BBFC Research

BBFC

BBFC is ‘The British Board of Film Classification’ which is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 with videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984.

The BBFC is a trusted guide to media content. It works independently with self-financing, operating a trusted classification label in the UK.

The BBFC are meant to:

·         Protect  the public, and especially children, from content which might raise harm risks.

·         Empower the public, especially parents, to make informed viewing choices.

·         Recognise and respect adult freedom of choice within the law.

·         Respond to and reflect changing social attitudes towards media content through proactive  public consultation and research.

·         Provide a cost-effective, efficient classification service within our statutory remit.

·         Work in partnership with the industry to develop innovative service models to provide content advice which support emerging media delivery systems.

·         Provide an effective service to enforcement agencies.

U
The symbol stands for Universal which means suitable for children aged from four years and over. At a U label only ‘damn and hell’ are used at infrequent times as well as a form of very mild violence that will be shown. however no behaviour is shown that the child would copy. There may be brief scary scenes and moments where the characters are placed in danger. As with violence, although these scenes will be balanced by reassuring the children that watch them with things such as comic interludes or music to bring down the peak scene. There are 'Baddie’ characters which may carry or use weapons, but there will be no emphasis on these. Child or ‘hero’ characters are unlikely to use any kind of weapon outside, for example,  for it to be used in a historical setting.
 

PG
PG stands for Parental Guidance, meaning that the film is for general viewng, but some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. A PG film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. Parents have the decision to decide whether the film is suitable for their child to watch or not. In a PG the only bad language that will be used will be things such as ‘shit’ or ‘son of a bitch’  but the context and delivery are always important.

12 and 12A
Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not suitable for children under twelve years old. When going to the cinema no one younger than twelve can see a 12A film unless they are with an adult. An adult who is thinking of taking their child to the cinema to see a twelve classified film have to consider whether the film is suitable for their own child. Some types of bad language are used in a 12 or 12A but does depend on which type  or manner it is used in. There are only small references to sex but it is only briefly portrayed as well as drug use only a minor use.

 

The 12A involves an adult to go with any child under 12 seeing a 12A film at the cinema. This is enforced by the cinema staff as it has a licence which they may be at risk losing if they do not follow the rules. The 12 part is enforced at home which is mainly for retailers who cannot sell or let them rent any DVD or Blu-ray to anyone under the age of twelve.

15
No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.  In a 15 rated film it is possible to see strong violence as well as strong language, portrays of sexual activity and strong references to sex.. You may also see sexual nudity as well as drug taking, as well as discriminatory language or behaviour.

18
No theme is prohibited at 18. Adults are free to choose their own entertainment as long as the material is not illegal rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy or to rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children as it may be harmful towards them, even towards viewers that are over the age of 18. In an 18 you will see very strong violence, strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror, blood and gore, discriminatory language and behaviour and real sex in some circumstances. there is no limit with language use in rated 18s.

R18
The R18 category is a special and legally-restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. R18 films are only allowed to be shown in specialised cinemas that have the license to show them. R18 films are not allowed to be supplied over a mail order, as well as not being available to the public as they could include offensive titles with explicit or offensive content.

Our thriller would be classified at a 15. I think a classification of a 15 is suitable as there is use of weapons which could be offensive to some viewers. There is no dialogue in our opening but linking from the words that featured on our opening like ‘death’ could lead to the rest of the thriller having peak moments of horror as well as strong violence as they would find out what happened for the body to be like it was, shown in the opening, which could offend some viewers therefore wouldn’t be suitable for people aged under 15 as they find the thriller too threatening or too much violence for anyone under the age of 15 to see.