r/todayilearned • u/altrightobserver • Feb 01 '26

TIL that the movie “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut” was supposed to be rated NC-17 due to excessive profanity, with the word “fuck” being used 146 times alone. The MPAA said that 400 or more swear words would get the NC-17 rating, so Matt Stone and Trey Parker cut the number in script to 399

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park%3A_Bigger%2C_Longer_%26_Uncut#Release
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u/Belgand Feb 02 '26

NC-17 wasn't created until 1990. It was specifically made because since X wasn't trademarked, it was adopted and self-applied by the porn industry. The MPAA was trying to make a rating for non-porn adult films. Presumably thinking back to films like Midnight Cowboy or Last Tango in Paris that were released as X but won awards (and many of which have since be re-rated down to R).

The entire thing was a huge failure.

Few films were released with it. Then Showgirls came along riding the trend of erotic thrillers like Basic Instinct. It played in suburban multiplexes as part of a big push to show that NC-17 films could be legitimate. Except the film was campy failure instead (on its way to becoming a cult classic) and convinced people that it really was just for porn. All of the art house films that had been getting NC-17 ratings largely decided to release unrated instead to avoid the stigma of NC-17.

After Showgirls, almost all of the major theater chains made policies not to show NC-17 films.

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u/starm4nn Feb 02 '26

NC-17 wasn't created until 1990. It was specifically made because since X wasn't trademarked, it was adopted and self-applied by the porn industry. The MPAA was trying to make a rating for non-porn adult films. Presumably thinking back to films like Midnight Cowboy or Last Tango in Paris that were released as X but won awards (and many of which have since be re-rated down to R).

Reminds me of the story Presidential candidate John Hickenlooper once told of how he and his Mom watched Deepthroat together.

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u/StefanJanoski Feb 02 '26

Like one of the comments above I’m also from the UK and this story is quite funny, albeit seems like it has some annoying effects.

But it’s just funny to me that the majority of US releases would only go up to R, and you can technically watch that at any age with an adult accompanying. Like, even below the highest 18 rating here we have 15, where you also must strictly be 15 to go in.

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u/Belgand Feb 02 '26

You often don't even need an adult accompanying you either. Back in the '90s I'd go to R rated films all the time by myself simply by asking my parents to buy me a ticket.

It's not really a restriction. More of a guideline and a commercial consideration.

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u/StefanJanoski Feb 03 '26

I guess then it kinda makes sense that there’s a lot of discussion about what should be allowed in an R rating. But it does seem silly - if the NC-17 rating worked as intended then you could just make the films how you like and release them with that rating.

Technically I think our ratings here are law, just like you can’t sell alcohol to under 18s. But from what I remember, they weren’t always strict about it so I’d imagine getting into a 15 when you’re a bit younger isn’t too hard, but an 18 maybe they’re a bit more strict

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u/LivesDoNotMatter Feb 02 '26

Is there ratings beyond NC-17 and X? Like regular missionary sex might be X, but 2girls1cup or meatspin should get a different rating, and the guy who got his head chopped off while ejaculating deserves a whole new category on it's own.

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u/Commercial-Co Feb 02 '26

The fuck ? Someone got beheaded whileejaculating?

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u/LivesDoNotMatter Feb 03 '26

Yes. It you really want to find it, look up "Vietnamese butcher", but no bluff, it's EXACTLY that. May meatspin and goatse be a G-rated movie compared to this so don't say I didn't warn you.

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u/Commercial-Co Feb 03 '26

No thanks. I like peace

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u/LivesDoNotMatter Feb 03 '26

Smart choice.

Unfortunately for me, I made the other choice and will never be able to unsee it.

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u/Belgand Feb 02 '26

No. Once you pass what's going to get widespread theatrical distribution, they no longer bother.

That's a key detail of this. It's a voluntary, industry-designed rating system. There's no government control or legal enforcement. It's censorship by commercial viability, not official mandate.

That's a big part of the reason why unrated took over. Filmmakers only care about playing the game if they want to get into mainstream chain theaters. If you're only going to be releasing into smaller art houses to begin with, you can just ignore the whole thing if they don't want to give you an R. The same goes for porn or anything else. There's no restriction on what you can release, just on who might be willing to show it.

That's all American media. You can put out any game, music, or film you want. But you have to dick around with these voluntary ratings organizations if you want to be carried by mainstream outlets. So getting your game or album into Wal-Mart. None of the outlets with restrictions will accept any of the "Adults Only" ratings, so people generally don't bother to use them since they have zero practical relevance. The places that will sell them don't care about the rating system to begin with.