Indirectly spawned by Steven Spielberg, PG-13 is now the rating of choice among movie studios.
Ryan charts the effects of its rise and rise.
This article originally appeared onDen of Geek UK.
Some kids in the audience were probably cackling with macabre glee at all this.
Parents and critics were far less amused.
One reviewer even suggested that taking a child to seeThe Temple Of Doomwas tantamount to wilful neglect.
Just two weeks afterThe Temple Of Doomcame out in May, the Spielberg-executive-producedGremlinscrept into cinemas like a mischievous ghoul.
Little green monsters are stabbed, whizzed up in food processors and detonated in microwaves.
One scene famously has an ornery old woman killed by her own malfunctioning stairlift.
These two movies generated a flurry of complaints from parents.
How can you possibly know what somebody elses children should or should not see?
Valenti said in June 1984.
My recommendation is to see the film first without the kids.
Other parents just dont care.
Theyve abandoned their responsibility.
With film studios such as Columbia also backing the rating, Valenti relented.
Within a matter of months, the PG-13 certificate was born.
I really dont have to butcher a film that I rather enjoyed, the examinerwrote.
Leave the film to cynical horror film addicts!
The film would look overclassified at 15.
We all felt we could dispense with the idea of imposing that.
When the 12A certificate was introduced in August 2002,Spider-Manwas re-released in the UK.
For the record, the BBFC continues, the very first official 12A rated film wasThe Bourne Identity.
Sometimes PG, unless its for an animated movie, it turns a lot of young people off.
When it comes to the box-office performance of PG-13 movies, the numbers speak for themselves.
Of the top 10 highest-grossing films worldwide, all but one (thats DisneysFrozen) have a PG-13 rating.
It appears sex scenes are more likely to result in an R rating than scenes of violence.
Its also worth pointing out that the MPAA actually rates its movies based on advice from parents.
The likes ofFrozenorInside Outaside, the G and PG ratings have largely been pushed aside.
