The Movie Ratings

The movie ratings system is a voluntary system operated by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO). The ratings are given by a board of parents who comprise the

Classification and Rating Administration (CARA). CARA's Board members view each film and, after a group discussion, vote on its rating.  The ratings are intended to provide parents with  advance information so they can decide for themselves which films are appropriate for viewing by their own children.  The Board uses the same criteria as any parent would in making a judgment i.e. theme, language, violence, nudity, sex and drug use are among content areas considered in the decision-making process.

[G] General Audiences - All Ages Admitted

A "G" rated film contains nothing most parents will consider offensive for even their

youngest children to see and hear. Nudity, sex scenes, and scenes of drug use are absent; violence is minimal; snippets of dialogue may go beyond polite conversation but do not go beyond common everyday expressions.

[PG] Parental Guidance Suggested - Some material may not be suitable

for children.

Signifies that the film rated may contain some material parents might not

like to expose to their young children - material that will clearly need to be

examined or inquired about before children are allowed to attend the film.

Explicit sex scenes and scenes of drug use are absent; nudity if present

is seen only briefly, horror and and violence do not exceed moderate levels.

[PG13] Parents Strong Cautioned - Some material may be inappropriate

for children under 13.

Parents should be especially careful about letting their younger children attend.

Rough or persistent violence is absent; sexually-oriented nudity is generally

absent; some scenes of drug use may be seen; some use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words may be heard.

[R] - Restricted - Under 17 required accompanying legal age (21+) adult.

Signifies that the rating board has concluded that the film rated contains adult

material. This would consist of very strong language, pervasive strong violence,

sexual content, graphic nudity, and the portrayal of illegal drug use. “Generally, it is

not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated

motion pictures.”

[NC17] - No One 17 & Under Admitted

A film rated "NC17" contains material which American parents would feel is patently

adult in nature. This could include explicit sexual scenes, an accumulation of

sexually-oriented language, and/or scenes of excessive violence.

-Excerpts taken from "Everything you always wanted to known about the movie

rating system" published by CARA and NATO

There is a new web site designed to help parents make informed entertainment

choices for their families is now available, sponsored by the Coalition of

Entertainment Retail Trade Associations (CERTA).  The web site (http://www.erlam.org)

provides information in multimedia formats about: the motion picture rating

system; the computer and video game rating system; the music labeling system;

and the entertainment ratings and labeling policies of motion picture

theatres, video stores, computer and video game retailers, and music

retailers. 

For additional information of movie ratings visit www.filmratings.com