Jack Wood's research presentation examines the impact of film rating systems on creative freedom. It explores how rating restrictions influence censorship decisions filmmakers make and the control rating organizations have. Artefacts include surveys on rating acceptability and a censored scene comparison. The presentation concludes rating systems both limit films and enhance marketing, and new technologies impact censorship economically.

1. Research Presentation
Jack Wood

2. The limitations that restrictive age based rating systems
place on filmmakers in the current era of film?
 Does film censorship limit filmmakers creativity or enhance it?
 The sacrifices filmmakers make to maintain morality and receive a certain age
certificate.
 How much control does a filmmaker have against the distributer and studio?
 Explore the limitation affects restrictive ratings against the marketing of a film.
 Do the current rating organisations such as the MPAA and BBFC have to much
control on the final output of the film, thus limiting the creative freedom of
filmmakers?
 How have new technologies affected this?

3. Keywords
 Censorship
 Morality
 Audience & Classification
 Marketing
 Creativity

4. Sources
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49oZmT6Pif4
Journal
Horror: on the edge of taste
(Mark Kermode, 1995)
Article on the film
being banned.
http://www.theguardian.com/film
/2013/oct/11/blue-is-the-warmestcolour-banned-idaho-sex-alcoholpalme-dor
Book
Film Censorship Explored
Journal
‘The antecedents and consequences of
restrictive age-based ratings in the global
motion picture industry’
(Enid Wistrich, 1978)
(Jehoshua Eliashberg, 2011)

5. Research Methods & Methodology
Proposal, Present
ation & Artefacts
Viva Voce
 Quantitative
 Qualitative
 Exploratory
 Descriptive
 Ethnographic
 Casual

6. Project Management
 Notepad
 Hard-copy of submission dates and LO‟s
http://woodybgood.blogspot.co.uk/
Blog
External hard-drive
Time Machine

7. Artefacts
 (1) Survey/interview of a certain age group (14-17 years) on whether film certificates
stop them from watching a film and if they find certain content unwatchable?
 (1) Survey/interview of parents on what they deem acceptable for their children to
watch and what content they find too strong or uncomfortable to watch?
 (2) Film a scene of a violent/sexual nature and create a censored version in post
production. Then get feedback on the effectiveness of my self censorship.
-Example of
desaturation to tone
down the blood.
(Dawn Of The Dead, 1978)

8. Ethics
 Grey area!
 Vulnerable participants: Children
 I understand that my artefacts will need to gain ethical approval
 Go through the checklist
 500 word explanation for panel
 Parent/ Guardian permission

9. Relevant Quotes: Journals
 “Violence, sex, nudity and language constitute creative elements that may be beneficial to a
movies storyline and desirable to certain audiences, but these elements may also cause potential
harm or disruption to adolescents who may imitate the „real-world‟ behavior that they see in the
movie. In particular, violence and it‟s effects on society have received the most attention and
publicity.” – (Jehoshua Eliashberg, 2011)
 ““There‟s so little actual on-screen violence. However, there‟s lots of mental torture. It‟s almost
impossible to change the nature of the film.” In other words the movie was simply too well
constructed to be rendered impotent by cuts. The result- an outright ban”- (Mark Kermode on
James Ferman, 1995)
(The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, 1978)

10. Relevant Quotes: Films

“You have to judge violence contextually but you can‟t judge language contextually” (Tom Hooper, 2011)

“The Bond movie where Daniel Craig gets his bollocks smashed in… In a torture scene… That‟s PG13” (Tom Hooper,
2011)
(Casino Royale, 2006)

“One of the things about violence is that to the young mind it has the extraordinary ability to colonise your imagination
and that‟s the thing I think needs to be respected” (Tom Hooper, 2011)

“I don‟t think we got that rating for what we show, I think we got it for how we made people feel…In some ways I see it
as a compliment” (Derek Cianfrance, 2011)

11. Relevant Quotes: Interviews
 “It changes with the times. Some years they‟re really hard on the violence. Some years, anything
goes.”- (Robert Rodriguez, 2010)
(2010)
 “Don‟t have a soft „R‟”- (Ruben Fleischer, 2010)
 “There‟s obviously a disconnect in this organisation. You have one group that rates the film and
another group that sits on the appeal commission, so it‟s different people?”- (Jamie
Patricoff, 2010)

12. Relevant Quotes: Books
 “Discussions on film censorship generally start with sex but, sooner or
later, someone is sure to say „It‟s not the sex I mind, it‟s the violence.‟”- (Enid
Wistrich, 1978)
 “The best research is done with a shovel, not tweezers” (Roger Needham
(Enid Wistrich, 1978)
(Ranjit Kumar, 2011)

13. Relevant Quotes: Online Articles

“This work was originally seen for advice in an unfinished form. The company was advised that the film was likely
to receive a '15' certificate but that their preferred '12A' classification could be achieved by making a number
of cuts to both language and visuals. When the finished version of the film was submitted for formal
classification, edits had been made to reduce the number of uses of strong language (both 'f**k' and
'motherf***er') and to reduce sequences of bloody violence, including blood sprays when characters are shot
in the head, and punches to restrained individuals. The formal submission was consequently rated '12A'.”
(Moviecensorship.com, 2013)

“Carole Skinner, owner of the Flicks theatre in Boise, said the cinema was unable to show the film because its
alcohol licence prohibits the screening of movies which feature "acts or simulated acts of sexual
intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation or any sexual acts which are
prohibited by law" and "any person being touched, caressed or fondled on the breast, buttocks, anus or
genitals". Blue is the Warmest Colour, suffice to say, includes pretty much all of the above.” (The Guardian
Online, 2013)

14. Conclusions: Concept for Artefact 1
 To gather sufficient information and opinions and analyse whether the current
film rating system has the desired effect on young audiences.
 Whether both young and old audiences feel that the ratings could be more
lenient or more strict.
 To help determine questions for artefact 3.
 Reflection and exploration on how the conclusions affect filmmakers.

15. Conclusions: Concept for Artefact 2
 Create an understanding on how censoring my own work is demoralising to
the negative effects it has to the story and aesthetics.
 Draw conclusions on how much more acceptable my censored scene is
compared to the original.
 Understanding first hand on how new technologies in post-production benefit
censored re-edits economically and practically.
 Analyse the feedback of my censored and uncensored scene to take the
conclusions forward onto my next artefact and research document.

16. References

YouTube. 2013. THR Directors Roundtable (Full Hour). [online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49oZmT6Pif4 [Accessed: Oct 2013].

Kermode, M. 1995. Horror: on the edge of taste. Index on Censorship, 24 (6), pp. 59-68. Available from: doi: 10.1080/03064229508535988 [Accessed: Oct
2013].

Sciencedirect.com. 2011. The antecedents and consequences of restrictive age-based ratings in the global motion picture industry. [online] Available at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl e/pii/S0167811611000656 [Accessed: Oct 2013].

Child, B. 2013. Blue is the Warmest Colour 'banned' in Idaho as sex and alcohol don't mix. [online] Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/11/blue-is-the-warmest-colour-banned-idaho-sex-alcohol-palme-dor [Accessed: Oct 2013].

Wistrich, E. 1978. "I don't mind the sex, it's the violence". London: Boyars.

Simpson, C. and Simpson, C. 2013. 10 Extremely Controversial Films That Upset The Censors. [online] Available at: http://whatculture.com/film/10-extremelycontroversial-films-that-upset-the-censors.php [Accessed: Oct 2013].

YouTube. 2013. SXSW 2010 - Directing the Dead: Genre Directors Spill Their Guts - MPAA-Nudity. [online] Available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxatKnAoMuI [Accessed: Oct 2013].

Kumar, R. 2011. Research methodology. Los Angeles: SAGE.