The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) was established in 1912 to set censorship standards for films shown in the UK. It assigns age ratings from U to R18 based on content like violence, language, sex, and nudity. For example, 15-rated films can contain strong violence while 18-rated films contain very strong language and graphic depictions of sexual violence. The BBFC also considers UK laws like the Obscene Publications Act and Video Recordings Act when making classification decisions. One film it gave an 18 rating for graphic medical depictions was The Descent due to scenes of broken bones and stomachs being eaten.

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BBFC
Background of BBFC
The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) was set up in 1912, which makes
it 103 years old ever since films were started. to be filmed in the UK. They were
set up by the film industry to set the censorship standards of films. They give
films certificates, which range from U to R18, which are;
 U – Suitable for everyone
 PG – Parental guidance
 12A – Cinema release suitable for 12 years and over
 12 – Video release suitable for 12 years and over
 15 – Suitable only for 15 years and over
 18 – Suitable for adults
 R18 – Adults works for licensed premises only
Between the World Wars the kind of material that caused concern include horror
movies, gangster films and also aspects of sexual scenes
U is universal which means that I has to be suitable for
people the under the age of four. It should raise no concern
with Drugs, discrimination, foul language, bad behaviour,
nudity, sex, threats or violence.
This means that the film is suitable for general viewing but
some scenes may not be unsuitable for young children. A PG
film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older.
Parents must consider whether the consent may upset
younger, or more sensitive children.
Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain
material that is not generally suitable for children under the
age of 12. No one younger than the age 12 may see a 12A film
in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning
to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider
whether the film is suitable for that child. Sexual scenes may
occur such as verbal sex references but comedy may lessen
the impact.
No one under the age of 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the
cinema or buy a 15 rated video. 12 rated works are not

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suitable for children under 15 years of age. 15 rated movies have Strong
violence, frequent strong language
Portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal reference to sex, Sexual nudity, Brief
scenes of sexual violence or verbal reference to sexual violence, discriminatory
language or behaviour and drug taking.
Films rated 18 are for adults. No one under the age of 18 is
allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy and 18 rated
video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children. These will
contain; Very strong language, frequent strong language,
strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence,
strong horror strong blood and gore, real sex and
discriminatory language and behaviour.
Legal Acts
Obscene Publications Act (1959)
An Act to amend the law relating to the publication of obscene matter; to provide
for the protection of literature; and to strengthen the law concerning
pornography.
Video RecordingsAct (1984)
The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United
Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings
offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been
agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office.
Protection of Children’sAct 1999
An Act to require a list to be kept of persons considered unsuitable to work with
children; to extend the power to make regulations under section 218(6) of the
Education Reform Act 1988; to make further provision with respect to that list
and the list kept for the purposes of such regulations; to enable the protection
afforded to children to be afforded to persons suffering from mental impairment;
and for connected purposes.
Banningand censorship of films in the UK
The BBFC take action films that they think will cause uproar in the public, which
also things that make them feel like there is a moral panic. These are called video
nasties, which were a flag of concern as people can go to a rent movie to graphic
for the younger people. Movies that caused a flag of concern was ‘The Evil Dead’
which was one of the first video nasty’s as the violent content which one of the
worst scenes was where the zombie stabs a person in the ankle with a pencil.

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The BBFC thought that the scene was too graphic so that they made the Video
Recordings Act (1984)
Copyrightact (1984)
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, is the current UK copyright law. It
gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to
control the ways in which their material may be used. The copyright act is one of
the most popular acts that are used worldwide. But in the UK where the BBFC
operates it has to think about such as if a film has a product or song which is
copyrighted they will have to ask for permission for the product to be in the film,
if a company uses a copy written product they company will send the user of the
product to court and sue them for money.
The Descent
The reason why the Descent was an 18 but not a 15 was that they gave certain
graphic images such as Holly breaking her leg when you can actually see the
bone outside of the body. There is strong language, which is would be tolerated
in 15 rated movies. The BBFC classification for The Descent was that the trailers
were 12 and 15 but the movie was passed as an 18 rated, but being this the film
was passed uncut which mans that there was nothing to raise concern.
The BBFC rate movies if they are 15 on Strong violence, strong language, strong
verbal references to sex, Sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal
references to sexual violence, discrimination and drug taking but 18 is a
mediocre step up from 15. Compared to 15 rated films the scenes that The
Descent has is given a 18 rating because of certain images such as Holly’s broken
leg which is outside of the body which would be too graphic for a 15 certificate
which people die in 15 rated films but not in a graphic way such as The Descent
they show images such as When Beth gets stabbed in the neck by Juno and Beth
where she leaves her to die, Rebecca when she gets her stomach eaten by the
creature is too graphic for a 15 rated film.
The Descent will have to ask for permission from Land Rover and Volkswagen
and all the climbing gear as they will have to ask for permission as they will be
sued or been told to re-film the scenes without the products or pay the
companies the same is with music as well.
In the Descent they have audience theories which I had is girls who are
interested in horror movies be the primary audience for The Descent as it is a
movie but most horror movie watchers are around the age of 18-22 which the
age rating the BBFC gave the Descent is 18 but in in the primary audience is
around the age of 16-25 which fits into the age range of horror movie lovers. As
there is multiple gory scenes which may put a lot of people off
In the Descent my audience theory was that for secondary audiences are that
males around the age of 15 - 25 will be into horror movies but The Descent isn’t
a normal horror movie as they The Descent has an all Female cast but as the

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females are no sexualized but at least one will appeal to the audience. The age
rating will limit the number of people who can see the film but many teens are
the main audience for horror movies.
The 3rd audience theory that I had was that people who are into extreme sports
like would like the Descent as that is the type of activity, that they will be
interested in they would understand the adrenaline rush that the characters get
from doing these activities. People who are in this category are around the age of
25-35, which is well in the range of the 18 rating that the BBFC gave it. These will
be able to watch the film as extreme sports costs a lot of money as of the
equipment, travelling and booking venues.