Movie Ratings Made Clear

Some parents want to shield their teenagers or pre-teen children from seeing violent movies - but wouldn't mind so much if the kids see a little hanky panky on the screen.

Other parents might object to strong sexual content but aren't concerned about a smattering of profanity.

It's for just these dilemmas that the Motion Picture Association of America has decided to offer moviegoers more guidance. The MPAA will require newspaper and billboard ads to include the reasons a film is given a G, PG, PG-13 or R rating.

The decision by the MPAA, which has authority over the movie advertising of its studio members, follows criticism over the way it determines ratings, Daily Variety reported Friday.

The MPAA traditionally has offered such expanded ratings to various publications and posted them on its Web site, but has never mandated that they be printed in ads, according to Variety.

Under the new guidelines, for example, "The Bone Collector," would be "rated R for strong violent content including grisly images, and for language," while "Eyes Wide Shut" would be "rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some drug-related material."