Parental Ratings
Movie Parental Ratings
(description below)
In the United States, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), through the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), issues ratings for movies. The system was established in 1968 and is voluntary; an unrated film is often informally denoted by "NR" in newspapers and so forth.
- G (General Audiences) – All Ages Admitted.
- PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) – Some Material May Not Be Suitable For Children.
- PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned) – Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13.
- R (Restricted) – Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent Or Adult Guardian.
- NC-17 (Adults Only) – No One 17 and Under Admitted.
In Tennessee, patrons must be at least 18 years old or accompanied by a parent or adult guardian to be admitted to an R-rated film.
TV Parental Ratings
(description below)
TV-Y
This program is designed to be appropriate for all children.
Programs rated TV-Y are designed to be appropriate for children of all ages. The thematic elements portrayed in programs with this rating are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 2–6. According to the FCC, programs are "not expected to frighten younger children".
TV-Y7
This program is designed for children age 7 and above.
Programs rated TV-Y7 are designed for children age 7 and older. The FCC states that it "may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality." The thematic elements portrayed in programs with this rating may include 'comedic violence', or may be inappropriate for children under the age of 7.
Programs given the "FV" content descriptor exhibit more 'fantasy violence', and are generally more intense or combative than other programs rated TV-Y7.
TV-G
Most parents would find this program suitable for all ages.
Programs rated TV-G are generally suitable for all ages. The FCC states that "this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended." The thematic elements portrayed in programs with this rating contain little or no violence, no strong language, and little or no sexual dialogue or situations.
TV-PG
This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children.
Programs rated TV-PG contain material that parents or guardians may find inappropriate for younger children. Programs assigned a TV-PG rating may include some mild to moderate profanity, some sexual content, suggestive dialogue and/or violence.
TV-14
This program contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.
Programs rated TV-14 may contain some material that parents or adult guardians may find unsuitable for children under the age of 14. The FCC warns that "Parents are cautioned to exercise some care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under the age of 14 watch unattended."
TV-MA
This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.
Some content may be unsuitable for children under 17. This rating was originally TV-M prior to the announced revisions to the rating system in August 1997, but was changed due to a trademark dispute and in order to remove confusion with the Entertainment Software Rating Board's (ESRB) "M for Mature" rating for video games. This rating is very seldom used by broadcast networks or local television stations due to FCC restrictions on program content (the broadcast pilot of the short-lived series Brooklyn South being a notable exception), although it is commonly applied to television programs featured on certain cable channels (particularly premium networks) and streaming networks for both mainstream and softcore programs. Programs with this rating commonly include strong and frequent sexual content, extreme violence, or both.
Content descriptors
Some thematic elements, according to the FCC, "may call for parental guidance and/or the program may contain one or more of the following" sub-ratings, designated with an alphabetic letter:
D – Suggestive dialogue (rarely used with the TV-MA rating)
L – Coarse or crude language
S – Sexual situations
V – Violence
FV – Fantasy violence (exclusive to the TV-Y7 rating)
Up to four content descriptors can be applied alongside an assigned rating, depending on the kind of suggestive content featured in a program. The FV descriptor is an exception due to its sole use for the TV-Y7 rating (which is assigned to some children's programs), which can have no descriptor other than FV. As the rating increases pertaining to the age, the content matters generally get more intensive. These descriptors allow for 44 possible combinations for all the ratings total.[14] The 'suggestive dialogue' descriptor is usually used for TV-PG and TV-14 rated programs only, although certain networks may choose the rate their TV-MA programs with the descriptor. The violence descriptor was used for TV-Y7 programs until the creation of the 'FV' descriptor in 1997.