LO3 Understanding the regulation of the media sector

Film Classification and Censorship

Who are the BBFC and what do they do?
The British board of film classification or the BBFC, is a company away from the
government who make sure that people know what sort of film they are about
to watch and see if it is appropriate to you or your family.
They are not a government organisation and they work so people are not
offended by the film or make any complaint that could harm the films
representation. And although they cannot make people not watch them when
they already own them but by putting an age restriction on the DVD in the
shops it is harder for minors to get hold of them, it is also down to the parent
or guardian to make a judgement on whether the film is suitable.
What are the 6 UK classification certificates?
There are 6 classification ages that the BBFC can put on the DVD and movies
theatres they are as follows; U, PG, 12A, 12, 15 and 18m as you can see there is
a wide range from babies to adults.
The U rating means that that film is universal and is suitable for everyone of all
ages. If you watch this you would be under the impression that there will be no
graphic violence, things of a sexual nature, swearing or racism. These films may
contain some slapstick violence but very rarely will someone be killed to really
hurt, usually the villain in the film is taken to a jail or trapped somewhere like
in despicable me the villain (vector) was trapped on the moon.




LO3 Understanding the regulation of the media sector

The rating PG stands for Parental Guidance which means it is up to the parents
whether the children should be allowed to watch it or not. These films will
usually contain none or very light swearing like crap or maybe bitch but as I say
it is up to the parents on whether the film is suitable for the child.
The Lorax is a PG rated film it will usually say something like for the whole
family





A film rated 12 would mean you have to be 12 to go see this movie it may
contain more violence maybe car crashes or gun fights and some heavier use
of offensive language. There is another option for some 12 films if they have an
A after them anyone under 12 can see if assisted by an
adult.
Harry potter is a 12 rated fantasy adventure film


15s now would be a lot heavier a fair amount of swearing and violence but still
nothing to graphic of offensive as at 15 you are still not that old, you may see
some more scene of sex but you would not be able to see any genitalia as this
could be offensive to some audience members, this type of scene would not be
available until a 18 rated movie



LO3 Understanding the regulation of the media sector

18s can contain pretty much anything unless the morel of the story is racist,
however you can have racist characters but the film itself would not be giving
of a racist story. In a sexual scene you might see breasts in a 18 rated movie
and the swearing will increase dramatically for example the film running scared
had 315 Fu**s counted in the 122 minute film thats 2.58 fu** per minute.










Why does the BBFC classify films?
They do it so that the films can be watched by people of the appropriate age so
younger audiences dont get scared or get a wrong idea in there head because
they dont understand the content. If they was a film about slaves that was
showing a historical period children may just not understand it or take it the
wrong way. It is important to have the BBFC as without them people would be
complaining to the film companies and they might not be as interesting films
as people would make films to fit everyone and this would make films boring
for adults.
What is censorship?
Censorship is where you would get rid of some sections within a program or a
film to make sure that the rating fits the audience of which it is intended for
whether that is 12A, 12 or 15, a separate team would do this and it is really just
LO3 Understanding the regulation of the media sector

to double check. If a film is deemed to be two rude or scary then it can be
banned completely, nowadays people get away with a lot more.
Give an example of censorship.
On June the 6 2011 the human centipede 2 was banned in the UK by the BBFC due to its tasteless
and disgusting nature. It is said to be the most graphic a sick film to date, its plot is that a regular
man watches the 1
st
film and wants to try it himself. After 30 cuts of 3 minutes it was allowed as an
18 in September the same year.
How do you make a complaint about a film?
If you feel strongly that a film is wrong and it has offended you a lot either
because is has mad attack on soothing you follow or believe in and it is nor
justified, or your child has watched a film that you believe to be underrated
and they had been scared by it then you might want to complain to the BBFC
so other people are either warned more clearly or they are banned, to do this
you will need to go the contact us section on their website. However these
generally only make a difference if alot of people agree and complain as well.