NC-17 is the highest rating in the Motion Picture Association (MPA) film rating system used for films distributed in the United States. The rating is assigned to films that the MPA believes most parents would consider "patently adult" and not suitable for their children under 18. The rating does not designate films as pornographic or obscene, but simply that the content is suitable only for adults. The rating may be issued because of violence, sex, drugs, or other elements. The NC-17 rating replaced the X rating in 1990 as the X rating was not trademarked by the MPA and had been co-opted by the pornography industry. NC-17 originally stood for "No Children Under 17 Admitted" to combat the misconception that the rating indicated a film was pornographic. In 1996, the MPA reworded the NC-17 rating to "No One 17 and Under Admitted", effectively raising the minimum age for admission from 17 to 18.
NC-17 films are not strictly pornographic, but the MPA recognized that they needed to qualify the maturity of their audiences. NC-17 films are for adults only and deal with serious subjects. Their controversial release border on candid exploration and distasteful exploitation. Such a fine line even leads these films to be removed and receive a re-rating by the MPA rating system.
