The British
Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-government
organisation and responsible for the classification and censorship of films and
videos in the UK
It can cut or reject work. It was set
up in 1912
It was funded
by the film industry and is independent, rather than let the government take charge of deciding what should and should not be shown.
Here aome examples of rulings by the BBFC. All quotes below are taken from: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)The BBFC, is the organisation which gives films their classifications such as PG, U, 12.It was set up in 1912.The BBFC have never accepted funds off the government tonsure that it stays independent.The Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984 by Parliament.It is funded by the film industry It is required to classify videos, DVD and games.
Attack The Block is a British horror movie directed by comedian Joe Cornish. It is set in a South London housing estate and follows a group of teen muggers, who form an unlikely alliance with a nurse they have robbed, when aliens attack their tower block.
The film was submitted to the BBFC with no category request in March 2011. If they wish, distributors are allowed to signpost to examiners which category they would prefer for a work, although in this case they did not do this. Nevertheless, it is clear from the characters, the tone of the work and the general address, that it had strong appeal to older teenage viewers.
The film contains frequent strong language from the start, with over 50 uses of 'f**k' and some uses of 'motherf****r' throughout. Under current
BBFC Guidelines, where only infrequent strong language is permitted at 12A, the work was automatically therefore a 15 category within the first reel.
The violence, gore and threat in the film are strong, with some scenes of bloody injury as human characters are bitten, scratched, attacked and killed. In some sequences a lot of blood is seen, pumping from characters’ mouths for example. The strongest moments include a man seen in a lift full of bloodied bodies, himself dripping with blood; close up shots of injuries; and sight of a young adult’s face ripped up by aliens.
Examiners noted there was some contextual justification for stronger moments, as the film is a horror work based on a fantastical scenario, albeit in a contemporary and recognisable setting. This means that - although there is some focus on tension, threat, characters in danger, chase scenes and injuries - the aliens and monsters have less impact as they are clearly part of the film’s horror world and are the sort of elements audiences expect from horror movies. Some could also argue there are comic elements to the monsters, who are, when they are finally seen, large and hairy with glow in the dark teeth and sex on the brain. There is similarly no sadistic violence - it is all in the context of self-defence. Therefore there seems no problem with containing the violence and gore at 15, where the Guidelines state 'Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.'
The Dark Knight came to the BBFC for classification in 2008, with a distributor request for a 12A age rating. The previous film in the superhero series, Batman Begins (also starring Christian Bale and directed by Christopher Nolan), was classified 12A in 2005. In the USA, the MPAA
Before the film was even submitted, it attracted significant media attention, much of it due to the sudden death of actor Heath Ledger, who played The Joker.
The main classification issues in The Dark Knight are violence and threat. BBFC Guidelines for 12A at the time stated ‘Violence must not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries and blood’ and ‘Sustained moderate threat and menace are permitted. Occasional gory moments only. The examiners who classified the film agreed it met the Guidelines criteria, however, there were a significant numbers of complaints about the 12A rating from members of the public.
The violence in the film is quickly edited, and whilst sometimes crunchy, it is almost entirely lacking in any blood or injury details. The impacts of blows are mostly masked by actors’ bodies or camera angles, but the impression of violence is occasionally strong. For example, in one key sequence (the 'pencil trick scene'), The Joker demonstrates a 'trick' by balancing a pencil on the table; a villain’s head is then slammed onto the table and the pencil has 'disappeared'. Audiences are left with the impression that the pencil has been slammed into the face or eye of the victim, but there is no actual sight of any impact, nor any blood or injury. The action is swift and not dwelt upon, and is designed to demonstrate the completely ruthless nature of The Joker. However, a number of people complained to the BBFC about this scene claiming to have actually seen the pencil entering the man’s eye. This is not the case, but highlights a potential classification issue of the power of suggested, rather than explicit, violence, in that the tone and impression of a film is sometimes stronger than the actual details on screen. Nevertheless, the BBFC judged the clear fantasy action context and audience familiarity with the superhero genre as sufficient mitigation against the film's sometimes dark tone, hence it was rated 12A.
had already rated the film PG-13, for ‘for intense sequences of violence and some menace’.
