Overall change in BBFC history

• Guidelines have become specific, official and publicly available and approved
• Age ratings for both cinematic and home entertainment have become more prolific, covering smaller age brackets
• The BBFC has become more responsible and accountable - now rating cinematic films, home release and video games
• The change and development through a variety of different Presidents and Directors have meant more leniency on film as an artistic expression
• Increasing acknowledgment of the 'media sophistication' of (young) audiences allowing more films to be passed uncut as the possible effects of film are known and therefore are more sensibly treated

History of BBFC: 2000s

Wider social/political/cultural issues:

• Vast increase in controversal European films caused concern in BBFC - fortunate relax of attitudes towards sex

Key films and issues they raised:

• The Idiots (von Trier, 1998) normally cut but sexual activity brief and serious intention to film
• New policy on sex references challenged in Baise-moi (Despentes, 2001) as explicit but also contained rape scene
• Spiderman (Raimi, 2002) decision to make it 12 was overruled by some local councils as it was a family film - led to construction of 12A rating
• 9 Songs (Winterbottom, 2004) was criticised as 'the most sexually explicit film in British cinema', but passed '18' uncut as no discrimination of English/foreign language films and uncut European films had similar standard of controversy
• Shortbus (Mitchell, 2006) contained explicit images of real sex and received '18' certificate. French (The Observer) commented 'brought close the abolition of censorship but not classification'

History of BBFC: 1990s

Wider social/political/cultural issues:

• Jamie Bulger case called for stricter standards on home video
• Rapid development in digital media (e.g. computer games becoming more realistic)
• Emphasis changed from preventing 'unusual weapons' to easily accessible weaponry (e.g. knives)

Key films and issues they raised:

• Natural Born Killers (Stone, 1994) provoked most controversy at time of the harm effects debates
• Kids (Clark, 1995) described as 'child pornography' so board had to find age of actors - only minor cuts made to 'indecent' scenes of younger actors under Protection of Children Act

History of BBFC: 1980s

Wider social/political/cultural issues:

• Development of video recorder created anxiety of home viewing (no legal classification requirement)

Key films and issues they raised:

• The Krays (Medak, 1989) passed due to known infamy of gangland characters (actions not justified) however cuts to horrific mutilation scene
• The Evil Dead (Raimi, 1982) had 49 seconds of cut when brought in as video nasty

History of BBFC: 1970s

Wider social/political/cultural issues:

• Backlash against idea liberalisation went too far

Key films and issues they raised:

• Concern over sexual violence/rape in A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, 1971)
• The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973) accused of blasphemy and danger of psychological damage to children
• Trash (Warhol, 1970) was a key fight for BBFC to defend minimal cuts against anti-censorship campaigners
• Emmanuelle (Jeackin, 1978) extra cut demanded as despite not explicit, overall film breached Obscene Publication Act in terms of corruption due to rape scene appearing just

History of BBFC: 1960s

Wider social/political/cultural issues:

• Liberalisation - increased tolerance of explicit refences

Key films and issues they raised:

• Peeping Tom (Powell, 1960) ignored suggested cuts due to 'morbid concentration on fear' and failed to please public
• Alfie (Gilbert, 1966) compared to Victim (Dearden, 1961) passed uncut, contributing to the sexuality debate - increasing public tolerance
• The Trip (Corman, 1967) reignited fears of drugs and was banned due to showing both 'delights and drawbacks' of LSD - only reclassified 18 in 2002

History of BBFC: 1950s

Wider social/political/cultural issues:

• End of rationing
• Emergence of 'youth' as a social group - issue of juvenile delinquency (mods/rockers)
• Growth of television as family entertainment - eroding audience in cinema
• Moral panic about drug taking
• Last capital punishment (Ruth Ellis) in UK (1956)

Key films and issues they raised:

• Rock Around the Clock (Sears, 1956) & Rebel Without A Cause (Ray, 1955) fuelled concerns over teenage criminality
• The Wild One (Benedek, 1954) described as 'a spectacle of unbridled hooliganism' - showed biker gangs at time of Mod/Rocker riots - rejected until 1967 when dangers seen to be over
• Devil's Weed rejected (1951) as 'evils of drug taking not made clear'
• Yield To The Night (Thompson, 1956) had themes of death row, coinciding with Ruth Ellis therefore passed as 'X' despite tasteful presentation
• Room at the Top (Clayton, 1958) asked to soften language after accusation of "gross suggestiveness in costuming, dialogue and situations", despite its positive reflection of the upheaval of social/class boundaries in post-war UK

History of BBFC: 1912-49



Horror/gangster films caused particular concern



Wider social/political/cultural issues:

• Years between WW1 and WW2

Key films and issues they raised:

• Frankenstein (1931) banned from children by London County Council and Manchester City Council despite scene of drowning girl already being cut

BBFC and PCC seminars

Why were they useful?

• Put the PCC into context seeing the offices where they work
• Meeting acutual examiners/employees of the companies open me to see the offices on a day-to-day basis
• A chance to ask relevant, up to date questions to the representatives from the PCC and the BBFC

What have you learnt?

• The BBFC have to watch and report on 5hr41mins of footage each day
• There is debate in both offices over what decisions should be made - not as clear cut as I thought
• Other information largely re-affirming revision of what we've learnt so far

Anything unexpected/surprising?

• Surprising how much influence the PCC has in preventing harassment, even prior to publication of information
• The Dark Knight and King's Speech were both initially15 rated before being lowered on grounds of context

Current Classification System

Pros :)	Cons :(
Protection of children is a priority	Applying guidelines is a subjective process
Provides information for parents	Impossible to predict harm/upset of sensitive viewers
Helps audiences make informed decisions	Implies age brackets key feature in determining response
Society needs some form of rules	Sees children as having only uninformed emotional responses to what they see
Cross section of examiners representing a diverse society	Suggests children are passive victims of media
Guidelines are relatively robust and clear	Films forced to take role of moral guidance
Examiners take work very seriously	Encourages parents to relinquish role and rely on 'nanny state' to control
Uses public research and current affairs when redefining guidelines every 4 years	Only 60% of households have children but all films are regulated
Enforces that some issues are negative and unacceptable in our society	Discourages production of challenging, alternative children's films
Provides protection for children with irresponsible parents	Realism in films is problematic and subjective
Enforced by governmental guidelines and laws	Internet is unsupervised and unregulated
Independent and has the films best interests - wants to promote the industry	Little or no evidence to support age ratings actually work
Local councils have the final say over the BBFC (e.g. Spiderman)	Scapegoat film industry - why not classify plays/books?
It means parents do not have to view a film prior to showing it to their child	No representation of children/teen age group in examiners
Employs the 'Just In Case' method to protect the vulnerable from possible reactions to a film	Audiences mostly unaware of info on BBFC website, including parents and those responsible
	Masks the real problem within society (perhaps of poor parenting) as classifications give people false ideas children are protected

Is film regulation sensible, useful to society, achieving its aim of protecting the vulnerable and upholding the law?

• Film regulation is sensible as it seeks to protect the vulnerable, however, it does mask the problem of why these children apparently do not know right from wrong and prevents helping the situation (e.g. the importance of helping parents socialise children)
• It is useful for society in that it maintains and upholds values and moralities within society, enforcing what is acceptable
• Within exhibition in cinemas i believe it is achieving its aim of protecting the vulnerable, however, because of Internet streaming and accessibility of DVDs/Blu-ray etc. at home most children have seen a film beyond their age bracket
• Because of classification, parents do not feel responsible to watch a film first and generally don't know of the BBFC website, so a child could see a film upsetting for that individual (e.g. a child of recently divorced parents may be more upset by a 12A with those themes than another)
• The guidelines are very successful in upholding the law as they follow what/what isn't illegal and maintain legal principles

Improving the system?

• Perhaps encourage information over classification. E.g. label a film 'horror' or 'bad language' so parents can prevent their child from seeing if they know they are particularly vulnerable
• Promote the BBFC website to show parents the vast amounts of info available to prevent children seeing unsuitable films (especially 12As) and then complaining to the councils/BBFC
• Increase teenage/child representation in the examiners or at least amount of consultations with them to improve sceptical views on the majority of children's maturity levels
• Encourage people to think carefully for themselves when seeing a film or letting an underage see it to put the power back into the responsible parent's hands over the film makers/industry

18 > R18

R18 allows:

• 'Sex works' - material seeking to sexually arose/stimulate
• Moderate, non-abusive inflictions of pain within consensual sexual activity
• Explicit sexual imagery

15 > 18

• 18 is no longer governed by guidelines on principle adults should be free to choose their own entertainment
• Still prevention of criminal offences, sexual violence and works seeking to sexually arouse

12A > 15

15 accepts:

• Drug taking without promoting misuse
• Strong threat/menace unless sadistic/sexualised
• Frequent use of strong language and infrequent of strongest
• Nudity in sexual context without strong detail
• Strong reference/portrayal to sexual behaviour without strong detail
• All themes
• Strong violence not dwelling on infliction, pain or injury

PG > 12A

12A accepts:

• Discriminatory language/behaviour with readily identifiable character
• Infrequent drug misuse
• Moderate physical/psychological threat
• Weapons if not easily accessible
• Infrequent strong language
• Sex references suitable for young teens
• Mature themes
• Sexual violence with contextual justification

U > PG

PG accepts:

• Themes can be more acceptable
• Sex/relationships can be joked about with discreet reference
• Violence/threat can be a little strong
• Horror can be scary but not prolonged
• Discrimination allowed with educational/historical context

R18

R18 (Restricted 18) - Only shown/supplied in specially licensed cinemas/sex shops and to adults over 18

Overview:

• Legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex/strong fetish material involving adults
• May not be supplied by mail order
• Guidelines applied regardless of sexual orientation

Unacceptable content:

• Material in breach of criminal law
• Material judged as obscene under Obscene Publications Act (1959)
• Encouraging material (including dialogue) of sexually abusive activity (e.g. paedophilia, incest, rape) include adult role-play as non-adult
• Non-consensual (even simulated) sexual activity
• Physical constraints preventing indication of withdrawal of consent
• Infliction of pain or lasting physical harm (real/simulated) - allowance made for moderate consensual activity
• Penetration by object associated with violence/likely to cause physical harm
• Sexual threats, humiliation or abuse outside of consensual role playing game
• Strong physical/verbal abuse even if consensual

18

18 - Suitable only for adults

Overview:

• No-one younger than 18 may see in cinema or rent/buy video work
• In line with public consultation and Human Rights Act (1998) as the BBFC will not normally override principle adults free to choose their entertainment

Exceptions:

• Material in breach of criminal law or made through commission of criminal offence
• Appears to risk harm to individuals/society through their behaviour
• Explicit imagery of sexual activity contextually unjustified (if considered a sex work maybe R18)
• Sex material allowed when seeking to inform/educate (e.g. in maters of sexuality, safer sex/health)

15

15 - Suitable for 15 years and over

Overview:

• No one younger than 15 may seethe film in the cinema
• No one younger than 15 may buy/rent the video work

Issues:

Discrimination	No endorsement of discriminatory language/behaviour
Drugs	May be shown without encouragement of misuse. Misuse of accessible dangerous substances (e.g. aerosols/solvents) unlikely to be accepted
Horror	Threat/menace permitted unless sadistic/sexualised
Imitable behaviour	No dwelling/glamorisation of accessible weapons/dangerous behaviour (e.g. hanging, suicide, self harm)
Language	Frequent strong language permitted and strongest (e.g. cunt) if justified in context and not repetitive/aggressive
Nudity	Allowed in sexual context without strong detail
Sex	Behaviour/language allowed with no strong detail. Primary purpose of sexual arousal likely to be unacceptable
Theme	No prohibition if age appropriate
Violence	May be strong with no dwelling on infliction/pain/injury. Strong sadistic/sexualised violence unacceptable. Sexual violence allowed when discreet and with strong contextual justification

12A/12

12A/12 - Suitable for 12 years and over

Overview:

• Works may upset children under 12
• May contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for under 12s
• 12A only for cinema and 12 for video works

Issues:

Discrimination	Language/behaviour mustn't be endorsed. Aggressive/discriminatory unacceptable unless clearly condemned
Drugs	Infrequent misuse with no glamorisation or instructional detail
Horror	Infrequent, sustained and moderate physical/psychological threat permitted
Imitable behaviour	Dangerous behaviour (e.g. hanging, suicide, self harm) should not dwell or appear pain/harm free. Easily accessible weapons not to be glamorised
Language	Infrequent strong language (e.g. 'fuck')
Nudity	Sexual context allowed if brief/discreet
Sex	Brief/discreet with no frequent crude reference
Theme	Mature themes acceptable but suitable for young teens
Violence	No dwelling on detail/injuries/blood unless contextually just. Sexual violence only implied with strong contextual justification

PG

PG (Parental Guidance) - General viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children

Overview:

• Unaccompanied children of any age may watch
• Should not disturb a child aged around 8 or older
• Parents advised to consider whether content may upset younger/more sensitive children

Issues:

Discrimination	Language/behaviour unlikely to be acceptable unless educational/historical context
Drugs	Illegal drugs/misuse must be innocuous or carry anti-drug message
Horror	Frightening sequences can't be prolonged/intense (fantasy setting may mitigate)
Imitable behaviour	No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which could be copied. No glamourisation of realistic/accessible weapons
Language	Mild bad language (e.g. ‘shit’ or ‘son of a bitch’) but the context and delivery are always important.
Nudity	Natural nudity, no sexual context
Sex	Activity/references may be implied but discreet/infrequent
Theme	More serious issues (e.g. domestic violence) should condone unacceptable behaviour
Violence	Moderate without detail violence thats justified in context (e.g. history, comedy, fantasy)