A slideshow about horror and censorship.

1. By SelinaArgyrou

2. Horror films are full of different themes.
They can be
violent, gory, offensive, scary, funny or just
a pinch of a few. However, when a film
pushes societies boundaries of these
themes, you can guess that they will
become victim to the censorship board in
some way.Today, horror fans are privileged
to the fact that they can see nearly all
horror films uncut.When a film is released
worldwide throughout cinemas, it is rarely
heavily censored, or if it is, you can bet that
the 'unrated' DVD and Blu-Ray version
would soon be released. Even the more
extreme films which were banned such as
the 'Cannibal Holocaust' and 'The Exorcist'
are available, unrated, on DVD and Blu-ray.

3. Back in the 80's, video rental shops
were around every corner, offering
aisles of boxes covered with
amazing horror poster art.These
video tapes were made to catch
the eyes of people wanting a new
thrill or chill from the film, but it
also caught the eye of other, more
influential people.This lead to the
creation of the term "video nasties"
and soon this term wash splashed
across newspapers, trying to ban
these video nasties, films such as "I
SpitOnYour Grave," "Cannibal
Terror," "The Fun House" and many
more.
What do we learn about horror and
censorship?
Video Nasties

4. Many of these video nasties have been
linked to having an influence over real
life acts such as murder. A famous case
of this was in 1993, of Jamie Bulger who
was abducted and killed by two 1o year
old boys, who reenacted a scene from
the film "Childs Play" where a victim is
splashed with blue plaint.This created
an uproar of how censored films are
available to anyone, of any age, in any
place.
No evidence was found, to link video nasties to the death of Jamie Bulger. Britain had
the tightest European laws on videos. David Maclean, Minister of State at the Home
Office said; 'We cannot see any other way we can make the laws any tighter . . . no
matter how tightly Parliament may classify films, what you watch in your own home as
viewers is the decision of parents and youngsters.'

5. The hypodermic needle theory suggests that mass media such as as films, posters,TV
shows etc can be “shot” or “injected” into an audience for them to absorb which then
can trigger a response. For purposes such as adverts, this can be a good thing as it could
trigger an audience to go out and buy a new perfume. However, with horror
movies, some people believe that people will absorb the film and become passive, have
no thought for themselves and then decide to copy what they have just seen. Although
there was no full evidence, some people believe this is what could have happened to
Jamie Bulger’s killers.

6. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)
have banned Human Centipede 2, as they believe
it could cause psychological harm for viewers.
Today, only 1% of films are rarely banned, and are
instead cut, and passed as an over 18 rating. So
what makes the Human Centipede 2 so bad?
The examiners of the BBFC, said that this sequel
was “rotten” all the way to the very end.They also
said that “There is little attempt to portray any of
the victims in he film as anything other than
objects to be brutalised, degraded and mutilated.”
Tom Six, the films writer
and director was
outraged, and believed that
he made a horrific film, but
isn’t that what horror films
are meant to be? Or is there
a limit for what kinds of
horror can be seen?

7. 1. Can censorship be controlled?
This is a big question as censoring a movie by cutting out
parts or, like Human Centipede 2, banning the entire
thing, is only one part of control.This stops a film being
shown on the cinema to a widespread audience but
that’s not the only issue. Online streaming is hugely
popular these days with thousands of websites and links
to the newest releases of film, HD, on your own
computer in your very home, for free.This gives people
easy access to all sorts of films, including ones like
Human Centipede 2.The BBFC have control on whether
a film comes out to the public legally, on cinema or on
DVD. But, some people believe the next level of control is
up to the household parents, who must keep control of
what their children watch, or can gain access to from
their technological devices. Overall, censoring horror
cannot be fully controlled as it is so easy to get access to
films that people are not supposed to watch.

8. 2.Why censor some horrors, but not others?
This is another interesting question, as some people believe it is up to your own personal
opinion on ‘what is horror?’ So how do the BBFC decide what an audience is allowed to
watch and what they are not allowed to watch?
Firstly, in the BBFC, a group of examiners will watch the film, if they flag it up as
something that may need to be cut or banned, another group of examiners will look at it,
and then it will be decided on what they should do. However, to fully decide, they use
audience reaction from public view and opinion, and also from critics.This first showing
is important to decide whether the film does need to be censored or not from for
cinemas, DVD’s etc.
The cultural viewpoint is also crucial in censoring some horrors and not others.This is
linked to the time the film is being released. For example, when 911 happened, all films
with plane crashes involved were banned from being viewed during that time, and were
not shown on cinemas or onTV. However, if done correctly, this can be a good thing for
horrors to shock and scare people.

9. 3. Do people agree with the censorship of horror movies?
The BBFC, and other rating systems all over the world, have to make the decision on
whether they think a film can be shown or not. However, once they do decide, some
people do not agree.
When looking at the public, many people believe that they should be able to choose what
they can and can’t see and shouldn’t be told from rating systems such as the BBFC.They
believe that they have their own thoughts and ideas on what is horror, and therefore
should be able to choose whether they watch something or not. However, other people
disagree and believe that censoring certain films is the best thing to do, to limit the access
people have and to stop people from absorbing these films and then triggering a bad
response.
For distributors of films that are banned or cut, you can already guess that they disagree
with some of the rating systems decisions completely.An example of this is on the next
slide.

10. New Zealand's rating system if called The Office of Film and
Literature Classification (OFLC).This year, the film “Maniac” a film
about a serial killer, is not allowed to be shown on cinema, or be
released on DVD.This film is a remake of the 1980’s film with the
same name, and is partly shot in first person perspective, making the
audience feel as if they are experiencing murders through the killers
eyes.The OFLC decided that this film was “so disturbing it shouldn't
be seen by anyone.”
The movies distributors were outraged at this, saying that the film is
“one of the finest horror films in recent years” and that it is “an insult
to the intelligence of the adult population of New Zealand and does
little more than to serve as an open invitation to illegally pirate the
film” and they were right. A huge 18.4% of people illegally
downloaded “Maniac” with UK coming in at 2nd of 8.6% and New
Zealand 3rd with 6.7%. This film has gone viral, and although rating
systems like the BBFC and OFLC think they have the final say, films
are accessible all over the place, for free, even when its tried to be
banned.
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=tIyVWtVal7Y#t=123