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Nicole’s Christian Fiction Ratings System

 

                                                
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It seems there are always new ways to regulate our lives. Not all of them are beneficial, and in fact some of them are intrusive and obnoxious and unnecessary.

So. It's been suggested that Christian Fiction use a ratings system on their books similar to those used to identify films, i.e. R for Restricted viewing for anyone under 17 without a parent/guardian all the way down to the totally inoffensive G for General Audiences including children.

I've been pondering this idea and discovered I'm not totally opposed to it. I'm not convinced it's a great idea, but neither am I staunchly against it. It only solves the problem of noting the separation of types of novels for readers. I seriously doubt it will halt the outcries of the Christian Fiction Police who will complain that no Christian should be writing an R-rated novel, exclamation point.

The most difficult part of a ratings system would be deciding upon the group to evaluate novels for the purpose of attaching a rating to them. I think authors should be assigned to this task. A small collection from each genre should determine/implement the ratings within their genres.

I've put together my Suggested Fiction Rating Categories as follows. Feel free to add your own.

C: (Children) For infants to young readers

AC: (After Children) From young readers through elementary readers

MG: (Middle Grade) For pre-teens through young teens

T: (Teens) Through high school

YA: (Young Adult) Some teens through early 20s

Adult: Advised for Adult readers

F: (Female) Women's Fiction

M: (Male) Geared to Men

G/M/F: General Audiences (Male and Female); Safe for all ages

MT: Mature Themes

R: Restricted due to Extreme Violence and/or Sexual Situations and/or Language Issues; Adult Themes

We all know sophisticated young people who've graduated to Adult reading long ago – whether or not they should have. This ratings system only clarifies categories and can be combined with a genre label. For example: F/R could indicate Female/Restricted citing Women's Fiction with Sexual References. Or H/G Historical for General Audiences.

Shown in a circular label on the back cover beneath the back cover copy, unobtrusive but evident to potential readers? Your opinions?

 

Father, your authors rarely write to offend, but it does happen. Please help us to be obedient to you over and above man. Your instructions are what matter. Help us to be faithful to you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.    

  

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6 responses to “Nicole’s Christian Fiction Ratings System”

  1. BK Jackson Avatar
    BK Jackson

    I see ratings and it gives me a headache. Besides, rating are still rather useless because it all comes down to the individual. There are movies “only” rated PG that I would not let a young person in my charge see. Stuff that is now rated “R” in many cases ought to be more heavily rated than that. The people I would choose as the authorities on establishing ratings might be different than what someone else would choose.

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  2. Nicole Avatar
    Nicole

    Brenda, I would agree the film ratings are way out of whack. For example, I think they can use the f-word once in a PG-13 film. What? Directors have had to cut scenes in some films to get in under the R-rating instead of the less-attractive-to-audiences NC-17 which guarantees some pornographic scenes. Yet with the R-rating full nudity is not forbidden and there’s much sexual “freedom”.
    And I also agree the “judging panel” for CBA novels is a scary thought because of the whole suggestion that a ratings system might be needed in the first place to deter the CFP from reading books they “shouldn’t”. I suppose some Christian readers would be embarrassed to buy a novel labeled with an R, but really I can think of a boatload of readers who wouldn’t be phased and might even look for those books because they’d expect more realism in them.
    No easy task but a possibilty down the road.

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  3. Jessica Thomas Avatar
    Jessica Thomas

    Very thorough list, though because of it’s length it might be hard for people to remember what each rating stands for. Which, come to think of it, add a bit of humorous irony to the whole thing.

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  4. Nicole Avatar
    Nicole

    I think in a small font in a circular label it could be done. Just use the particular classification for the rating and spell it out. When using the R, stipulate: Extreme violence; sexual and language issues – whatever. Possible, I think.
    (Good to hear from you, Jess.)

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  5. Jason Joyner Avatar
    Jason Joyner

    Well, I was so busy yesterday I missed this. Shoot.
    I think it is a great idea in theory. However, I don’t think there’s enough demand to empower this. The CBA meets the needs of the majority of their readers. It would take a lot of work to do this for a minority of readers that would be interested in the type of books requiring the more restrictive rating.
    I wish we could do a broader separation. Use the term “inspirational fiction” for the clean books that preach a definite Christian message, and have something like Christian fiction or faith fiction for the books that are more violent, explicit, or nuanced in their presentation of faith. Just my two cents.

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  6. Nicole Avatar
    Nicole

    Thanks for giving your thoughts, J. I think it’s been a slightly over-supposed idea that Christian fiction is limited to its chosen demographic, but you’re definitely right about them catering to that notion. I think there are many, MANY of us who read it wishing it gave us more. We don’t want the graphics and philosophies of secular/general market novels, but neither do we enjoy the ultra-swept-clean fiction we see so often from CBA offerings.
    And some of the “extreme violence” novels do a fine job of being “inspirational” just in a different way.
    I do think we could add another label for those CF novels which are light on faith elements. Good idea.

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