Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Ratings is a term with wide currency, used in activities as diverse as judgments about standards of hotel accommodation to judgments of the economic health of corporations or nations (such as the Standard & Poor's Financial Strength Ratings). In contemporary media, however, the term ratings has more specific meanings, especially in respect of television, radio, and film, but there is also considerable ambiguity and confusion in its use and application. Movie ratings, placed on films by regulatory bodies or industry self-regulation, are widely used across the globe to determine parameters for admission or guidance about content. They do not measure audiences (as in the box office), but guide or control Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the national audiences according to their eligibility to see sexual, violent, or language content. In the United States, for example, the movie-rating system, jointly administered by the Association of Theater Owners, assigns movie ratings ranging from G (General Audience) to NC-17 (No Children 17 and Under). Such American ratings cannot be legally enforced; they are strictly voluntary and carry no force of law. Nevertheless, it can be argued that they have acquired quasi-legal status in that they provide movie theaters with a premise to restrict admission. In other countries, they have clearer legal power. In the United Kingdom, ... log in or subscribe to read full text