BBFC-Regulation

What are the ethos and aims of the BBFC?

• 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

How do they make decisions on films?

Typically, two examiners view a film for theatrical release. In most cases a Senior Examiner will confirm the examiners’ recommendation. But if the Examiners are in any doubt or fail to agree, or if important policy issues are involved, the work may be seen by other members of the Board up to, and including, the Director and Presidential team. Occasionally we need to take specialist advice about the legal acceptability of film content or its potential for harm.

What are the issues that the BBFC take into consideration when classifying a film?

We look at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, dangerous and easily imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, and violence when making decisions. The theme of the work is also an important consideration. We also consider context, the tone and likely impact of a work on the potential audience.

What happens once they have made their decision?

The release format of a work has an impact on classification. Our decisions on the age rating of DVDs and Blu-rays can occasionally be stricter than at the cinema because there is a higher risk of underage viewing in the home and a greater potential for watching scenes out of context.

What is the criteria for a 15 certificate movie?

• Strong violence
• Frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
• Portrayals of sexual activity
• Strong verbal references to sex
• Sexual nudity
• Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
• Discriminatory language or behaviour
• Drug taking

What is the criteria for a 18 certificate movie?

• Very strong violence
• Frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)
• Strong portrayals of sexual activity
• Scenes of sexual violence
• Strong horror
• Strong blood and gore
• Real sex (in some circumstances)
• Discriminatory language and behaviour

What is the impact of regulation on films and film-making?

Directors are forced to alter their movies if they want a specific certificate, this can be annoying for them because they are not releasing the film they originally wanted to appease the BBFC. As the BBFC only provide suggestions about how to make a film a lower certificate, the directors have the choice to cut scenes or not but their profit could be seriously affected if the film is released at a higher certificate because it reduces the amount of people who are able to watch it in the cinema. 

Why did Slumdog Millionaire get a 15 certificate?

Slumdog Millionaire received a 15 certificate because it contained strong language and violence. Several cases of strong language were used in English and a few cases of untranslated Hindi terms.

The BBFC quote "Strong violence is seen in a scene where a group of Muslims are attacked and killed in the street - together with general chaos and beatings, there are some stronger and more explicit moments, such as the deliberate setting of a man on fire, that go beyond the BBFC Guidelines at '12', which direct 'Violence must not dwell on detail'. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood'. We also later see strong violence that includes a knife held to a woman's throat as she's forcibly snatched off the street, an impressionistic blinding of a young beggar boy, and torture by electricity in a police station."

What changes could have been made to make it a 12A?

If Danny Boyle wanted Slumdog Millionaire to be a 12A certificate he could of either cut out the scenes that contained violence or not made them as detailed as the guidelines for violence in a 12A movie say 'Violence must not dwell on detail.' He would of had to replace the curse words or remove them completely. 

Why weren't these changes made?

Why did This is England get a 18 certificate?

According to Shane Meadows on his film blog for The Guardian, the BBFC gave This is England an 18 certificate for its use of 'realistic violence and racist language'. He quotes "It's like I've somehow overachieved. By having one piece of violence and one piece of really acute verbal violence I've managed to get an 18 certificate, whereas someone else can slay thousands of people in a single film and that's OK. To be honest I don't understand it because, yes, the film is affecting but I think it's something that someone of 15 can cope with. It's not like it's a film about the 80s that has no value; it's incredibly relevant politically. It's as much about Iraq as it is about the Falklands. It's as much as about England in 2007 as it is about England in 1983." 

Why was this controversial?

Shane believed that the people who would benefit the most from the film weren't allowed to watch it so him making the film to help educate teenagers was pointless. The violence and racist language seen in the movie is there for educational and realistic purposes and can't be taken out because it would change the feel of the movie overall.

What happened next?

Bristol's city council overturned the decision and decided to give the film a 15 certificate. 

Do these events undermine the importance of the BBFC?