Art and controversy have been well acquainted since time immemorial. When it comes to films, there isn’t a single genre, period, style, or rating that’s immune to this universal truth. While the ‘tamer’ ratings find themselves in hot water for showing content that may or may not be suitable for kids, pre-teens, and teenagers, R and NC-17 films spark conversations about what’s appropriate for the silver screen, period. This comes as no surprise, because contrary to what many interpret these ratings to mean, they aren’t inherently ‘adult’ or ‘mature’. Rather, the R and NC-17 rated families create a colorful catalog that’s overflowing with cerebral boundary-pushers, sleazy smut, tasteful violence, acid trip-inspired visuals, and films that can only be summed up as ‘What the H-E-double hockey stick were they thinking?!’. 

Whether or not one chooses to engage with this content isn’t as much a matter of preference so it is a matter of tolerance. How many buckets can you sit through before you feel nauseous? How much skin are you comfortable seeing, even if it’s not in a sexual context? Are there specific scenes and storylines that you can’t sit through due to past experiences, like trauma, without compromising your mental and emotional well-being?

To be clear, no one is passing judgment here. It’s one thing to criticize someone for their stance on Die Hard as a Christmas movie, but R and NC-17 films engage us in ways that challenge our values, upbringing, comfort levels, and even our long-held religious, spiritual, and political beliefs. These movies can be very powerful, share important messages, and be vehicles for social change, yet they get a bad rap simply for having an R or NC-17 rating. Let’s take a closer look at the history of these ratings and what they mean as we wrap up our journey into the wonderful world of appeasing parents through the voluntary rating system. And just a head’s up- this post is going to touch on some controversial topics in cinema, but they’re important conversations that artists and businesses alike are encouraged to consider. 

Need to get caught up, or looking for a refresher? Head over here to check out part one in this series.

The Ratings (R, NC-17)

R- Restricted, Children Under 17 Require A Parent or Legal Guardian

That ‘parent or legal guardian’ part is especially important here. Let’s say two high school sweethearts are on a movie date and want to see Deadpool. If one is 17 and the other is 16, they won’t be allowed admission, despite the younger being accompanied by someone who is 17. In other words it can’t just be any adult. The rating system was made with parents in mind, after all.

That wasn’t always the case, of course, as the R rating initially prevented anyone under 16 from entering the theater without a chaperone. X, the precursor to NC-17, meant no one under 16, no exceptions. In 1970 both were raised to 17.

In part one I explained using a curse word more than once, or using certain words used in a sexual context rather than a casual one (typically, ahem, ‘anatomy’) will bump up a PG-13 rating to R, no matter how tame it might be otherwise. Aside from language, an R rating can indicate excessive and realistic violence, heavy substance abuse, and nudity in a sexual context. One could say that PG-13 is watered down R, or R is aged-up PG-13.

As of 1990, the MPA has included a brief explanation for why an R rating was received. Since the criteria for R is quite broad, this became necessary for parents to make more informed decisions about the content they and their families watch. Some are okay with their kids watching violent films but cross the line at nudity, while others have concerns over films potentially glamorizing drug usage but don’t have a problem with foul language. As of 2000 all films offer these explanations, no matter the rating. 

NC-17

NC-17 was introduced in the initial voluntary rating system as X, but was changed in 1990. The ‘NC’ means ‘no children’, as in ‘no children under 17’, but it was revamped once again in 1996 to its current meaning, ‘no one 17 and under admitted’.

An NC-17 rating is often misconstrued as being inherently sexual or even borderline pornographic. This makes sense given the fact that it began as X, and X or XXX are marketing terms for pornography. But NC-17 ratings aren’t inherently sexual, they simply mean the content is far too intense for anyone not legally an adult to view in theaters. Unfortunately, due to its history and often being conflated with pornography, theaters generally refuse to screen NC-17 films.

Many NC-17 films do contain sexual content, even if it’s not the focus of the film, but plenty of R rated movies do it too! If that’s what the fuss is all about, where is the line drawn between R and NC-17? First, NC-17 films show full-frontal nudity. Further, sex scenes are longer and show more skin. Think about all the sex scenes in R-rated films; participants tend to be half-clothed or hidden under the covers. This has sparked some pretty interesting conversations about sexism in the industry. Take 2010’s Blue Valentine, which was initially rated NC-17, as an example. There’s a particular sexual act performed on a female character by a male character. Male lead Ryan Gosling took issue with the film’s rating because that same act is featured all the time in R-rated films when the genders are reversed. The distributor successfully made an appeal to change the rating to R, but their reasoning wasn’t about gender equality in the media. Rather, they were afraid an NC-17 rating would harm box office success.

Fleeting shots of genitalia or full-frontal can be used in R-rated films, as made evident by Sharon Stone’s infamous scene in Basic Instinct. Said scene also happened to top a list of most-paused scenes that was compiled about a decade ago (go figure). Diane Keaton offers a more comical take, pun intended, on the nudity criteria in 2005’s Something’s Gotta Give.

The relationship between participants in sexual acts also influences the rating. Monogamous heterosexual characters who are married or in long-term relationships are viewed less critically than, say, a long-term polyamorous throuple or a monogamous gay couple. Brokeback Mountain caused considerable controversy for centering around a gay couple, yet it ‘only’ received an R rating. Film critic Anderson Jones attributed this to the fact that it was directed by Ang Lee, of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame. 

Ang Lee happily embraced the NC-17 rating of his 2007 critically acclaimed, award winning Lust, Caution. He wanted audiences to view the film in its entirety. And yes, the rating was received due to (ten minutes worth of) graphic sex scenes and full frontal nudity. This bold act is cited as an example of mainstream Hollywood fighting the stigma towards NC-17 films. Still, numerous countries cut out the adult content so it could be viewed by a larger audience. This raises another interesting question- does cutting out content harm the artistic integrity of the film? It’s no secret that filmmakers, production companies, and distributors will create and market movies with China’s censorship laws in mind. Does this inhibit their creative freedom? 

While we can celebrate Ang Lee defying the norm, we can’t do so without looking at the repercussions on others involved in the film. Lust, Caution’s female lead Tang Wei was blacklisted from the Chinese film industry for three years, an act criticized by both Ang Lee and male lead Tony Leung. Leung brought up an interesting point, one which also reflects sexism in the entertainment industry, by stating that it’s not fair for the actress to be ostracized while the rest of the cast and crew are able to continue working. He believes the cast and crew are a team and should be held equally responsible for any controversy.

Sexual content is the usual culprit for debates over film ratings. NC-17 films can also be defined by violence, drug usage, or bizarre and abnormal behavior. Again, it all comes down to how graphic or excessive it is. This doesn’t mean it can’t be done tastefully or artistically…it’s just not art meant to be appreciated by a younger audience.

The Final Take

(Yes, that was another film industry pun)

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about controversial content, restrictions harming creative expression, and how these rules can interfere with the success of independent creators. What do these restrictions say about us as a country and our culture? Do they perpetuate problems, or force us to confront them? How old were you when you saw your first R rated movie? And what do you think is appropriate for kids, pre-teens, and teenagers?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, but try to keep the language PG-13.

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