2. What is censorship?
Censorship is the suppression of speech or other
public communication which may be considered
objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient as
determined by a government, media outlet, or other
controlling body. It can be done by governments and
private organizations
3. BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC),
originally British Board of Film Censors, is a
non-governmental organisation, funded by the film
industry and responsible for the national
classification and censorship of films within the
United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to
classify videos, DVDs and some video games under
the Video Recordings Act 2010
4. The Video Recordings Act requires that video releases not
exempt (music, documentary, non-fiction, video games,
etc.) under the Act had to be classified, making it illegal
to supply any recording that had not been certified.
Certificates could restrict release to any age of 18 or
under, or to only licensed sex-shops. The government
currently designate the BBFC as the authority for
certifying video releases. As the law requires the
certificate to be displayed on the packaging and media
labels of the video recording, in practice only UK releases
can be legally sold or hired in the UK, even if a foreign
release had identical content.
5. The BBFC can also advise cuts for a less-restrictive
rating. This generally occurs in borderline cases
where distributors have requested a certificate and
the BBFC has rated the work at a more-restrictive
level; however, some cuts are compulsory, such as
scenes that violate the Protection of Children Act
1978 or Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937.
The final certificate then depends on the distributor's
decision on whether or not to make the suggested
cuts. Some works are even rejected if the distributor
refuses the cut.
6. How they are classified
Films are normally classified by at least two Examiners
using the published Guidelines. In most cases the
decision is ratified by a Senior Examiner, 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 it is
necessary to take specialist advice about the legal
acceptability of film content or its potential for harm.
DVDs are normally seen by one Examiner, particularly
when they are viewing the DVD version of a cinema film
which has already been classified. However, opinions
from other Examiners may be required for more difficult
works.
7. How they are classified ( continued)
Examiners look at issues such as discrimination,
drugs, horror, imitable behaviour, language, nudity,
sex, sexual violence, theme and violence when
making decisions. They also consider context, the
tone and impact of a work (eg how it makes the
audience feel) and even the release format (for
example, as DVDs are watched in the home, there is
a higher risk of underage viewing).
8. Classification
For my film opening , our age rating is 15. This is
because we feel like mainly teenage boys will be our
main audience and like thrillers.
Bibliography :
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship
