TV Parental Guidelines system
The TV Parental Guidelines system is a framework designed to help parents navigate the suitability of television content for their children. Established in response to the increasing presence of adult-oriented programming in the 1970s and 1980s, the system assigns specific ratings to shows based on their content, ranging from TV-Y for all ages to TV-MA for mature audiences only. This categorization incorporates descriptors for dialogue, sexual content, language, and violence, providing a clearer understanding of what viewers can expect from a program.
The system emerged from collaboration between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the broadcast industry, aiming to reduce controversy surrounding inappropriate content and potential legislative action. By offering parents guidance, the TV Parental Guidelines system acknowledges the diverse viewing needs of audiences across different age groups, fostering informed choices regarding television consumption. Overall, it reflects a recognition of the evolving landscape of television and its impact on family viewing habits, while striving to respect varying cultural and personal values regarding media consumption.
TV Parental Guidelines system
Identification Ratings designed to help parents decide which television shows are appropriate for their children
Date Established in 1996
Established by the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Cable Television Association, and the Motion Picture Association of America, this ratings system provided a way for parents to supervise their children’s television viewing and demonstrated change in television programming from a single-audience medium to a multiple-audience mode of entertainment and information.
The traditional view of television since its inception had been that it was like a guest in the home, and should, therefore, offend no one. As more adult-oriented programming began to appear in the 1970’s and 1980’s, such fare was typically prefaced by a warning, “This program contains mature subject matter. Parental discretion is advised.” By the 1990’s, more shows on basic cable and even network television appealed to an adult audience, or allowed content many people considered unsuitable for children: sex on soap operas, language on nighttime dramas, or violence on crime dramas and series such as The X-Files and Twin Peaks. To forestall controversy and the threat of legislative action, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) persuaded the broadcast industry to develop a ratings system similar to the one for motion pictures.
The rating system is as follows: TV-Y, suitable for all ages, with content especially designed for children ages two to six; TV-Y7, for children age seven and older; TV-Y7-FV, directed to older children, contains fantasy violence; TV-G, for general audiences, all ages; TV-PG, parental guidance suggested because of mature themes, some violence, sexual situations, rough language, or suggestive dialogue; TV-14, parents strongly cautioned—may be unsuitable for those under fourteen years of age because of strong violence, mature sexual situations, strong language, and/or extremely suggestive dialogue (corresponds roughly to a PG-13 film); and TV-MA, mature audience only—may be inappropriate for those under seventeen because of graphic violence, explicit sex, or very strong language (equivalent to a theatrical R). The descriptors D (dialogue), S (sex), L (language), and V (violence) accompany the ratings.
The new ratings system opened the airwaves for shows like NYPD Blue, which broke many former taboos with partial nudity and previously forbidden profanity. A slightly edited version of the realistic Holocaust film Schindler’s List (1993) was broadcast with a TV-MA rating. However, it is important to realize that while the ratings system both acknowledged and helped to further change in television, restrictions remained in place.
Impact
The TV Parental Guidelines system gave parents ratings they could use to decide which television shows their children should view; moreover, it acknowledged that television was meant for different audiences of varying ages, tastes, and degrees of maturity and sophistication.
Bibliography
Kaplan, Peter. “Parents Using Ratings to Watch Suitable TV, Research Group Says.” The Washington Times, May 28, 1998, p. B9.
“TV Ratings Accepted by Parents, If Not Quite Understood, Study Says.” Warren’s Cable Regulation Monitor, June 1, 1998.