Arts and Culture - What Happened To Family Entertainment?

Types of Films Released between 1980 and 1998

A great deal of recent attention has been paid to the content of programs served up by the entertainment industry. Some argue that it is becoming increasingly explicit and that it caters too much to the appetites of children and teenagers. Others balk at the idea of any censorship; people are free to change the radio station or turn off the television. Have we made improvements? Are we too reactionary? Or are all of these protests falling on deaf ears?

The graphic shows the change in the types of films released between 1980 and 1998. The G-rated movie isn't quite dead, although it is barely breathing; the number of actual films made fell from 16 to 11 in this period, or 31%. The number of PG/PG-13 films fell too, although by only 7.6%. The number of R-rated films did not see the increase some might expect; 155 films were made in 1980, while 177 were made in 1998, for a 14% jump. It was the number of films that received no rating that saw a dramatic increase, 140%, up from 27 in 1980 to 65 in 1998.

A little cinema history here: new ratings were developed over this period. The PG-13 rating was started in 1984; it was intended as a rating for films suitable for teens but not for children. It also, of course, allowed studios to market films more closely to teenagers, a large segment of moviegoers and a population with millions (now billions) in disposable income.

The NC-17 rating (No children under 17 admitted) started in 1990, is a replacement for the X, which theatres would not show and for which newspapers would not accept advertising. These were films deemed to have artistic merit and adult content. Last Tango in Paris and A Clockwork Orange received X-ratings on their release. Another point that explains the 140% increase: as more films are made independently, they are bypassing the Motion Picture Association of America and remain unrated. An unrated film does not necessarily mean an explicit film. But the viewing public is offered no guidance about the film's content.

However, perhaps the family does win out. In 1998, according to data from Exhibitor Relations and published in The Christian Science Monitor, PG-13 films not only grossed more money but had a higher average gross per screen. They generated $2.2 billion in box office grosses (R-rated films made $2 billion) and had average per-screen grosses of $35 million (R-rated films made $11 million).

The box office champs of the 1990s were also often PG-13 films: Titanic, Stars Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, Toy Story 2. Disney films continue to do extremely well financially. Clearly, families hunger for family entertainment.

What of other entertainment? The video game industry is still under scrutiny for producing games with violent or sexual content. According to 1999 data released by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, 71% of all titles were rated "everyone;" 19% were rated "teen;" 7% were rated "mature." More than 7,000 games have been rated since 1994. Surprisingly, the average age of the user is 28. Television? Watchdog groups have long complained about the content of prime-time television: for example, The Kaiser Family Foundation's report, Sex on TV, claimed sexual content had increased from 56% of shows in the 1997-1998 season to 68% in the 1999-2000 season. It all comes down to taste, of course: some of what these groups protest range from fairly innocuous to truly objectionable.

There's a bigger point to make here. Are these ratings accurate and relevant? Is the envelope continually being pushed? Is too much adult material slipped into PG-13 films? Should one profanity bring a film an R-rating? Do we need a more refined system? If we support quality entertainment, will it continue to be produced?

Sources: Sterritt, David. "Movie Ratings — from G to X: Are They Out of Focus?" Christian Science Monitor. 16 September 1982; video game ratings: Online. Available: http://www.esrb.org January 16, 2002; Kaiser Foundation report Sex On TV. Online. Available: http://www.kaiser.org; "How Many and How Much." Christian Science Monitor. 24 December 1998, p. B10.