Understanding a Movies' MPAA Ratings and How the General Movie Audience Follows Them

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rates the "thematic and content suitability of movies for all audiences" through their trademarked ratings "G," "PG," "PG-13," "R," and "NC-17." Because these are trademarked, they can't be used outside of the domain of motion pictures. This film-rating system is used in the United States and its territories. Many other countries also have their own ratings boards.

The MPAA only facilitates the ratings of movies. Other forms of media such as video games and TV programs may be rated by other entities accordingly. Although a film's MPAA rating is widely acknowledged in cinema operations and releases, it actually carries no force of local, state, or federal law. Yet, theater owners voluntarily agree to enforce MPAA's film ratings to facilitate their access to film releases.

Defining the Ratings Movies Can Get

According to the MPAA website, the exact definitions of the ratings are as follows: "Rated G" refers to "general audiences" (all ages may be admitted); "Rated PG" refers to "parental guidance suggested" (some materials may not be suitable for children); "Rated PG-13" refers to "parents strongly cautioned" (some materials may be inappropriate for children under 13 years old); "Rated R" refers to "restricted" (viewers under 17 years old must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian); and "Rated NC-17" (no children under 17 can be admitted).

The main difference between the ratings "G" and "PG" is that the latter can contain minimal violence, offending theme and language, and nudity and sex in the movie, which may not be suitable for the children audience.

The main difference between the ratings "PG" and "PG-13" is the degree of profanity, violence, and sexual content seen in the movie, which may not be suitable for kids. While this tends to be more subjective in certain rating decisions, on a more objective route, if a movie already contains any scene with drug use, it will automatically become "PG-13," even if the rest of its theme and content may considerably pass a "PG" rating.

Ratings Criteria

Although the MPAA's ratings criteria don't render complete objectivity because of filmmaking's artistic and social nature, there are specific aspects clearly considered when deciding how a movie should be rated. The ratings primarily reflect the society's ever-changing norms, beliefs, and convictions. And so, the culture of the time and the complexity of modern society greatly affect a movie's rating. For instance, a "Rated PG" movie of today may possibly be a "Rated PG-13" movie if released and rated some decades ago. Even the trademark ratings themselves may change sooner or later.

Movies for Children, Tweens, and Teens

"Rated G" movies are typically family-oriented and children's live-action and animation movies. There are actually those that aren't necessarily targeting the children audience, but their themes and language don't entail any moral issue or violent, sexual, or drug content -- making them children-friendly motion picture offers.

Most children's movies these days tend to be either under the "Rated G" or "Rated PG" categories. Those meant for tweens and teens are usually "Rated PG-13" or "Rated R." Essentially, younger audience can watch these movies in theaters, as long as each one or a particular group is accompanied by an adult -- as how each rating requires it. And so, deciding on whether to allow them to watch movies that have cautionary notes based on their MPAA ratings mainly depends on their parents and guardians. But in reality, these younger viewers can be accompanied by just about any other adult and not necessarily their parents or guardians when watching movies with "PG-13" and "R" ratings in theaters.