Today it’s hard to imagine a movie trailer or poster without specifying an age limit. In Russia, they began to add an age limit relatively recently (since 2012), but in America such a system has been operating for almost half a century.
One of the most popular ratings among modern mass films is the PG-13 age rating, which is assigned to both children's films and popular ones (sometimes cruel action films). Why is this happening?
Who rates films?
The rating system was introduced by the American Film Association in 1968 and has not undergone significant changes since then. Depending on the rating the film receives, its audience is limited, which can significantly affect the box office.
Since the advent of the rating, the attitude towards it has changed several times. Despite the fact that for 50 years the MPAA commission has been rating Hollywood films on the basis of the same criteria (for example, the amount of blood shown in the frame, cruelty, obscene words, alcohol consumption, etc.), we can talk about the evolution of the rating PG-13.
American Film Association Rating System
G ratings, like PG-13, are permitted for children. It means that the film has no restrictions on viewing. In such films there is nothing that could negatively affect the children's psyche and cause uncomfortable questions.
PG is given to films that children are recommended to watch with their parents. The film may contain scenes that need analysis and explanation for young children. There is no open demonstration of sexual scenes, demonstrations of alcohol, drugs and violence.
The PG-13 rating is a rating assigned to films with materials not intended for children under 13 years of age. Viewing is allowed only with parents.
Rating R from PG-13 is distinguished by more violence, profanity or sex scenes. Films rated R are allowed to be watched by teens under 17 with the presence of at least one parent or guardian. Adults should familiarize themselves with the film before allowing their child to watch it.
NC-17 is a rating previously called X. It prohibits viewing to 17 years and younger. However, this does not mean that the film is pornographic. Rather, we are talking about paintings with a large number of naturalistic scenes of death, serious illness, catastrophes, wars - all that which is psychologically difficult for most people to watch.
Prior to the early 90s, the main ratings were PG and R.
Criteria
The criteria for this movie rating may seem a little strange. For example, smoking scenes are unacceptable in PG-13, while demonstration of alcohol consumption is allowed.
The restrictions regarding violent scenes are also rather strange: countless people can die on the screen (as is shown, for example, in modern popular comic book films), but this is permissible if they do not show blood and death in detail.
PG-13 allows moderate violence (without brutality), scenes with nudity or sexual context, there may be isolated use of harsh but censored words.
Rating evolution
Until the mid-80s (more precisely, until 1984) PG-13 did not exist. A PG rating meant that parental presence was recommended while watching. But subsequently, due to numerous complaints that PG films are too cruel for children, an intermediate link between them, PG-13, was introduced.
But now public opinion is developing in such a way that many things that used to fit under the "children's" ratings now seem too old for the modern PG-13, while action, fights with many deaths, disasters, wars, a demonstration of cruelty have become permissible in films that children are allowed to watch.
The impact of rating on rental
Of course, ratings themselves do not affect the quality of the picture. However, children and adolescents are the main consumers of films, more often than other age categories who visit movie theaters. Will there be a full room if the rating does not allow entry of the predominant part of consumers? Because of this, there is currently a tendency to shoot the predominant number of films rated PG-13 in order to make it accessible to the maximum possible audience.
Almost all modern paintings about superheroes, alien wars, as well as restarting and continuing the militants released in the 80s and 90s receive PG-13, which helps to increase box office receipts.
Ratings
What does PG-13 mean for contemporary cinema? Some film critics say that in an attempt to make almost any mass film with this rating, film makers neglect the atmosphere and quality of the plot. It is difficult to disagree with this - this rating imposes certain restrictions.
So, cruel, believable scenes of violence or murder, sometimes necessary, have disappeared from the cinema in order to show these or other negative aspects of life and encourage the viewer to think about what is happening. It is impossible to naturally show the dramatic death of the protagonist or the death of millions of people - for example, fantastic stories began to prevail in modern action films.
Thus, due to the general desire to make films publicly available, sometimes it turns out that a film originally intended for an adult audience, but brought to PG-13 in order to increase the number of views, does not fulfill its tasks. Adults do not have enough naturalness and depth of the plot, and children are simply not interested in the film, originally intended for adults.
The positive impact of the rating on cinema
At the same time, despite the fact that the desire of filmmakers to expand the audience of films through rating sometimes has a negative impact on the plot, one can note the positive impact of this system on the world of cinema. So, visual effects get development, and children do not see shocking shots, getting an interesting and high-quality product. Usually films with such a rating are interesting for both children and adults, which brings generations together and gives rise to a family pastime in the cinema.
Thanks to the introduction of an age rating system for cinema, series have been developed. Many talented directors and actors who do not want to shoot a product as part of one of the ratings and limit themselves to ideas, prefer to participate in the creation of series - they have long ceased to be considered a second-rate product, and many of them are not inferior to films in the elaboration of the plot and image quality.
An analogue of this rating in Russia
In the Russian system of age ratings for films and games, it is difficult to choose the exact analogue of PG-13. Depending on the movie, it can be either 12+ or 16+.
Thus, the Russian rating 12+ allows occasionally to demonstrate violence and cruelty (without showing details), provided that these frames help the viewer feel compassion for the victim and rejection of cruelty; a demonstration of smoking and drinking alcohol (without propaganda of a bad habit), subject to condemnation of such behavior or demonstration of harm to health. Sexual scenes are prohibited.
16+ - this is when the image of disasters, accidents, wars and mass deaths of people is allowed to the extent that it does not cause fear and panic in the viewer. The use of swear words (except obscene) is also allowed. Also - the image of sexual relations between a man and a woman without a naturalistic demonstration, violence and exploitation of interest in sex.
Thus, the Russian system is somewhat more complicated and subjective than the American one. This is understandable, since in Russia the age rating system was introduced only in 2012 and has not yet been brought to perfection.
In Russia, there is no intermediate link between 12+ and 16+, which the PG-13 rating once became, taking the place between PG and R. Therefore, it is difficult to judge what rating the PG-13 film will receive in the Russian box office. Judging by the experience of previous years, we can say that most often PG-13 in Russia receive a rating of 12+, which also gives a large number of viewers access to watch the movie.