# Motion picture ratings and margarine **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209 "2019-07-17T13:27:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/21 "2019-07-17T17:43:24Z")
The MPAA has all their ratings copyrighted so no one can use them without permission. Except for the X rating. This was deliberate, so they didn’t have to screen porn films. Note, too, the other ratings were displayed in boxes; X was displayed in a circle. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/22 "2019-07-17T17:55:28Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I don’t remember GP from when it was still used, but I know what it is because it was mentioned in a old (Jack Lord era) episode of Hawaii Five-O that I saw 20 years ago in re-runs. I remember that but I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. > > Best Picture winner _Midnight Cowboy_ was rated X during its initial run for (gasp!) homosexual themes. This was at a time when the DSM still listed homosexuality as a mental disorder. The movie’s rating was later changed to R for its subsequent theatrical re-releases and home video. IIRC _A Clockwork Orange_ was rated “X” in its original release, and re-cut down to “R” later. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/23 "2019-07-17T17:55:37Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember M and GP (my dad used to joke that GP meant “good picture!”) I also remember G – does that ever get used anymore? Seems like even kids/family movies are all PG these days. And PG stood for pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/24 "2019-07-17T18:02:50Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > OTOH, [oleo] gets used to annoying degree in crossword puzzles. Esp. with trite clues like “Bread Spread”. > > So I associate it more with bad crossword puzzle constructors rather than old folk. Those are often the same thing. Except for a handful, most constructors aim at Baby Boomer and older audiences. > [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember M and GP (my dad used to joke that GP meant “good picture!”) I also remember G – does that ever get used anymore? Seems like even kids/family movies are all PG these days. The new _Toy Story_ movie is rated G. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/25 "2019-07-17T19:31:38Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > As I recall, _Henry and June_ was the first NC-17 film. The rating was created to distinguish art films for mature audiences from porn, since the X rating had been used for both. The porn industry continues to revel in the X label (or XXX) even though it is not an official rating. In fact, most porn movies were probably not rated by the board and just advertised as X films as a marketing gimmick. (_Deep Throat_ was the rare mainstream porn flick.) Even after the NC-17 rating came out, in part due to Roger Ebert and others calling for a “non-porn Adults Only rating,” Ebert kept calling for an “A” rating for “non-pornograghy,” citing _Showgirls_ as an example of why NC-17 wasn’t doing this. My response was, “What stops the same thing from happening with the A rating? What then - AO? Then what - OA? Meanwhile, what they _really_ need is something like NC-13, but how do you enforce it, given that very few 13-year-olds carry identification that indicates their age?”) > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > [There was no GP. M became PG.](https://www.filmratings.com/History) It didn’t last very long, but I definitely remember at least one GP-rated film. I think it got changed because people didn’t understand that it was a replacement for M and were confused by the fact that it started with G. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/26 "2019-07-17T22:26:55Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Wanna give everyone a clue to your age? > > Who remembers “M” rating? How about “GP”? I do! M came before GP. if I recal correctly. The first movie I saw with that rating was :_Paint Your Wagon._ ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/27 "2019-07-17T22:36:34Z")
Examples of movies rated G but would not be G today: Gone with the Wind Ben-Hur What’s up, Doc? True Grit 2001 Funny Girl Odd Couple Freaky Friday Not that any of these are really offensive, just that G would not be used now, to signify they have adult themes and aren’t really intended for a child audience. Would Midnight Cowboy even be R now? I don’t recall the level of foul language. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/28 "2019-07-17T23:31:58Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Wanna give everyone a clue to your age? > > Who remembers “M” rating? How about “GP”? Everybody knows when you go to the show You can’t take the kids along You’ve gotta read the paper and know the code Of G, GP and R and X You gotta know what the movie’s about Before you even go Tex Ritter’s gone and Disney’s dead The screen is filled with sex. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/29 "2019-07-17T23:58:55Z")
And as I recall, “Chariots of Fire” included some gratutious bad language so that it wouldn’t get a “G” rating. Because the producers believed that if it had a G rating, no adult would go to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/30 "2019-07-18T00:31:02Z")
Purists know, whether in movies or real life, [there is NO substitute for butter.](https://youtu.be/h-r9Q-YItnk?t=94) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/31 "2019-07-18T04:45:20Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Except for the X rating. This was deliberate, so they didn’t have to screen porn films. Actually it was the other way around. It was so studios wouldn’t have to submit their movies to the MPAA for a screening. By allowing studios the option of rating their movie an X without it having to be reviewed, they avoided the argument that they were compelling studios to use their services. (Many people are unaware that the MPAA charges up to $25,000 to review a movie.) ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209/32 "2019-07-18T13:28:00Z")
Standards have changed in movies and TV, so viewers need to keep up and find a reviewer that shares their worldview so that they don’t need to rely on MPAA, who allow politics to color their ratings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-picture-ratings-and-margarine/837209.md?page=1)