Reference: Family Suitability Line
Rick Retro’s Reference Rundown #13: Content Block, Family Suitability Line
Rick Retro’s Reference Rundown #13: Content Block, Family Suitability Line
Retro Reviews Reference
The body of the review and the Footer Block are followed by the Content Block. The first line is the Family Suitability Line revealing the overall content rating, followed by the official public rating. It’s followed by the Content Detail Line with the five areas of content rated.
Here are two examples of possible Content Blocks:
✅3️⃣ OK for older kids. (Grades 4+) | PGa
😡+3 😵💫+2^ 🤬+3 🤭+3 🫣+3
❌4️⃣ Extreme adults-only content. | R
😡-1 😵💫-0 🤬-2v 🤭-4 🫣-1
Emoji index:
✅ + (plus)
❌ - (minus)
😡 Violence/Scariness
😵💫 Substances (Smoking, Alcohol, Drug Abuse)
🤬 Language
🤭 Sex
🫣 Nudity
All detail ratings can range from +4 to -4. The Family Suitability rating can range from ✅4️⃣ (+4) to ❌4️⃣ (-4). The Family Suitability rating will equal the lowest detail rating, taking into account mitigated ratings.
A mitigated rating is indicated by up or down arrows. This indicates that while a rating technically represents a certain level of content, mitigating factors, such as the overall viewpoint, message or tone of the film, make this content less (^) or more (v) troubling than the numerical rating indicates.
For example, 😵💫+1^ means that for purposes of determining the Family Suitability rating, the Substances rating is +2. Or 🤬-1vv means that for purposes of determining the Family Suitability rating, the Language rating is -3.
Family Suitability Ratings
✅4️⃣ OK for younger kids. (Grades K+) Typically rated G or TV-G.
✅3️⃣ OK for older kids. (Grades 4+) Typically rated G, PGa, TV-G or TV-PG.
✅2️⃣ OK for teens and adults. (Grades 7+) Typically rated PGa or TV-PG, includes standard 20th century TV fare.
✅1️⃣ Mostly OK for teens and adults. (Grades 10+, ⚠️Might be considered inappropriate for sensitive teens and adults.) Typically rated PGa, PGb, PG-13 or TV-PG, includes standard TV fare of today that would have been considered borderline TV in the 20th century.
⚠️0️⃣ Problematic for teens and sensitive adults. Typically rated PGb, PGc, PG-13 or TV-PG, includes questionable standard TV fare of today that would not have been allowed on TV a few decades ago,
❌1️⃣ Light adults-only content. Typically rated PGb, PGc, PG-13 (heavy), R (light) or TV-MA (light).
❌2️⃣ Moderate adults-only content. Typically rated R (moderate), UN for an unrated version of a PG-13 rated work, or TV-MA (moderate).
❌3️⃣ Heavy adults-only content. Typically rated R (heavy), UN for an unrated version of an R rated work, or TV-MA (heavy).
❌4️⃣ Extreme adults-only content. Typically rated beyond R such as X, NC-17, UN for an unrated version of an R rated work, or TV-MA (extreme).
Official ratings abbreviations and descriptions:
TV-Y This program is designed to be appropriate for all children.
TV-Y7 This program is designed for children age 7 and above.
NR Not Rated, but would likely be G, PG or PG-13 if it were.
Approved (1934-1968) Approved for all audiences.
G (1968-present), General audiences – All ages admitted.
TV-G Most parents will find this program suitable for all ages.
PGa (July 1, 1984-present), Parental guidance suggested – Some material may not be suitable for children.
TV-PG This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children.
SMA (1966-1968) Suggested for mature audiences.
M (1968-1970) Suggested for mature audiences. Parental discretion advised.
GP (1970-1972) All ages admitted – Parental guidance suggested, may not be suitable for pre-teenagers.
PGb (1972-1977) Parental guidance suggested – Some material may not be suitable for pre-teenagers.
PGc (1977-June 30, 1984) Parental guidance suggested – Some material may not be suitable for children.
PG-13 (1984-present), Parents strongly cautioned – Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
TV-14 This program contains material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.
R16 (1968-1970) Restricted – Persons under 16 not admitted, unless accompanied by parent or adult guardian.
R (1970-present), Restricted – Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
TV-MA This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.
UN Not Rated, but likely would be R or NC-17 if it were.
X16 (1968-1970) Persons under 16 not admitted.
X (1970-1990) No one under 17 admitted.
NC-17b (1990-1996) No children under 17 admitted.
NC-17 (1996-present), Adults only – No one 17 and under admitted.
Retro Reviews Reference Pages:
Reference Overview
Header Block:
Title Line
Primary Information Line
Review-at-a-Glance Section
Secondary Information Lines
Franchise/Series Lines
Opinion Block:
Grade Line
Entertainment Quality Line
Dark Whimsy Line
POPCAP Line
Left-Right Line
Footer Block:
Review Lines
Genre Line
Content Block:
Family Suitability Line
Content Detail Line
Viewpoint Block:
Judeo-Christian Values Line
Christian Values Line
Biblical Values Line
Political Values Line
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