a

2. ‘U’ stands for Universal
which means all movies
with this rating should be
viewed by people at the
age of 4 and above,
however younger children
are also able to watch
these films as long as their
parents believe it is
suitable enough for them.
The ‘U’ rated films show no
violence nor does it contain
swearing however there
can be some mild bad
language such as ‘damn’.
One example of a film
within this category would
be Cinderella.

3. ‘PG’ simply means parental
guidance therefore it is for
the parents to decide
whether their child should
watch the film. A PG film
should be suitable for
children at the age of 8 and
older, any children younger
should be accompanied by
a parent/guardian. There is
usually no bad language
but just as in Universal
rating films there is
potential of words such as
‘damn’ or ‘crap’ being used.
Sex references are not
usually made and the
violence is usually minor.

4. ’12’ and ‘12A’ are very similar with the
only a little difference which is; a child
under the age of 12 will be allowed to
watch a 12A movie if accompanied by
an adult and approved by the staff at
the cinema, this is because the movie
may contain scenes that are not
suitable for a child under the age of
12. But a 12 rated film should only be
watched by people aged 12 and over.
These movies may contain violence
but it wont be too detailed. There can
be very little sexual references and
also discreet nudity where certain
areas of the body will be hidden. 12
and 12A rated films are quite likely to
contain bad language such as ‘shit’ or
‘bitch’.

5. A ’15’ rated film should
only be watched by those
who are 15 or above as
these movies can contain
strong language such as
‘shit’, there is also a chance
of violence, sexual
references and activity
which may include nudity.
There can be
discriminatory language
along with drug taking and
this is because 15 is
thought to be a mature
age, so anyone who is 15
and over should be able to
handle watching these
types of films without

6. 18 rated films should be viewed
by the required ages of 18 and
above, these movies should only
be watched by those who are
adults as the scenes can contain
strong language such as ‘bitch’
and very frequently also. There
can be strong portrayals of
sexual activity and there is also
a chance of sexual violence such
as rape being included. In some
cases there could also be real
sex.
A high number of 18 rated films
are from the horror genre
therefore there will be lots of
gruesome scenes with strong
blood.

7. A ‘R18’ rated movies are
legally restricted and are
only allowed to be watched
by those who are adults
(18 and over). They can
only be viewed at certain
licenced cinemas and can
only be sold in licenced sex
shops to adults. This is
because the movies contain
very explicit content which
extremely strong sexual
activity or even violence
which should not be seen
by those who are under the
age of 18.