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Sunday 27 February 2011

VIOLENCE

  • Classification decisions wil take account of the degree and nature of any violence in a work
  • Works which feature:
  1. the portrayal of violence as a normal solution to problems
  2. heroes who inflict pain and injury
  3. callousness towards victims
  4. the encouragement of aggressive attitudes
  5. content which depicts characters taking pleasure in pain or humiliation
will receive more restrictive classifications
  • Sexualised violence or works which glorify or glamorise violence may even be cut
  • There is a strict policy on sexual violence and rape
  • Content which might eroticise or enorese sexual violence may require cuts

THEME

  • Classification decisions will take into account the theme of a work, but will depend significantly on the treatment of that theme and the sensitivity of its presentation
  • The most problematic themes including
  1. drug abuse
  2. sexual violence
  3. paedophilia
  4. incitement to racial hatred or violence
are unlikely to be appropriate at the lower categories
  • There is no reason in principle why most themes could not be presented in a manner suitable for 15 or 18 classifications

SEX

  • Portrayal of sexual activity can range from kissing-->verbal references to 'making love'-->detail of real sex
  • Progressively stronger portrayls allowed as categories rise
  • Sex works are likely to be passed only in adult categories
  • Sex works containing:
  1. Clear images of real sex
  2. Strong fetich material
  3. Sexually explicit animated material
  4. Other very strong sexual images
will be confined to the R18 category

              

NUDITY

  • Natural nudity with no sexual context is acceptable at all classification levels
  • In lower categories, it will not occur more then occasionally
  • Nudity with a sexual context will receive a more restrictive classification
  • Strong detail will only be passed in adult categories

Thursday 17 February 2011

LANGUAGE

Many people are offended by bad language
This can include the use of expletives with:

  • sexual, religious, racial association,
  • offensive langauge about minority groups
  • commonly understood rude gestures

The extent of the offence may vary according to:
  • background
  • beliefs
  • expectations
  • context
It is impossible to set out comprehensive lists of words acceptable at each category

The advice at different classification levels provides a general guidance taking into account views expressed in public consultation exercises

IMITABLE BEHAVIOUR

This includes criminal behavour and weapons

  • Classification decisions will take into account any detailed portrayal of criminal and violent technniques and also glamorisations of easily accessible weapons.
  • Works which portray anti-social behaviour uncritically are likely to receive a more restrictive classification
  • Works which actively promote illegal behaviour will be cut or rejected
  • Portrayals of potentially dangerous behaviour which children and young people are likely to copy will be cut if a more restrictive classification is not appropraite

HORROR

  • Frightening elements which might scare or unsettle and audience is well known in story telling and film making
  • Many children enjoy the excitement of scary sequences
  • Frequency, length and detail of scary scenes as well as horror effects are factors which will affect classification decisions where films are targeted at a younger audience
  • Older audiences often liked to be frightened or shocked and such works are classified appropriately to ensure the young and vulnerable are protected from too intense an experience

DRUGS

  • No work taken as a whole may promote the misuse of drugs
  • No glamorisation of detailed portrayal of drug misuse
  • Works showing drug misuse whilst emphasising the dangers may receive less restrictive classifications
  • Where smoking, alcohol abuse or substance misuse feature children, this will be indicated in consumer advice

DISCRIMINATION

Involves potentially offensive content relating to :

  • race
  • gender
  • religion
  • disability
  • sexuality
The classification decision will take into account the strengh or impact of its inclusion
The context will also influence the decision made

13 Issues

The 13 issues are:

1. Discrimination
2. Drugs
3. Horror
4. Imitable behaviour
5. Criminal behaviour
6. Weapons
7. Language
8. Nudity
9. Sexual references
10. Sex
11. Theme
12. Violence
13 Sexualised violence

Monday 14 February 2011

BBFC

Overiding Factors

There are certain factors that may influence a classification decision.
These factors are of particular importance when a work lies on the borderline between two categories

Context - the context in which an issue is presented is cental to the question of its acceptability

The following factors may be taken into account:

  • expectations of the public
  • genre of the work
  • the manner in which an issue is presented
  • apparent intention of the film
  • original production date
  • special merits of the work

Tone and Impact - Overall tone of the work may affect the decision

Release Format - classification decisions may be stricter on video works than on films.

Wednesday 9 February 2011

BBFC

Legal considerations

  • Human Rights Act 1998 - right of respect for family and private life and the right to freedom of expression
  • Licensing Act 2003 - cinemas require a license from the local authority including a condition to allow the admission of under 18s to any film restricted in oaccordance with recommendations of the BBFC
The Licensing Act objectives are:
  • the prevention of crime and disorder
  • public safety
  • the prevention of public nuisance
  • the protection of children

  • Video Recordings Act 1984 - video works must be classified by the BBFC unless an exempted work
  • Obscene Publications Act 1959/1964 - it is illegal to publish a work seen as obscene (has the tendency to deprave or corrupt a significant proportion of those likely to see it)
  • Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 - it is illegal to be in possession of an extreme pornographic image
  • Protection of Children's Act 1978 - it is illegal to make, distribute, show or possess indecet photographs of a child
  • Sexual Offences Act 2003 - it is illegal to expose oneself with intent to cause alarm or distress
  • Public Order Act 1986 - it is illegal to distribute, show or play to the public a recording of visual images or sounds which are threatening, abusive or insulting if the intention is to stir up racial/religious hatred
  • Cinematography Films Act 1937 - it is illegal to show any scene that involves cruelty to animals
  • Animal Welfare Act 2006 - it is illegal to supply, publish, show or possess a recording of an 'animal fight'
  • Tobacco Advertising and Prmotion Act 2002 - it is illegal to publish a tobacco advertisement

BBFC

General principles followed

There are 2 main guiding principles:
  • Works should be allowed to reach the widest audience that is appropriate for their theme and treatment
  • That adults should, as far as possible, be free to choose what they see, provided that it remains within the law and is not potentially harmful
There are 3 main qualifications when applying these principles:
  • whether the material is in conflict with the law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence
  • whether the material may cause any harm
  • whether the availability of the material is clearly unacceptable to broad public opinion

BBFC

Who are the BBFC, what is their role and how are they funded?

  • The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is an independent, non governmental body.
  • They are funded through the fees it charges to those who submit films and video works for classification.
  • They classify films on behalf of local authorities who license cinemas under the Licensing Act 2003
  • They classify video works under the Video Recordings Act 1984
  • They will not classify material which they believe is in breach of the law
  • They carry out their responsibilities through appropriate use of classification categories and will cut or even reject a film if necessary