Steven Spielberg and George Lucas influenced US film rating changes

In 1984, the release of several major summer films involving Steven Spielberg and George Lucas significantly impacted the United States film rating system. Films such as ‘Gremlins’, ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’, and ‘Poltergeist’ challenged existing classification standards.

At the time, the US operated under rigid categories: G for general audiences, PG for parental guidance, R for restricted audiences, and X for prohibited content. The graphic nature of ‘Gremlins’, which featured violent scenes, and ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’, which included intense imagery such as a heart being removed, highlighted the ambiguity of the existing PG rating and prompted a shift in how films were classified for children.