Film Classification

So film classification... Well... What is it? How are films classified? Who classifies films? Okay lets get into. 

The British Board of Film Classification (or the BBFC) is a non-governmental organization, founded by the film industry in 1912 and is responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the UK. Wow, that's a mouthful. Okay so in simple terms the British Board of Film Classification chose what rating films should be so if they think a film is really gory they wouldn't want young people to watch it so they would pick a higher age rating. 
The BBFC have 2 main principles:

• To protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable content.
• To empower consumers, particularly parents and those with responsibility for children to make informed viewing decisions.

Not only is there the BBFC but there's the CBBFC designed to give children information on age ratings in the UK and how they work which I believe is good so that children aren't exposed to anything they shouldn't at that age. Good job BBFC!

Film makers have got to take a lot of things into consideration before they even start filming a movie, like ethics... Ethics are kinda taking over everything and the majority of the time it's a very good thing.


Okay, so the rating we know are U, PG, 12A, 12, 15 and 18. A U being suitable for all and an 18 being suitable for adults only
So lets take a look at some differences between a U and an 18.
U

• At U the BBFC will allow infrequent use of very mild bad language (e.g "damn" and "hell")
• Character may be seen kissing and cuddling and there may be references to sexual behavior. However, there will b
• e no overt focus on sexual behavior, language or innuendo.
•  Violence will generally be very mild. A U film may include brief fight scenes or moments where characters are placed in danger. However, moments of emotional stress or threat will be quickly resolved and the outcome will be reassuring.
• At U there will not normally be references to illegal drugs or drugs misuse there is a clear anti-drugs or educational message which will be understood by a younger audience.

18

• No theme is prohibited at 18. Adults are free to choose their own entertainment provided the material is not illegal or potentially harmful, so it is possible some themes tackled at 18 my be offensive even to some adults viewers.
• 18 works are for adults and can contain strong issues such as: Very strong language, Frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and/or very strong language (e.g. 'c***'), Strong portrayals of sexual activity, Scenes of sexual violence, Strong horror, Strong blood and gore, Real sex (in some circumstances), Discriminatory language and behavior.

                                            

So there's a large difference between what is in a U and an 18 and the descriptions of what 18 could contain pretty much says why there are age rating. What some 18's hold children should definitely not be exposed to. 

Now lets take a look into what the other ratings hold.

PG

• A PG film will not contain any theme which is inappropriate for a child. PG works can explore challenging issues such as bullying, bereavement or racism.
• There may be mild bad language (such as 's***' or 'son of a b****') in a PG film, but the context and delivery are always important. For example, if the language is used aggressively or if there is a great deal of bad language, a work may be passed at a higher category.
• Sex references are unlikely unless they are not very detailed and infrequent. In addition, if a child is unlikely to understand a reference, they may allow it at PG. Comedy can also often lessen the impact of sex references and innuendo.
• Violence will usually be mild. There should be no detail of violence in a PG work, so while there might be some blood, we would not see how the injury was inflicted in strong detail.

12 and 12A

• The 12A requires an adult to accompany an child under 12 seeing a 12A film at the cinema. This is enforced by cinema staff and a cinema may lose its licence if adult accompaniment is not enforced for children under 12 admitted to a 12A film. This only applies for cinemas as on DVD's the 12 certificate remains rather than the 12A
• The BBFC's Guidelines state that strong language (e.e. 'f***') may be passed at 12 or 12A, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency and any contextual justification. Aggressive uses of strong language may result in a film or DVD being placed at the 15 category. There is some allowance for puns on strong language at this category. There may be moderate language (e.g uses of terms such as'b****' and 't***' at 12 or 12A)
• Any discriminatory language or behavior will not be endorsed by the work as a whole
•  Sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed at 12A or 12. Verbal sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers.
• At 12A, moderate violence is allowed but it should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if they can be justified by their context (for example brief sight of bloody injury in a medical drama)

15

• h No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds
• What you might find in a 15 rated film are: Strong violence, Frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***'), Portrayals of sexual activity, Strong verbal references to sex, Sexual nudity, Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, Discriminatory language or behavior, Drug taking

As an AS media student I must consider classification as when we must produce our own film we would have to have a target audience so then would would suggest a rating based on our target audience. We would then need to make sure that the audience we show the film to fits the age rating of our product else they might be exposed to potentially dangerous and harmful material.

The next post will be on Narrative Theories