Sex+in+Film+Ratings

Katie Clausing ** Sex in Film Ratings  ** ** The MPAA & CARA ** In today’s society, sex has become much more prevalent in film. Because of this, providing an accurate and appropriate rating to each film has become more crucial than ever. Today, that power lies in the hands of the Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA), a group created by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) (“Rating Rules,” 2011). After examining the content of a film, sexual and otherwise, they will provide a rating of G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17. These ratings differ in the amount and type of sexual content that is permitted, if any at all. When the MPAA was first created, the process was much different. It required its members, the major motion picture studios, to submit movies for approval prior to distribution. Back then, the Hays Code was used to assess films (“Safeguarding,” 2011). It imposed a detailed and extensive list of rules on filmmakers. Films like // Ecstasy //, the first non-pornographic film to depict the act of sex, are said to be partially responsible for the implementation of the Hays Code (Dirks, 2009). Under the Hays Code, films were simply approved or disapproved based on whether they were deemed "moral" or "immoral" (“Safeguarding,” 2011). Obviously, this upset many filmmakers, who argued that the Hays Code restricted artistic freedom. The MPAA later changed it to the current ratings system. ** Ratings and Sexual Content ** CARA has released its own, updated explanations of what amount of sexual content constitutes each respective rating. If a film is rated G, it is intended for general audiences and anyone is permitted. This means that the film contains no theme, nudity or sex. A film that receives a rating of PG—parental guidance suggested—contains some material that may not be suitable for children. In terms of sexual content, this means that there may be brief nudity and more mature themes. CARA also suggests that parents should investigate these films before they allow younger children to see them. A PG-13 rating means that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents are “s trongly cautioned” about these films and their appropriateness for younger children. In these films, there may be more than brief nudity, but such nudity will generally not be sexually oriented. CARA’s description of PG-13 movies also discusses sexually derived words, and the presence of one of these terms automatically derives a PG-13 rating. However, if more than one is used, the film will receive an R-rating. An R-rating means that the film is restricted—children under 17 require an accompanying parent or adult guardian. These films contain sexually oriented nudity as well as the previously mentioned sexually derived words. While children are permitted with their parents, CARA still recommends that young children should not be seeing R-rated films. The last—and newest—rating is NC-17. This rating means that absolutely no one under the age of 17 is permitted. The description of this rating is more general, deemed as a film containing material that is inappropriate for anyone other than an adult audience. This could be because of sexual content, violence, or adult themes. (“Rating Rules,” 2011) ** Guidelines **  The MPAA is careful to base its ratings "only by what is seen on the screen, not by what is imagined or thought" (Valenti, 2000). Hence, regarding the assignment of a rating, sexual content refers primarily to scenes in a film that portray acts of sexual intercourse or foreplay. Sexual content could also include characters' discussions of sexual intercourse (Leone, 2004). This is important because it addresses the issue of symbolic sex appeal. While it primarily relates to advertising, it could also be applied to films. It is the idea that sex can be portrayed and communicated without actually doing something that is blatantly sexual. This type of sexual content can be harmful to children, yet it is not considered when assigning a rating because what is “imagined or thought” from a film is not considered (Valenti, 2000). Because more than three-quarters (76.9%) of rating descriptions mention sexuality or its correlatives, it is important to differentiate between the different levels and types of sexual content (Leone, 2004). According to one study, of the rating descriptions that include a mention of sexuality, just over half //(57.5%)// are modified with words like "explicit" or "perverse" ( Leone, 2004 ). ** “Ratings Creep” ** CARA was established in 1968 and at this time started implementing this ratings system (“Safeguarding,” 2011). While the actual ratings have stayed the same, many critics argue that the content of films receiving the same rating over time has changed. Leone and Houle (2006) discuss the idea of a “ratings creep”. ‘‘Ratings creep’’ is the term used to describe the escalation of adult content over time in movies with the same rating (Leone & Houle, 2006). In their study, Thompson and Yokota (2004) analyzed movie content and from 1992 to 2003, and found significant increases in sex in PG-, PG-13-, and R-rated films. Similarly, they found that rating reasons of "sexuality" and "nudity" generally lead to higher age-based ratings (R or PG-13) than "sensuality," "sex," and "innuendo" (Thompson & Yokota, 2004). This finding illustrates the importance of word use when categorizing the sexual content of a movie. This point is also helpful for parents who need to understand that the different sexual terminology used in a rating’s description indicates various levels of sexual content. In Leone and Houle’s (2006) analysis of PG-13 films over time, they found that there was an increasing presence of sexual content. This emphasizes the role that parents must play in determining the films that their children see. If they permit their children to see films based on the individual rating alone, they may be exposing them to a lot of sexual content. However, if the parents read the rating’s description for the film and understand the terminology, they will be better prepared to decide if their child can see it. ** Sexually Violent Content ** One study did a comparison of the sexually violent material in X-rated and R-rated movies. Shockingly, they found that on a percentage basis, R-rated movies contain more sexual violence against women than X-rated films (Ni & Linz, 1990). After analyzing the content more closely, they found that overall there are few differences between X-rated and R-rated materials. From this, they concluded that the widespread availability of R-rated movies means that young viewers may be more likely than ever to encounter sexual violence on the television screen at home (Ni & Linz, 1990). This is a major flaw of the ratings system because sexual violence against women is a huge problem in society today. By making this behavior more available in films, the MPAA is sending a message that it is acceptable and even entertaining. ** Backlash and Criticism ** There are many people who don’t agree with the current ratings system used by CARA, like those previously mentioned who believe that it allows too much violence to be shown. Another critical group is Kids-in-Mind. By their ow  n words, “the purpose of kids-in-mind.com is to provide parents and other adults with objective and complete information about a film's content so that they can decide, based on their own value system, whether they should watch a movie with or without their kids” (“Kids-in-Mind,” 2011). In order to do this, they do not provide ratings base d on age—instead they give each film a numerical rating in each of three categories. One of those three is Sex and Nudity. With one being the lowest and ten being the highest, parents can then use these scores to select movies with an appropriate level of sexual content for their children (“Kids-in-Mind,” 2011). Interestingly, there are many movie critics and filmmakers who are against the current system as well. In an article from CNN, Sylvester (1999) discusses the “kissof death” for a film—an NC-17 rating. Unlike the divisions between other MPAA ratings (G and PG, PG and PG-13, and G-13 and R), the one between R and NC-17 is severe and far-reaching. Not only does NC-17 prohibit anyone under the age of 17 from seeing the film, the rating restricts where the film can be shown, advertised, and, in some cases, whether a video store will purchase copies of it for rental (Leone, 2004). One recent example of this is Stanley Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut. The film’s orgy scene was digitally obscured in order to avoid an NC17 rating (Sylvester, 1999). While most films suffer from a harsh rating, there have been films that have overcome it. Previous to the NC-17 rating, there was a rating of X. This rating was usually associated with pornographic films, and thus prompting the change to NC-17. However, there were several X rated films that went on to be nominated for or win Academy Awards. In 1969, // Midnight Cowboy // won Best Picture and in 1971 // A Clockwork Orange // was nominated, despite its two very graphic rape scenes (Dirks, 2009). ** References  ** Dirks, T. (2009). // Movie history: Sex in movies that challenged the ratings. //Retrieved from http://www.filmcritic.com/features/2009/04/sex-in-the-movies-the-list/ Image (1933). Ecstasy. Retrieved from http://www.eutorrents.com/movies/2010/ecstasy-1933.html Image (2008). Ratings explanations. Retrieved from http://www.horrormoviefans.com/newsblog/2008/07/12/exorcising-the-pg-13-ghost-from-horror/ Image (2004). Top NC-17 films. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/05/news/fortune500/nc17/ // Kids-in-Mind: The idea and method behind our rating system  // (2011). Retrieved from http://www.kids-in-mind.com/help/methodology.htm Leone, R. (2004). Rated Sex: An analysis of the MPAA’s use of the R and NC-17 ratings. // Communication Research Reports //, 21(1), 68-74. Leone, R., & Houle, N. (2006). 21st century ratings creep: PG-13 and R. // Communication Research Reports, //23(1), 53-61. Ni, Y., & Linz, D. (1990). Movie ratings and the content of adult videos: The sex-violence ratio. // Journal of Communication //, 40(2), 28-42. // Rating Rules. // (2011). Retrieved from http://www.filmratings.com/filmRatings_Cara/#/ratings/rules/ // Safeguarding artistic freedom. // (2011). Retrieved from http://mpaa.org/ratings/ratings-history Sylvester, S. (1999). // MPAA ratings system gets an F from critics, filmmakers. //Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/1999-08-23/entertainment/9908_23_mpaa.ratings_1_ratings-system-ratings-board-new-rating?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ Thompson, K. M., & Yokota, F. (2004). Violence, sex, and profanity in films: Correlation of movie ratings with content. // Medscape General Medicine, //6(3), 1-19.  Valenti, J. (2000). // How it works //. Retrieved from http://mpaa.org/movieratings/about/index.htm