July 1st, 2025

The Motion Picture Association of America's film rating system has been in existence since 1968, helping viewers understand what type of content can be found in movies. Up until 1984 there were G: General Audiences, PG; Parental Guidance Suggested, R: Restricted to those Under Age 17, and X: X-rated ratings.( NC-17 was introduced in 1990 and essentially replaced the X rating.) However, when certain viewers began complaining about the violence and gore of some movies in the early 1980s that featured a PG rating, including "Gremlins" and "Indiana Jones," director and producer Steven Spielberg suggested an intermediary rating between PG and R. PG-13 came with the warning: "Parents Are Strongly Cautioned to Give Special Guidance for Attendance of Children under 13 – Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Young Children.” The first movie to receive a PG-13 rating was "Red Dawn."