The Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA, formed in 1922, has changed significantly over the years.
The first rating system, announced on November 1, 1968 used the following:
- G for General Audiences, all ages admitted;
- M for mature audiences - parental guidance suggested, but all ages admitted;
- R for Restricted, children under 16 would not be admitted without an accompanying parent or adult guardian; (later raised to under 17 years of age, (and varies in some jurisdictions));
- X for no one under 17 admitted.
Interestingly, the creator of this system did not approve of refusing children the right to see a movie. He felt that
"parents ought to be able to accompany their children to any movie the parents choose, without the movie industry or the government or self-appointed groups interfering with their rights. " -Jack Valenti
The M rating was seen as less favorable than R, and changed to GP (General Audiences, Parental Guidance Suggested). GP was revised a year later to PG.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released in 1984. The violence in this film caused some outcry for the PG rating. On July 1, 1984, the lone PG rating became both PG and PG-13.
Over the years, X has acquired an unintended "surly" connotation. To separate adult content from pronographic content, the X rating became NC-17 on September 27, 1990.
The ratings themselves are trademarks owned by the MPAA. A film's submission to the Ratings Board is voluntary. These two facts alone are the most noteworthy, especially considering all of the recent attention directed at the organization.
Current official MPAA ratings are: