G—General Audiences, All
Ages Admitted The rating of G connotes that there is “nothing in
theme, language, nudity and sex, violence, etc. which would, in the view
of the Rating Board, be offensive to parents whose younger children view
the film.”
PG—Parental Guidance
Suggested, Some Material May Not Be Suitable for Children This rating
suggests that parents check into the film before allowing their children
to view it. Material found in the film as well as the theme of the movie
may be inappropriate.
PG13—Parents Strongly
Cautioned, Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children under 13 If
a PG movie should be checked out by parents, then PG-13 should be
carefully considered. As the MPAA puts it, “A PG-13 film is one which, in
the view of the Rating Board, leaps beyond the boundaries of the PG rating
in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, or other contents, but
does not quite fit within the restricted R category.”
R—Restricted, Under 17
Requires Accompanying Parent or Guardian An R-rated film “definitely
contains adult material.” And what does that mean? According to the MPAA,
“An R-rated film may include hard language, or tough violence, or nudity
within sensual scenes, or drug abuse or other elements, or a combination
of some of the above, so that parents are counseled, in advance, to take
this advisory rating very seriously. Parents must find out more about an
R-rated movie before they allow their teenagers to view it.”
NC-17—No One 17 and Under
Admitted While films rated NC-17 are not what might be considered
obscene or pornographic, they are “patently adult” and children 17 and
under should not view it.