BBFC Institution Research

BBFC Research

What is the institution responsible for:

The British Board of Film Censors was set up in the year 1912 and was functioned to work as an independent body to bring some form of classification of films nationally. They are responsible for many things that are linked to films and how they should be received to the consumers meaning via age or if it is appropriate for a certain age group etc. The BBFC reject, banned and even waiving cuts to films ensuring it is appropriate to be released and available for the consumers to view. 

How it is funded:

BBFC is only funded through the fees through the fees it charges for its services, by running the times of films (that they view) and also DVD's or videos that are submitted for classification from the BBFC. The BBFC is not organised to make a profit and the fees required can be adjusted to cover its costs. When a producer or distributor sends off the film to be classified through the BBFC, they have to pay a fee in order for the classification to go through and be official. 

Links with the government:

The way in which the BBFC is linked with the government is through their financial affairs. The BBFC's financial affairs are administrated by the Council of Management. The members who are within the Council are drawn from both the manufacturing and servicing sections of the film industry. and many more. Council of Management are excluded when it comes to classifying decisions of content such as films as well as poly making. Furthermore, the Council of Management are also responsible for the senior appointments at the BBFC. 

Guide to how films are rated:

Examiners would normally view the content whether that is a movie/film or a DVD. The examiner normally would view a DVD on their own- this is known as 'solo viewing'. Content that are eligible for solo viewing would often be TV series as well as work aimed at young children. Works that seem to hold controversial opinions would be viewed to more than one individual so that the outcome is diverse opinions. With each content they view, examiners look out for the following when deciding:

• General context of the content- plot point (storyline) 
• Bad language, sexual or drug related references
• Timings of key moments- type of camera shots used

Issues raised when classifying a film:

When the BBFC come to a conclusion on their decision for placing an age rating on a film, they determine of several principles:

• Is the material given (for viewing) in conflict with the law or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence.
• Whether the target audience wanted is not suitable with the material that is witnessed on the film such as bad language. 
• Whether the film can cause any harm to the age rating concerned. This can mean two things. One possible harm could be the behaviour of potential viewers to the effects of the violence shown on screen,but can also moral harm can also be affected with what may be shown on screen.
• Who is likely to watch this film, who is the film 'speaking' to?
• The overall tone and style (as well as feel) of the movie effects the overall decision of the movie.

The Dark Knight issue:

The Dark Knight was considered not to be rated correctly in correlation with the action the film was showing. The film has gotten a rating of '12a' and this has mislead people (the public) into thinking that this film was eligible for their children to go an watch the film. However, the public has complained to the BBFC claiming that the film was not rated accurately due to the violence seen and was considered 'too strong' to be placed in the 12a category.

I think that the Dark Knight movie shouldn't of been given a 12a certificate as the film does peruse a lot of violence that a 12 year old audience may not feel comfortable watching. Scenes where 'the joker' slams the bodyguards head into a pencil and claims it to be a 'magic trick' is seen to be more graphical than anticipated for a 12a film. Although the style of the film is based around a superhero, this doesn't necessarily mean that it will automatically be for a young demographic. I think that this film should have received a 15 certificate as this seems like an appropriate audience that can view this type of content.

Guidelines for a 15 certificate:

The 15 age certificate symbol means that people who are under the age of 15 cannot view or rent/buy a film from anywhere. The certificate clearly means that the film is not suitable for children younger than the age of 15. There are specific content that a film would have in order to be classed as a 15 age certificate, these include:

•   strong violence
•   portrayals of sexual activity
•   drug taking
•   sexual nudity
•   Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence

•  Strong language

Chosen 15 rated film:

Chosen film: Attack The Block
BBFC Rating: 15

When examiners viewed the film they already had noticed that the characters, the tone of the film and the general address it had on the audience, that it had a strong appeal to older teenage viewers. The film contains frequent strong language (e.g. f***) throughout the film. Under the BBFC guidelines, infrequent strong language would be classed as a 12a, the film was automatically a 15 age certificate within the first viewing.