Rethinking PG-13: Ratings and the Boundaries of Childhood and Horror

Abstract

THE FILM RATING SYSTEM, ESTABLISHED in 1968 by Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), has remained remarkably consistent in structure throughout its history. Apart from some minor tweaks, first-and to date, onlymajor change came in 1984, when string of controversial features led to creation of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. This new classification was intended to bridge gap PG and restricted R classification. If system is intended to reflect current sentiment of parents and mirror contemporary concern (Why: History of Ratings), can this amendment suggest important changes in society, particularly in relation to views of horror and childhood?Regrettably, importance of PG-13 has been systematically downplayed, often even ignored, in academic context. In Stephen Vaughn's critical account of system's history, for instance, author frames introduction of PG-13 around several cases of controversies of early 1980s, most of which surprisingly refer not to PG or PG-13 films but to R and classifications and their clearly flawed appeals process (109). The importance of restricted side of ratings spectrum is so overpowering that author concludes his analysis of PG-13 with caveat there was still nothing to categorize area R and X (120). In any case, Vaughn does subtly hint at why PG-13 may be important on its own: violence and horror in Spielberg's family films such as Poltergeist (1982, dir. Tobe Hooper) and Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom (1984, dir. Steven Spielberg), which were awarded PG with minor struggle; films were key to creation of PG-13 (Vaughn 114-15) and prompted debates around distinction between teenagers and preteens (Vaughn 117).This is point worthy of much deeper consideration, particularly given heated controversy generated by Temple of Doom upon release. Its violence and gore surprised viewers and upset parents, prompting Paramount to insert warning in its advertisements for film (This film may be too intense for younger children) and leading Spielberg to clarify that he would not let ten-year-old see one of film's most violent sequences (Harmetz 48). But if Temple of Doom was the last straw . . . that broke back of support for single PG rating (Goodman C5), its critical reception was, like that of Poltergeist, mostly positive. The issues around PG-13 become more complex when third PG-rated, family-friendly film, Gremlins (1984, dir. Joe Dante), is considered as part of group of PG-13 instigators. Unlike its predecessors, Gremlins provoked strong critical ambiguity and an eruption of anxieties over not only film's violence but also its tone and ideology, which seemed to be closer to horror than family film. That PG-13 would then be perceived as a sop to pressure, not as an initiative (Champlin 77), suggests early to mid-1980s as period of transformation in social and cultural perceptions in which PG-13 surfaced as marker of new boundaries for childhood as well as horror genre.Debates about film system have been preoccupied mainly with topics of censorship and child protection, usually discussed separately. Discussions over censorship tend to limit themselves to restricted end of ratings spectrum and detail problems surrounding and NC-17 ratings, and authors who focus on child protection largely discuss system's scope and competence of its classifications, sometimes defending change from age-based ratings to detailed content descriptions.1 Although debates differ, concerns raised on each side often meet specifically in questioning of system's integrity and MPAA's right to moral authority, as well as consequences of power it wields in Hollywood. …