general audiences

On this day in 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America replaced its stringent and interventionist Motion Picture Production Code (the Hays Code after the association’s president Will H Hays) that had been in force since 1930 with a voluntary ratings system, which appealed to filmmakers and cinema-operators and did not smack of censorship and prudishness as much as the previous regime of conduct. Originally the tiers of suitability were:

Rated G: Suggested for General Audiences
Rated M: Suggested for Mature Audiences—parental discretion advised
Rated R: Restricted—persons under sixteen not admitted, unless accompanied by parent or adult guardian
Rated X: Persons under Sixteen Not Admitted

By 1984, the standard included PG-13 (parental guidance suggested—some material may not be suitable for children under thirteen) and in 1990 X (originally not sanctioned by the MPAA) was replaced by NC-17, no children under seventeen admitted. The broad categories have translated to over half of the movies released in the past five decades have garnered an R-rating or higher.