PG-13 rating
The PG-13 rating is a film classification introduced by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in 1984 to address concerns about content suitability for pre-teen viewers. It was created after parents and critics expressed dissatisfaction with the existing PG rating, which was perceived as too broad and inconsistently applied, allowing some films with intense violence or adult themes to be deemed appropriate for younger audiences. The PG-13 rating comes with a cautionary note, indicating that some material may not be suitable for children under 13, thereby giving parents more guidance in making viewing choices.
The establishment of this rating reflected both a shift in societal attitudes towards film content and a response to market demands, as filmmakers sought to attract teenage audiences without excluding parental approval. Notably, the PG-13 rating allowed studios to incorporate stronger language and themes, resulting in a wave of teen films that resonated more authentically with the experiences of young viewers in the 1980s. The first films to embrace this rating include *Dreamscape* and *Red Dawn*, marking the beginning of a new era in film classification that sought to balance artistic expression with parental concerns.
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PG-13 rating
Film rating
Date Introduced on July 1, 1984
The first adjustment since 1972 to the MPAA film rating system, the PG-13 rating filled the void that had developed between the ratings PG and R. This gap reflected shifting public standards regarding acceptable levels of violence and adult language in movies aimed at children in their mid-teens.
In 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) adopted a rating system for commercially released films. The purpose of the system was to stave off government censorship by instead adopting a means for the film industry to regulate itself. By 1984, there were four possible ratings: G (general audiences), PG (parental guidance suggested), R (restricted), and X (persons under seventeen not admitted). Films receiving an R rating under this system could not expect to generate significant revenue from the teen market, because children under seventeen years of age were allowed to see such films only in the presence of a parent or adult guardian. Thus, directors of films that were geared toward teens were often contractually obligated to ensure that those films received PG ratings, reediting R-rated films as necessary to gain the lower rating.
Several incidents revealed that the PG rating covered too wide an age range of viewers and was being inconsistently applied. In 1975, the MPAA ratings board wanted to give Jaws (1975) an R rating for strong violence, but Universal Pictures, fearing the consequent loss of revenue from teenage viewers, slightly edited the film then successfully lobbied to receive a PG rating with the warning “May be too intense for younger viewers.” Such movies as Poltergeist (1982) and Disney’s Dragonslayer (1981) received PG ratings, despite containing what many considered to be R levels of violence.
The same ambiguities existed concerning adult language. The Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Ordinary People (1980), received an R rating solely because a character uttered a strong expletive once during the film. Some critics protested that it should have been rated PG. Another Best Picture winner, Terms of Endearment (1983), received a PG despite its characters’ use of adult language in several scenes. In each case, the MPAA received angry letters from parents protesting the assigned ratings.
Matters reached a head in 1984, when the violence in two Steven Spielberg films sparked national outcries. Both Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and the Spielberg-produced Gremlins contained graphic sequences of hearts being ripped from victims’ chests and animals exploding. Faced with protests from both parents and the press, MPAA president Jack Valenti announced on July 1 the creation of a new PG-13 rating, with the explanatory language “Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.” The first film to receive the new rating was the science-fiction thriller Dreamscape (1984). The first film actually released bearing a PG-13 rating was the Cold War action film Red Dawn (1984).
Impact
The creation of the new rating reflected audiences’ growing tolerance of strong language while highlighting parents’ desire to prevent exposing pre-teen minors to strong violence. It also reflected the perception in Hollywood that teenagers would shun films that they perceived as being innocuous because they contained insufficient sexual or violent content. The rating thus allowed the studios to cater to teenagers’ tastes without alienating their parents. During the 1980’s in particular, the new rating allowed films to incorporate adult language without being rated R. As a result, a whole subgenre of teen films including Sixteen Candles (1984) and The Breakfast Club (1985) appeared that more accurately portrayed the language and lifestyles of 1980’s teenagers.
Bibliography
Keough, Peter, ed. Flesh and Blood: The National Society of Film Critics on Sex, Violence, and Censorship. San Francisco: Mercury House, 1995.
Vaughan, Stephen. Freedom and Entertainment: Rating the Movies in an Age of New Media. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2005.