# Who Rates Movies? (PG v. R?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991 "2004-05-07T13:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/21 "2004-05-08T06:24:40Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > Why wasn’t **The Passion of the Christ** given an NC-17? Because it’s about _Jesus_! That makes it good, wholesome family entertainment. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/22 "2004-05-08T06:28:04Z")
They gave _The Passion_ an R rating, not a G rating, \*_tracer_. ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/23 "2004-05-08T10:21:00Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > But according to their website: > > “These films can be rated less severely, however, if by a special vote, the Rating Board feels that a lesser rating would more responsibly reflect the opinion of American parents.” > > This, essentially, gives them an Out to be as inconsistent as they like–usually because they are subjected to studio lobbyists who will petition for lower ratings for movies with big stars or big budgets. > > And as for _Amadeus_, technically, that nude scene was in a sexual context (although I agree on the :rolleyes: ) _As Good As It Gets_ was initially rated R because of Helen Hunt’s repeated use of the work “fuck”. I thought it was kind of funny that in a movie with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, she uttered all of the profanity and he uttered none. It’s been mentioned in other threads, but I’ll bring it up again here: How the hell does _Boogie Nights_ get away with an R rating and other films (such as _Requiem for a Dream_) get stuck with an NC-17? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/24 "2004-05-08T13:34:32Z")
One thing to take into account is that the raters are people, not machines. So they can be affect by some very basic things. Maybe they are in a bad moood. Maybe they watch several movies in one day so the first one is really rough so the second one doesn’t seem that bad. Or maybe they watch and rate four kiddie films and then something that maybe should be PG-13 comes next and it gets an R because it seems really rough. But if we didnt’ have a ratings board, the government would try to do something. I would much rather have Jack Valenti’s cronies rating the films than Liberman and Ashcroft. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/25 "2004-05-08T14:28:50Z")
> [@](#): > > For example, The Matrix got 7/10 for violence, but I would say that all the violence in it is obviously fake, to the point of being almost comical. That maybe true, but I think that one scene in the movie alone makes it pretty disturbing. Neo and Trinity walk into the lobby and procede the blow the crap out of everyone in it. Then they go upstairs past their target and jack a copter and then go downstairs. The violence was kinda pointless and pretty graphic. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/26 "2004-05-08T18:50:17Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > They gave _The Passion_ an R rating, not a G rating, **tracer**. Tell that to the guys and gals over at [urlhttp://www.capalert.com/capreports/passionofthechrist.htm]CAPalert. Their strongest caveat was that “taking your younger little ones **might** be ill-advised,” and that was only because of the subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/27 "2004-05-08T18:51:45Z")
Fixed URL tag: [CAPalert](http://www.capalert.com/capreports/passionofthechrist.htm). (I _hate_ not being able to edit my own posts.) ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/28 "2004-05-08T19:39:09Z")
**tracer** , that review was HILARIOUS. You know you’re getting an unbiased fair review when it opens with “The first time I’ve seen the Truth being told Truthfully” and starts bragging about how great their own review system is partway down. **American History X** is more violent then the Passion because the violence of the Passion was ‘justified’? What a surreal world that guy lives in. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/29 "2004-05-08T19:44:28Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > **tracer** , > **American History X** is more violent then the Passion because the violence of the Passion was ‘justified’? What a surreal world that guy lives in. You have no idea. His sole reason for disliking _Finding Nemo_ was because a major plot-point is a son disobeying his father. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/30 "2004-05-08T19:50:31Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > **American History X** is more violent then the Passion because the violence of the Passion was ‘justified’? What a surreal world that guy lives in. So, he’s saying Jesus _deserved_ being flogged and crucified? That’s cold, man. Real cold. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/31 "2004-05-08T20:38:56Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Because it’s about _Jesus_! That makes it good, wholesome family entertainment. :rolleyes: :smack: I totally forgot about that aspect! Duuuhhhhhhh… That certainly explains why so many ministers have been urging their congregations to take the kiddos and make a day of it. What fun. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991/32 "2004-05-08T20:51:43Z")
My mentor at Rutgers, Richard Heffner, was the Chairman of the MPIAA from 1969 to 1994. In working with him and preparing his papers to be archived up at Columbia, I learned an awful lot about movie ratings and how they worked. I can probably answer some of your questions. The one big fallacy that I do want to address is that there is any kind of objective criteria for the ratings. It’s not supposed to be strictly objective. The idea from the outset was that a group of parents would give ratings based on how they thought other typical parents might feel. Of course things have changed a bit in the intervening 35 years. Now there’s a lot of history to consider when assigning a rating–not only in how the type of content was rated before, but studios also know all too well how the “wrong” rating can hurt the bottom line. Therefore, there can be a lot of negotiation between the board and the studio, where the studio tries to get the rating it wants and the board tries to maintain some standards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rates-movies-pg-v-r/243991.md?page=1)