stronger rating.

Bloody violence will usually garner a PG-13 or above rating as will use of the F-word.

PG-13 Movie Ratings

The PG-13 rating was born out of a need to gradate R rated movies. The R rating encompassed a large band of elements parents might find offensive for their children, yet R-rated movies varied greatly in their depictions of potentially offensive material - thus the PG-13 rating was created to better differentiate films that fell in the grey area between PG and R ratings.

According to the MPAA the subject matter of a movie alone will not garner a rating stronger than PG-13; however, the depiction of that subject matter may. Longer instances of nudity and violence are permissible within the PG-13 rating as are uses of sexual expletives (such as the F-word) so long as they are used as expletives and not in a sexual context. More than one instance of this sort of language or using such terms in a sexual context will generally result in an R-rating (or NC-17.)

R Movie Ratings

An R-rated movie is one that the Rating Board determines to contain some adult material but its prevalence is not great enough to classify the film as explicitly adult.

R-rated films may contain adult themes and activities, strong language, sexually-oriented nudity, drug use and extended violence.

NC-17 Movie Ratings

NC-17 rated movies are films the Rating Board deems parents would find too-adult for children under 17. An NC-17 rating doesn't imply pornography, just simply that the film contains content appropriate only for adults.

The Controversy Surrounding Movie Ratings Meanings

The MPAA maintains that movies are rated in their entirety. In other words, films are rated as a whole, rather than the sum if their individual parts. This leads to differing degrees of interpretation among both the Rating Board members and the public.

Some counter that the Rating Board pays too much attention to the number of instances behavior as opposed to the overall meaning of the movie. For example, some critics charge that the Rating Board focuses too much on counting the number of expletives rather than the context in which these words appear.

Also some charge that the standards are different for studio pictures as opposed to independent films. In addition, the Rating Board seems to take the historical context of a film into account as well. Thus a film striving for an historically accurate depiction of violence may get a bit more leeway. For example, the violence in Saving Private Ryan may not be deemed as offensive as the violence in Pulp Fiction.

Parents and Movie Ratings

Ultimately parents can only look at movie ratings as a general guide. So many factors go into movie ratings, that the only sure way parents can monitor the movies their children see is to watch it for themselves.

To read more about the movie ratings process, who determines movie ratings and more, click HERE.