Sunday, September 22, 2013

Part of Me

It has recently come to my attention that Jaws, the movie that scared the bejeebers out of landlocked and coastal dwellers alike in the summer of 1975, is rated PG.
PG.
That's the same rating as Happy Feet.
Now I know from experience that PG movies in the 1980s and PG movies in 2013 are two different things because I've rented the Goonies and Back to the Future for my kids and heard them say (gleefully) more than once, "hey Mom! Did he just say Xyz?"
But Jaws? I mean wasn't there swearing, and nudity, and body parts? I'm pretty sure I remember swearing, and nudity, and body parts. I know a lot of the scariness in Jaws was implied scariness, which is what made the movie so great; that and a really good soundtrack, but there was some actual scariness too. 
What'd it take to get an R rating back in the 70s? I suppose Apocalypse Now and Taxi Driver were also rated PG?

song: Part of Me • artist: Tedeschi Trucks Band

1 comment:

Winnie said...

Jaws scared the crap out of me as a kid! Just hearing the music brings that back to me. I just remember the bloody scene whent he guy gets eaten ON the boat. I used to boat with my late hubby all the time and was always looking for Jaws. Funny thing, Great white shark was caught once in Montauk, so he could NEVER convince me that another one wouldn't pop up out of the water.