Rated PG-13 for Suggestive Content?: Wonder Woman Rating Revealed

The MPAA recently came out with its rating for the upcoming DCEU film, Wonder Woman. It is not so surprising that the film received a PG-13. This is pretty standard for superhero film. What is interesting is why it received the rating that it did.

When given a rating by the MPAA, there is also a descriptor that provides a rationale for the rating. In this case, Wonder Woman received a PG-13 for “sequences of violence and action, and suggestive content.” It is the “suggestive content” that has me intrigued. This isn’t so much because I believe that the film will push the boundaries in a unique way that requires this rating. I am more interested in seeing what the MPAA considered “suggestive content.” 

The MPAA or Motion Picture Association of America was formed in 1922. However, the rating system that we have in place was not formulated and enacted until 1968. This system is completely voluntary and actually has no legal standing. That being said, it is the theaters which enforce the ratings by refusing to show films that have not gotten a rating. 

Now, because of the power that it wields, you would think that the MPAA has some kind of standards in determining its ratings. Despite what the public may believe, there are no guidelines to determine a film’s rating at least not any guidelines that the MPAA will make available to the public. Additionally, the rationale behind ratings is not revealed to the filmmakers nor does the MPAA provide feedback about what may need to be cut from the film in order to achieve a lesser rating.

One of the many criticisms of the MPAA is that, in general, sexual content is treated more harshly than violent content. This is why the designation of “suggestive content” is so intriguing. Considering the history of the MPAA in dealing with sexual content, it is likely that this designation has to do with something of a sexual nature beyond a typical love story. Iron Man had a rating of PG-13 for some “intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief suggestive content” due to the fact that Tony Stark is a womanizer within the film. Now I can’t say for certain that there is some double standards going on, but it will be interesting to see the Wonder Woman film to see if the content is actually more suggestive than Iron Man.

I wonder about this because the MPAA seems to have harsher guidelines towards depiction of female sexuality than male sexuality. For example, The Cooler was initially given a rating of NC-17 due to a scene in which a woman's face was the focal point during a scene in which it is implied that she is receiving oral sex and in the throes of sexual pleasure. Once the content of the scene was shortened and focused was shifted away from the woman, this film received an R rating. 

It also shows bias in viewing heterosexual relationships with more lenient standards than homosexual relationships. Let's look at the rating for Brokeback Mountain as an example of this bias. The actual sexual content is minimal and really does not go above what one would see in a PG-13 film in terms of nudity; however, it was give an R rating. Given that Wonder Woman is an Amazon and lives within a society of all women, it is possible that some of the suggestive content deals with close same-sex relationships between the women within Themyscira.

As the film does not come out until June, I will have to wait to make my final call, but given the history of the MPAA and its ratings, I can’t help but question the rationale given for the rating. If you are interested in learning a bit more about the MPAA and its processes, I highly recommend the documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated. Despite not having any sexual content or explicit language, the documentary was given a rating of NC-17. Interesting indeed.