# What's the deal with Airplane! having a PG rating but having breastal nudity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827 "2003-04-29T01:42:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/21 "2003-04-29T12:22:59Z")
Useless trivia= Midnight Cowboy is the only X-Rated film to win an Oscar™. Apart from the breasts, I think there is a lot of ‘underlying’ humor that would nore likely have given ‘Airplane!’ a tougher rating: The pilot trying to pick-up on the 9 year-old boy, a few dope references, a few bitch-slaps, the flight attendant ‘inflating’ the auto-pilot that implied oral sex, and a whole bunch more I can’t remember right now. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/22 "2003-04-29T13:17:41Z")
Before there was a “PG” rating there was a “GP” rating. It replaced the former “M” rating – people must have thought that M = Mature + X, or something. Anyway, too many people apparently thought “GP” meant “general Patronage”. The movie **The Hawaiians** (the virtually forgotten sequel to **Hawaii** ) featured a breast-baring scene in a Japanese Hot Tub. The movie was rated GP. Some comedienne (Joan Rivers, I think) said that “GP” stood for “Get Popcorn”, because that’s what she told her daughter to do when scenes like this came up. Clearly Bare Breasts is not equivalewnt to “R”. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/23 "2003-04-29T14:22:24Z")
Nowadays bare breasts will get a PG-13 (or even an R, as the ratings have gotten more puritannical over the years), but in the late 70’s and early 80’s many films with non-sexual boob shots were PG – since there was no intermediate step between PG and R at the time, and by the late 70’s very few non-cartoons were being given G ratings, the rule seemed to be that two seconds of breasts outside the bedroom was not enough to make a generally viewable film into a movie for adults, which is what the R rating connoted. Now that the PG-13 rating has been established, there is a place for films with some adult subject matter that are still not adult movies. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/24 "2003-04-29T19:01:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PhuQan G Nyus \* > \*\*the only “breasts” I remember in that movie were on an infalatable doll. That alone would explain there not being an R rating for it. \*\* HERESY! How can you not remember Ursula “Uschi” Digard’s boobs being in that movie, **PhuQan G Nyus**?!? She was a bunny! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dec6dc/32.png) [@Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Friday)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/25 "2003-04-29T19:09:22Z")
I thought it was Kitten Natividad, not Uschi Digard. Do you have a cite? ---
**Author:** ![bayonet1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bayonet1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bayonet1976)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/26 "2003-04-29T19:27:01Z")
It was definitely Kitten Nitividad, Uschi may have been a little past her prime by the time Airplane! came out. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/27 "2003-04-29T20:02:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Justin\_Bailey \* > \*\*Right, that’s what I was saying too. But the difference between X and the rest is that only the MPAA can give out the rest. X could be placed on any movie without MPAA review. When the porn industry snapped up the X the MPAA didn’t want their rating only associated with hardcore sex so they created the NC-17, which is copyright like the rest and can only be given by the MPAA. > > X = today’s Unrated \*\* Well, the copyright, as well as the fact that its real hard to make “NC-17NC-17NC-17 Girls!!!” seem like it should be sexually exciting. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/28 "2003-04-29T20:13:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Agback \* > \*\*_Dragonslayer_ had a nude scene with Caitlin Clarke’s breasts and pretty much all of Peter MacNichol: it was PG-13 and made by _Disney_. It was also quite snide about Christianity. > > The world was a different place in 1981. > > Regards, > Agback \*\* Slight nitpick: _Dragonslayer_ was PG. PG-13 did not get introduced until 1984, due primarily to the voilence in _Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_. The first movie released with a PG-13 rating was [Red Dawn](http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0087985). That same year, _Sixteen Candles_ featured a brief nudity scene and did not receive the new PG-13 rating. ---
**Author:** ![RD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RD)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/29 "2003-04-29T21:02:51Z")
Nudity is not considered erotic, per se. That’s why there are lots of bare-breasted statues in Washington, even in front of the Supreme Court, Treasury, and Congressional buildings. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/30 "2003-04-29T21:25:43Z")
Not exactly on topic (perhaps not even remotely), but I always thought it strange that _Beetlejuice_ was a given a PG rating despite the line “Nice fuckin’ model!”. I think I’d always assumed that even a single utterance of the word would automatically place it beyong the realm of PG. ---
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/31 "2003-04-29T21:29:32Z")
RD: While it may nto have been totally erotic, the breasts in question were undulating. I remember they didn’t show her face…just neck and below. But yeah, they were jiggling up and down. And Cliffy: I always thought Titanic got PG-13 because there wasn’t much else wrong with the movie, and the breast scenes were done in an artistic rather than sexual manner. I’m pretty sure they allow butt nudity in PG-13 but rarely allow breasts. I can’t recall another movie recently that had breasts that was rated PG-13. Can anyone think of one? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/32 "2003-04-29T22:13:28Z")
You may be confusing the pneumatic Kitten NAtividad’s scene in Airplane with the boobs against the shower door glass in _Kentucky Fried Movie_ during the Catholic School Girls In Trouble bit. I never forget a tit. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/33 "2003-04-29T22:14:29Z")
Forgot to say it was Uschi Digart in KFM ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/34 "2003-04-29T22:18:15Z")
“breastal”? ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/35 "2003-04-29T22:21:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xvxdarkknightxvx \* > \*\*RD: While it may nto have been totally erotic, the breasts in question were undulating. I remember they didn’t show her face…just neck and below. But yeah, they were jiggling up and down. > > And Cliffy: I always thought Titanic got PG-13 because there wasn’t much else wrong with the movie, and the breast scenes were done in an artistic rather than sexual manner. I’m pretty sure they allow butt nudity in PG-13 but rarely allow breasts. I can’t recall another movie recently that had breasts that was rated PG-13. Can anyone think of one? \*\* _The Fifth Element_ had bare breasts in several scenes and was given a PG-13 rating. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/36 "2003-04-30T01:09:43Z")
I think Jack Nicholson said years ago "If you kiss a breast its an “X”, if you chop one off, it’s an “R”. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/37 "2003-04-30T01:38:06Z")
FWIW, the “PG” rating was very popular in the 1980s. A huge number of popular films were rated as such, and many of these had large amounts of profanity, some violence, and perhaps a tiny bit of nudity. The rating seemed to dry up come the early 1990s, and nowadays there are so few PG-rated movies released that the rating almost seems defunct. What seems to have happened, though, is that stuff that used to get PG now gets a PG-13, and PG was gradually morphed into a tamer rating. ---
**Author:** ![MentalGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@MentalGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MentalGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/38 "2003-04-30T01:50:12Z")
I think Airplane! must have been re-rated or something. (Where did you see this rating darkknight). I have a very strong memory of it being rated R when I originally saw it. I realize I could have a faulty memory, but I have always thought it was an R-Rated movie. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/39 "2003-04-30T06:34:06Z")
It’s PG according to [mpaa.org](http://mpaa.org). Possibly somebody misinformed you. ---
**Author:** ![mr-monday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@mr-monday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr-monday)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827/40 "2003-04-30T12:51:29Z")
What rating is Logan’s Run the the US? That contains bare breasts and is shown in the middle of the day here in the UK. I don’t know, what’s so corrupting about naked breasts anyway… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-airplane-having-a-pg-rating-but-having-breastal-nudity/171827.md?page=3)