American film ratings

[The Silly Swede Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Silly Swede]

Looking at upcoming movie releases something odd struck me. Nowadays almost all action movies are PG-13, while almost all comedies are rated R. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Or is the general consensus in the US of A that the F-word being uttered is "more dangerous" to young people then images of gigantic space robots invading earth and leveling our cities?

Can someone explain a bit more about what exactly the criteria is here? Cause to me it seems to be 90% about language and 10% about the level of blood. (You can show someone getting murdered, but they may not bleed while doing so? )

[Nolando Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nolando]

Actioners get a wider demographic, generally, I'd say, and so in an appeal to grab as many of the 12-34 males as possible they make the films less bloody (but, conceivably, just as violent) to make that cut. On the comedic side I think the more popular wave of comedies are more in the vein of Apatow and meant for adults, fitting a comfortable niche of vulgarity ("adult situations" and all that comes with) that pays off in the 18-45 demo. This country's Puritanical hysterics seem to be behind the thought that sex and bad words is worse than slaughter, I'd say. I know that's the case with my reactionary sister who would show some pretty violent movies to my niece (now 17) but wouldn't touch anything that was too foul-mouthed or involved sex in any way, shape, or form.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Noland pretty much explained it the same way I'd have tried to, if he hadn't just done so.

It all seems fairly hypocritical to me and I see the European take (violence is more harmful than sex) as the more logical train of thought. It was kinda weird growing up, my right wing dad was cool with me seeing violence and stuff but made me close my eyes during the topless scene when we saw Dragnet in at the drive-in. On the other hand, my mom was the opposite way - had to turn the volume down and make sure my sister didn't see the chestburster scene in Alien, but the titties on TV during Benny Hill were okay.

[The Silly Swede Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Silly Swede]

But the thing is: those comedies do not show anything either. They just use the F-word a bit more and sometimes talk about sex without even mentioning it outright. So, sex talk in disguise is more harmful then violence in plain sight?

Is Chuck Norris in charge of the MPAA ratings board?

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

He might be. And a lot of the more raunchier comedies do show plenty of T&A.

As far as the F word goes, I'm pretty sure as far as the MPAA goes, if you use it in a sexual way, you're pretty much immediately slapped with an R rating (I could be remembering that wrong). There are a lot of backwards things about the ratings system here (and pretty much everywhere else).

[Todd Jordan Smut is good. Find all posts View Profile Close Todd Jordan]

I remember reading somewhere that if you use the F word more then once it's R. And I'll never understand why this country is so backwards with this subject. It makes zero sense.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

I remember reading somewhere that if you use the F word more then once it's R. And I'll never understand why this country is so backwards with this subject. It makes zero sense

It's twice isn't it? I seem to recall some talk about this when Samuel L Jackson was trying to get some mother fucken snakes off a mother fucken plane.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

The way I have always heard it was. In a pg-13 movie you can use Fuck once if it isn't in a sexual way. IE the wolverine scene in X-men First class.