The film A Guide to Recognize Your Saints contains strong language, sex references, and depictions of soft drug use and gang violence. The BBFC classified the film as 15 due to guidelines allowing strong language from young characters, depictions of drug use as part of lived experiences, and violence without injury details. The classification is justified as the content may influence viewers under 15 who cannot fully understand the consequences. Today, a 15 rating would still be appropriate as viewers that age can understand depictions of adult themes and behaviors.

1. Media Regulation Film Case Studies - A guide to recognize your saints
Summarise any contentious issues in this film.
• strong language - 270 uses of ‘f**k’ and 13 of
'motherf****r'
• strong sex references - the context of sexual sparring
and posturing.
• soft drug use - rolling, smoking joints and the use of
(poppers) is accompanied by the unpleasant effects.
• violence - live in an area where rivalry between
neighbourhood gangs sometimes erupts into violence

2. Summarise the BBFC's justification for their decision(s).
Do you think the BBFC made the right decision? Would it still be made
today? Explain your answers.
A guide to recognize your saints has a 15 classification and was necessary because
of the regular use of strong language by the film's young characters.​ ​The BBFC
Guidelines at 15 allow for 'strong verbal references to sexual behaviour and
sexualised nudity is also acceptable at 15. BBFC Guidelines on drug use allow
drug-taking to be shown, but it is not allowed to promote or encourage the activity.
This is why the movie shows drug use but in the case of a feature of how these
young people lived. The director also shows some unnamed illegal drugs that
weaken the character’s physical and mental health, as can be seen from the
character’s frenetic behaviour. BBFC Guidelines on violence explains that there
should be no specific place on 'the infliction of pain or injury’, which allows this scene
to be in the 15 category because the viewers see no impact, injury or blood and then
the director shows that the character serves a very long prison sentence.
In my opinión BBFC made the right decision to classify it as 15 because in the movie
there are a lot of images where I think that a child under 15 shouldn’t be prepared to
watch because they don’t fully understand the consequences of the decisions these
“teenagers” took at the time and could maybe influence them when they are only
with friends or when they are alone. To add, 15 is the proper age to classify this
movie because 15 year olds who would watch this movie nowadays are already
understanding the adult life, which I mean by when taking drugs, violence or sex in a
consentual and more mature way.