The BBFC rates films and videos in the UK to indicate their suitability for different age groups. They watch each film in full before assigning a rating of U, PG, 12, 12A, 15 or 18. These ratings provide guidelines for viewers and retailers on the appropriate audience for each film based on its content. The BBFC considers issues like violence, language, sex, drug use and more to determine the rating. They provide case studies examining their classification process and decisions for specific films like Frozen, Black Swan and The Exorcist.

1. BBFC
By Jessica Bird

2. What Do They Do?
The BBFC put a rating on each film, so that people who
buy or want to watch them, they will know exactly who
can view them. They much first watch the film, the
whole way through, before deciding what age they
should put on it.

3. Definitions
• U - Different children are upset by different things, so it is sometimes difficult to say what might upset a particular
child. However, U films should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. If there is any violence, threat or
horror in a U film, it should be over quickly and the film should tell children that everything will turn out okay. Films
and DVDs for children should make clear to them the difference between right and wrong.
• PG - PG films can be viewed by all ages, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.Children of any age
may watch a PG rated film or DVD, with or without an adult. A PG film should not worry a child aged eight or older
so BBFC Examiners are thinking of eight year olds when they decide about the rating and how strong the issues are.A
PG tells parents that the content of the film may upset younger or more sensitive children.
• 12 - The 12 rating is only found on videos and DVDs. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a 12 rated video or
DVD.We use exactly the same rules to rate films at 12A as we use to rate videos and DVDs at 12.
• 12A - The 12A rating is only used for films shown in cinemas. Films rated 12A are suitable for children aged 12 and
over. However, people younger than 12 may see a 12A so long as they are accompanied by an adult. In such
circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult.
• 15 - No one younger than 15 can go and see a 15 rated film in the cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a
15 rated video, DVD or download.
• 18 - Films, videos and downloads rated 18 are not suitable for children. No one younger than 18 can go and see an
18 rated film in the cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy an 18 rated video, DVD or download.

4. Have a go yourself
• I had a go at rating The brand new film; Percy Jackson:Sea Of Monsters.
• I rated it a PG because it contains weapons.
The CBBFC also rated this trailer as a PG, but they did it because they thought it
contained a little bit of Violence/Threat.
You've classified the clip:Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.
You identified the following issues Weapons...and also decided to give this clip a rating
of PG.
These are the things that BBFC Examiners spotted:Violence/Threat. They would pass the
work out at for the following reasons:The issues here are tension and threat, some action
and some mild violence. The trailer opens setting the scene and being very clear, even for
younger viewers, that the film is about humans who are part mythical creature. We see a
boy with multiple arms serving in a coffee shop, a man with small horns, a Cyclops
teenager. They are warned of a great danger and told only the golden fleece will save
them. There are some scary moments eg in a dark forest a 'chariot of damnation' appears
in a grey cloud. It's a beaten up American taxi with three scary women inside. We see
some fighting and action - there is no blood or serious injury. We also see characters in
danger at the end. For example we see Percy in a boat surrounded by sharks, near a large
whirlpool. It would be rated PG. The film was also rated PG.

5. Case Study 1 - Frozen
• The new release film (Frozen,06/12/13) was rated a PG because it contains mild
threats. Although it is still an animated film. The BBFC said on their website:
‘FROZEN is an animated feature about a princess, from a kingdom which is
always in winter, who is searching for her sister. It is rated PG for mild
threat.Characters become involved in adventures which place them in danger,
for example being chased by a pack of wolves and being threatened by a giant
snow ogre which flings soldiers around. However, the mild threat is balanced
by comic moments and a focus on bravery and resourcefulness.The film also
features an evil character being punched and some mild rude humor, such as the
dialogue, 'What if he picks his nose? And eats it?’ The film is preceded by a
cartoon short featuring Mickey Mouse which contains no material likely to
offend or harm. PG stands for Parental Guidance. A PG film should not disturb
a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider
whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.’
• Other reviews written by parents, say: Violence: The short film preceding this
movie features frequent cartoon violence such as mean-spirited bullying,
pitchforks and other common objects used as weapons. Brief moments of peril
are included in the movie. A child is scared after being left alone in her room.
Parents die at sea. Wolves chase and attack two travelers. Characters are
impaled, attacked by a huge snow monster, and fall from a cliff. Characters
shoot at a person with a crossbow. A character falls under a magical spell. A
girl punches a man in the face.

6. Case Study 2 - Black Swan
Black Swan presented the BBFC with a whole range of classification issues when
it was submitted for an advice viewing in 2010. The story is about Nina - a
dedicated ballerina who is quietly desperate for the part of the Swan Queen in her
company's up-coming re-imagining of Swan Lake. When she bites the Artistic
Director of the company in response to his advances, he sees in her the fire that is
necessary to also play the role of the Black Swan. But when Nina is befriended by
the company newcomer - and natural candidate for the Black Swan - Lilly, she
becomes involved in increasingly rebellious, sexual and aggressive behavior. As
opening night approaches, Nina finds her inner Black Swan is out of control and
her grasp on reality increasingly fragile. In terms of the issue of the self-harm seen
in the film, BBFC Guidelines at 15 note ‘Dangerous behaviour (for example, ... Self
harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied’. Such scenes in Black
Swan were judged sufficiently aversive in nature and therefore unlikely to
encourage copying or promotion of such behaviour. The subject of bulimia was so
ambiguously treated in the film as to be covered by the 15 rating. Critically, such
activities are not shown to relieve or comfort Nina, but only to exacerbate her
problems and state of mind.
These sequences were considered to lack the ‘strong detail’ to take them beyond
15 and the issue of masturbation would not be unfamiliar to most 15 year olds.
However, one scene in particular took Black Swan right to the 15 / 18 classification
border: Nina and Lily return home late after a drunken evening out. In defiance of
her mother, Nina invites Lily to stay the night. They both embrace passionately and
remove each other's clothing. Lily later performs cunnilingus on Nina. It was
recognised that the scene was relatively extended and carried an erotic charge.
However, the sexual activity is carefully framed and visually discreet; it lacks
aggravating strong detail such as genital nudity, close-ups or sustained focus on
the nudity or the sexual mechanics and is played off facial reactions. It was also
felt that the tone is sensuous rather than salacious or pornographic. The narrative
context within which the scene occurs was judged to be an important mitigating
factor. Firstly, it demonstrated Nina's emerging personal assertion and awakening
sexuality and secondly, her increasing loss of grip on reality. It later transpires that
Nina has imagined the entire event. On balance, it was judged that this sex scene
could be contained at 15 within Guideli.

7. Case Study 3 - The Exorcist
Nonetheless, in spite of its more sensationalist moments, the BBFC considered that The Exorcist was
suitable for an X certificate to be issued without cuts. As the BBFC's Secretary, Stephen Murphy, said
at the time, "It is a powerful horror movie. Some people may dislike it, but that is not a sufficient reason
for refusing certification''. Given the recent controversy over films such as A Clockwork Orange, Trash,
Straw Dogs and Last Tango in Paris, it was perhaps unsurprising that the film's UK release provoked a
certain degree of outrage, particularly amongst pressure groups such as the Festival of Light.
However, the film was a huge popular success at the box office and the public as a whole did not seem
overly concerned. Despite this, a handful of local authorities bowed to the demands of pressure groups
and banned the film in their areas, which only added to the reputation of the film. In 1979 the BBFC
asked to look at the film again to see whether some of the scenes involving the young actress, Linda
Blair, might be vulnerable under the new Protection of Children Act 1978, which made the distribution
of 'indecent' images of children illegal. After careful consideration it was decided that the scenes in
question were constructed specifically to avoid any such images, and the film was allowed to continue
its ongoing - and still popular - late-night screenings. In 1981, the film was released on video by
Warner Home Video, as one of their first UK releases. At the time, there was no requirement that
videos should be classified by the BBFC so the video was simply released on the strength of its
existing X certificate. Contrary to popular opinion, the video version was never included on the Director
of Public Prosecution's list of 'video nasties' and was never prosecuted for obscenity - testament
perhaps to the popularity of the film and the high regard in which it was held.
In 1998, the distributors decided to celebrate the film's 25th Anniversary by relaunching the film in UK
cinemas. The BBFC watched this re-release with interest, as it was widely expected that a fresh
attempt to obtain a certificate for video (and now DVD) release would inevitably follow. The cinema re-
release was notable in that it was not accompanied by any of the hysteria or audience disturbance
which supposedly occurred in the mid-1970s. When the film was formally resubmitted for video/DVD
release at the end of 1998, the BBFC concluded that The Exorcist, while still a powerful and compelling
work, no longer had the same impact as it did 25 years ago. Film technique and special effects had
moved on a long way since then, and audiences - including (or especially) teenagers brought up on a
range of modern multi- media output - were less likely to be affected. Correspondingly, the potential of
The Exorcist to disturb a small, impressionable minority seemed to have been significantly diminished.
The BBFC also considered the likely effects of the film's reputation. Whilst unable to discount the
possibility that, however restrictive its classification, under-age persons may seek ways to view it , both
the name and the nature of the film were familiar to most people. It was considered that its reputation
should prompt many parents and guardians to be more alert to that possibility than would normally be
the case. Therefore the BBFC agreed that The Exorcist could finally be classified 18 uncut for
video/DVD release, at a level which minimised the likelihood of the work being viewed by young and
impressionable persons. A DVD version was submitted to the BBFC in 2010 with very minor changes
to the end credits These did not affect the content, and so the same classification of 18 was again
given, with BBFCinsight added of 'Contains very strong language, strong threat and supernatural
horror.

8. BBFC Visit
• We all went to the BBFC headquarters in London (Soho
Square) for a lecture on everything they did and how
they did it. When we were there she told us how they
decided what age rating goes on the movie. She said
that there where a lot of things that would affect a film
and the rating they would got. Some films don’t always
get the age rating they want, so they can either leave it
with what they where given or they can edit the film to
get the rating they want. The lecture was a complete 2
hours long, with a lot of videos and information.