Q&A: Why did the MPAA change the movie rating system?
Question by chrissy: Why did the MPAA change the movie rating system?
I was just watching Ghostbusters which claims to be a PG movie and there’s tons of sexual innuendo and “bad” words. I’ve seen tons of other PG movies from the 80s that have even more stuff that would make a movie PG-13 and PG-13 movies with stuff that would make a movie today rated R..When did the MPAA change the rating systems like this and why? It’s usually harmless stuff like words that determine whether or not a movie is PG-13 which makes no sense to me. Does anyone know the history behind this?
Best answer:
Answer by thepenismightier
They introduced the PG-13 rating in the late 80s, after Ghostbusters came out.
The MPAA basically wants to maximize the number of cinema-goers while keeping complaints from uptight parents to a minimum, which is why they introduced the (then) new rating.
There’s a threshold of the maximum number of dirty words a film can have and still be PG. Beer-drinking is an automatic PG-13. Bare breasts and/or drug use amount to an automatic R.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
