research into the bbfc: miss miller

Introduction

The bbfc is the 'British board of film classification'. This is a board with experienced examiners who checks movies and classifies movies with a specific age rating so that the film is appropriate for certain audiences and does not harm mainly children with any scenes that may be too harsh for them. The bbfc respect the personal choice of the viewer if it's within the law. Sometimes the bbfc takes decisions for age ratings by discussing social attitudes and what they think suits the audience. The different age certificates are 12, 12a, U, 15, 18, PG.

Age certifications

 The U age certification means Universal.This means that films are appropriate for the age of 4 and over. The films that have been classified with this age certifications may have some emotional scenes but they are not very upsetting. The characters may face some dangerous situations but they are soon resolved which won't make the audience upset. This age certification does not contain very bad language and is only allowed very mild language such as 'damn'. Films with this age certification does not contain any sexual behaviour and only may have kissing or hugging.

The movie 'a bugs life' is rated an U rated movie. This movie is about a character called Flik, who is seen to be a character that ends up causing mistakes. Flik then gets told to leave, however whilst being on his journey he find some other bugs from a circus in town, who can help him defeat the grasshoppers.
This movie is rated a U classification as it is a children's Disney movie. One reason why is the movie is animated which could mean it doesn't have many graphic contents which could scare younger children. Also as this movie is a Disney movie, the audience that these films are aimed at are a younger audience which means that there wouldn't be any inappropriate scenes. There are no sexual references in the movie, which makes it suitable for younger audiences.


The PG age certification means 'parental guidance'. The reason why some movies may need parental guidance is because some scenes in the movie may not be suitable for a younger audience. Films with a PG age certification have been advised to the audience, not to be seen by children of the age of 8 years or older. Some scenes in a PG movie could cause harm to children, especially to those who are sensitive. PG certifications do not allow extreme violence and actions of violence would be very resistant. Sex references are not usually used in PG movies, unless it is un-detailed and not noticeable by the younger audience.

The movie 'inside out' is a PG rated movie, as it is a children's movie based on feelings of a 11 year old girl shown as characters. It has a very mild threat of causing any harm towards younger audiences as it does not contain anything violent. The characters are : sadness, fear, joy, disgust and anger. The characters are animated and do not show any violence, However , the character anger is shown to be quite aggressive at times, although it is violent, there may be a chance that the character can scare younger audiences. There is no bad language in the movie as it is not appropriate, it may contain language such as 'shut up', but nothing worse. This movie contains no sexual behaviour, but may have some kissing but it's not anything more.

The 12 and 12a age classified movies are not suitable for children aged under 12. The reason why is  because there may be inappropriate language and behaviour. The difference between a 12 and 12a is that, in a 12a classified movie, a child that is a under 12 can watch the movie, only in the circumstances that they are accompanied by an adult, as it may not be suitable for a younger child to watch alone. where as a 12, a child of the age of 12 and over can watch the movie alone. Some of the scenes in a 12 or 12a classified film may contain scenes which can harm the audience, an example of this could be rape, suicide or murder. This may impact young audiences as it can be quite unexpected. Strong and inappropriate language such as f*** may be used in the movie, however it will not contain language any stronger than that. Sexual behaviour can be briefly shown as long as it is not too inappropriate. Sexual jokes may be used, which might not be understood by younger audiences in a 12a classified movie.

An example of a 12a rated movie is The hunger games. The reason why the hunger games may have been given this classification is because the movie does not contain sexual scenes and has some violence however, parts of the violence may be  strong for younger audiences which is why it was given a 12a, as it may require parental supervision. Also, the movie doesn't really have strong verbal language, which may be the reason why it wasn't given a 15. Violence in this movie isn't mild and can be harmful, however it is discrete and not too graphic for younger audiences to watch.

A 12 classified movie is Batman (1989). Batman as the first movie to be given a 12 age rating. The reason why it was given a 12 was because at that time it may have been more violent to be a PG, as well as that sexual scenes may be involved which can be inappropriate for ages under 12. The joker play a character that is homicidal and plays a role as being a criminal, which means the film may not be good for younger audiences.





The 15 age certification means strictly nobody under the age of 15 is allowed to buy or rent a movie  with this age classification. This category contains strong use of violence which cannot be viewed by the younger audience as it may be harmful since it can be unexpected and too strong for children. It also contains strong use of swearing such as f*** or c***. Sexual activity is allowed in an 15 classified movie but the scenes are not too relieving, however the scenes may be carried on for a period of time. Drug intake is viewed in 15 movies, which means that it is not suitable to be viewed
by children as it may be misleading and unsafe.

An example of a 15 rated movie is couples retreat. The reason why this movie would be rated a 15 is because it contains a lot of sexual scenes and also the characters drink. The movie would be inappropriate for younger audiences as sexual contents are shown, which may disturb them. The movie doesn't contain much violence throughout but there may be a few mild scenes, even though the violence is mild, sexual contents in the movie have to be for audiences over 15.

The 18 age certification is very strictly to be viewed by audiences of 18 and over since the contents in a 18 movie contain extreme violence and sexual scenes. Violence can be very extreme and can include, a lot of blood and the strongest gore is prohibited in this age certification which makes it extremely unsuitable for an under 18 to watch it, as it may be harmful and disturbing towards younger audiences. Adults of 18 and over may get offended by some of the contents in the movie, however audience may have expected scenes to be offensive at this age certification.
An example of a movie which represents this category is Jackass the movie, the reason why is because of the dangerous and unrepeatable, and can cause serious injuries if attempted to. The movie Jackass is aimed at adult audiences as it contains sex and violence to represent the life of adults. This may be unsuitable for audiences younger than 18 as its has very strong scenes, which may harm the viewers and make them feel uncomfortable.

In conclusion, i can understand why the bbfc has given age certifications to what movies depending on how strong of the violence, language and sex is and if it may be harmful to younger children. I also understand what the different bbfc age ratings are and what the differences are between them.