We sometimes forget that media is for everyone; as our world evolves, so do the shows and movies we watch regularly. As the internet changes, more media is readily available to the public if you know where to look, including media that would have age restrictions. You might say that kids should not see more mature media. “They shouldn’t be showing these things to kids,” But I just have to point out that shows and movies used to get away with a lot of stuff. We forget that regardless of whether we know the age rating, they were primarily guidelines until recently. So, let’s glance at those shows. I hope we didn’t see anything inappropriate as we learn how our age rating has changed.

Let’s start by returning to 1968 when Chairman Jack Valenti created the Motion Picture Association film rating system. This rating system replaced the earlier moral censorship guidelines and is used in the United States and territories to rate a motion picture’s suitability for specific audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures are the responsibility of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), previously known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), from 1945 to 2019. Jack Valenti, who had become president of the MPAA in May 1966, deemed the Motion Picture Production Code, which had been in place since 1930 and rigorously enforced since July 1, 1934, out of date and bearing “the odious smell of censorship.” Filmmakers were pushing the boundaries of the code, with some even going as far as filing lawsuits against “Hay’s Code” by invoking the First Amendment. Valenti cited examples such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which used prohibited language, including “hump the hostess,” and Blowup, which was denied Code approval due to nudity, resulting in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a member studio of the MPAA, releasing it through a subsidiary. Valenti revised the code to include the “SMA” (Suggested for Mature Audiences) advisory as a stopgap measure.

Over time, films and shows began to diversify their targeted audience. 1984 The “PG-13” rating was introduced, alerting parents to more intense film content. Around this time frame, talented artists/ animators such as Ralph Bakshi, Don Bluth, and other film productions have started to branch out to show that animated media isn’t limited to a younger audience. Unfortunately, there was (and still is) an assumption that cartoons or anything animated are for kids, regardless of whether the film or show clearly had a PG-13 rating. For a time frame in entertainment, it was an exciting mix of children’s media that would have mature content. Using Bluth’s animated films as an example, his films had a mix of beautiful visuals and whimsical moments, with terrifying/tense sequences and sorrowful scenes in each production.

Over the years, as TV guidelines have made updates to be clear about what can and can’t be shown to specific age groups, it’s easy to understand why, in the modern day, we rarely see any show or movie with similar risk as past media. Not to say that it’s terrible, but I am thankful for parents with young kids who can watch a cartoon and not have inappropriate moments pop up, let alone a traumatizing scene. Still, I find it funny that Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards and Disney’s Frozen are rated PG. As much as some people might say, “Kids are too sensitive!” or “Some parents have something to complain about!” It’s more complex than that; it’s the progression of entertainment diversifying and branching out into the many target audiences. There are not only the very spread out genres for shows and movies but the many age groups that companies might want to target; many different media could suit your fancy. The changes in shows and movies aren’t solely focused on softening their viewers but on reflecting that it is still growing, much like the audience watching these productions.