film. Throughout all these changes, X-rated film were banned to all children under the age of eighteen.
At first, the X rating was used for Hollywood films which dealt with explicit adult themes. Over time, however, the X became associated strictly with pornographic movies. By the late 1970's, any industry film getting an X rating was returned to the director for re-editing. Specifically, all offensive scenes were to be removed so that the film would qualify for an R rating. It may be noted that this requirement only pertained to films produced by the major films studios. Films made by independent producers could still be released despite an X rating. Because they do not belong to the MPAA, independent studios had the option of either releasing their films with an X rating or with no rating at all. Either way, however, such films generally faced the problems of low distribution and lack of publicity. When the major studios stopped producing X rated films altogether, the X rating became permanently associated with pornographic films.
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