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Journal of Children and MediaVolume 5, Issue 1, 2011Special Issue: Children's Media Policy: International Perspectives |
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Articles
MPAA Ratings Creep
A longitudinal analysis of the PG-13 rating category in US movies
- DOI:
- 10.1080/17482798.2011.533488
pages 53-68
- Published online: 26 Feb 2011
Abstract
The term “ratings creep” refers to the belief that various types of adult content escalate in films with the same rating over time. The purpose of this study was to test the ratings creep hypothesis through a quantitative analysis of films from 1988, 1997, and 2006 in the PG-13 rating category used by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). A quantitative content analysis of 45 films was conducted, and significant increases in violent content in the PG-13 rating category from Time 1 (1988) to Times 2 (1997) and 3 (2006) were found. However, similar increases in other types of adult content in the PG-13 rating category were not found. Results suggest a leniency toward violent content by the MPAA ratings board that parallels America's parents' greater comfort with children being exposed to violence than other types of adult content—sex, for example—in the unrestricted PG-13 rating category.
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- Published online: 26 Feb 2011
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Author biographies
Ron Leone (PhD, Syracuse University, 2000). Ron's primary research area is media regulation, examining the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) ratings system and the phenomenon known as “ratings creep.” He has published scholarly work in Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Popular Communication, and Communication Research Reports.
Laurie Barowski (MA, Stonehill College, 2008) majored in Communication and English at Stonehill College. She currently works in the Development Department at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
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