A brief description
of each area is described below. Use the following descriptions
to learn how to use our KidScore ratings.
Title,
Industry Rating and Description — Find the title,
industry rating, and brief description of the products here.
Platform
(if a video/computer game)— The type of platform
the game is played on, for example, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast,
Sony Playstation, CD-ROM, or Gameboy.
Summary
—
Overall summary of media product content displayed here.
Rater —
Tells whether the ratings are that of Site Visitors or our qualified
panel of SuperRaters.
Ages
— Viewing maturity levels are divided into three
age groups based on the American Academy of Pediatrics standards.
Violence
Amount —
Actions intended to hurt someone or something. Things such as,
but not limited to biting, kicking, throwing things, punching,
using weapons, animated violence, and all the way to extremely
graphic violence such as sexual violence would be included.
Violence
Portrayal —
If there is violence, this category measures how it is portrayed.
A green light means it is necessary for the story and isn't exaggerated.
A yellow or red light means the violence is unnecessary exaggerated,
trivialized, and/or glamorized. There's a big difference, for
example, in the portrayal of violence in a film about the death
of Christ and violence in a film such as Die
Hard.
Fear
—
Parents want to know if a media product has the ability to cause
fear in children. Examples would include any scenes which could
cause fear in the viewer, such as gory scenes, exaggerated scenes
of pain and suffering, and other scary scenes.
Illegal/Harmful
—
Does the media product encourage or display behavior which is
illegal, harmful, or dangerous if imitated by children? A scene
in the movie The Program,
for example, showed high school boys lying in the middle of a
busy highway to prove their bravery. In the following week there
were several deaths from teenagers imitating the movie.
Language
—
This category captures name calling, disrespectfulness, ethnic/gender
slurs, crude or obscene language as well as sexual innuendo or
sexually explicit dialogue.
Nudity
—
Examples include provocative and/or revealing dress as well as
partial or full nudity.
Sexual
Content —
Sexual dialogue is picked up in the language category. This category
deals with sexual behavior.
