BBFC Certification Research

2. BBFC Certificate – 12A:
 The certificate of 12A means that any
child under the age of 12 must be
accompanied by an adult to the cinema.
 12A certificates are only passed to cinema
screenings, as the above rule cannot be
enforced for home viewing.
 12A movies can contain:
 Moderate physical and psychological threat.
 Moderate violence, that does not dwell on
detail.
 Sex that is briefly and discreetly portrayed.
 Moderately strong language may be used,
and some strong language may be used
depending on the circumstances.

3. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
 Frequent scenes of moderate violence, including use of blasters and
lightsabers, and dogfights between spaceships.
 Sight of blood and injury is limited and brief.
 Occasional scenes of moderate threat, including interrogations where
methods are used that imply infliction of pain.
 Infrequent use of very mild bad language - ‘hell’, ‘damn’.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAUxw4umkdY

4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
 Scenes of moderate violence, including battles between fantasy creatures. There is
reference to a dwarf king being beheaded, and a head is shown being held by an orc
before being thrown to the ground, although the scene is neither bloody nor gory.
 While there is a lot of violence involving bladed weapons, the context is clearly
fantastical, and there is no emphasis on injuries or blood.
 There are some scenes of threat, including the characters being caught by trolls who
plan to eat them, although they all escape before any harm comes to them.
 The movie also features some scenes in which characters smoke pipes and drink
alcohol, however this reflects the habits of the fantasy characters and does not
condone smoking or excessive drinking.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olVsFS8Ajtk

5. BBFC Certificate – 12:
 The certificate of 12 can contain the same
content as a 12A, although it is illegal for
people under the age of 12 to possess
any home media with the certificate 12.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy
 The film contains explosive battles in outer space involving various craft, and scenes
of fighting between rival groups. The fighting features hand-to-hand combat as well
the use of futuristic weapons, and is occasionally both intense and sustained. The
impacts of blows or laser blasts result in no realistic injury.
 The violence takes place in a firmly established fantasy setting where the
conversation between characters also brings comic relief to the action and to
moments of threat.
 The film contains moderate bad language such as 'dick', 'prick', 'bitch' and 'whore',
and the use of a rude gesture. The film also contains infrequent mild sex references.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZgn4S9-fWo

7. Jurassic World
 Several sequences of moderate threat include humans being chased by dinosaurs, or
hiding when aggressive dinosaurs are nearby. Some children are shown being scared
and upset, but they reassure each other and are not harmed.
 Occasional bloody moments feature, without any strong detail or clear focus on
injuries. There is sight of blood spray on a window and some blood is seen falling
through a tree canopy as a person is killed by a dinosaur. A man is stabbed in the
chest when a pterodactyl flies into him.
 There is action violence as dinosaurs chase and attack humans, with several people
picked up in the jaws of gigantic dinosaurs.
 There is mild bad language, including several uses of 'shit' and 'son of a bitch'.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjxcWhQYMKw

8. BBFC Certificate – 15:
 The certificate of 15 is only suitable for
people of ages 15 and above, and it is
illegal for anyone under the age to
possess any home media with the
certificate 15.
 Films with the BBFC certificate of 15 may
contain:
 Strong violence.
 Frequent strong language.
 Portrayals of sexual activity, and sexual
nudity.
 Brief scenes of, or verbal references to
sexual violence.
 Discriminatory language or behaviour.
 Drug taking.
 Strong threat and horror, as long as there is
no sustained focus sadistic or sexualised
threat.

9. Alien
 The film contains five uses of strong language ('f**k'), as well as some milder bad
language.
 There are scenes of moderate violence and horror as the crew are chased and
attacked by the alien and as they attempt to fight it off. In general, the violence occurs
offscreen or in semi-darkness, although there is some sight of blood in the aftermath
of alien attacks and sight of a character being bitten.
 Scenes of horror include sight of an alien creature attaching itself to a man's face and
subsequent sight of the alien bursting out of his stomach, with some gory detail.
There is also sight of a robot character being decapitated and spewing white fluid in
place of blood.
 ALIEN also includes sight of adult character smoking cigarettes.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRXyWtv-huc

10. Zombieland
 There are 20+ uses of strong language (eg. ‘f**k’) in this work.
 Strong violence is seen when the zombies are either feasting on the flesh of dead
people or being killed in a series of impressively bloody set-pieces by heroes
equipped with a vast array of weaponry. Other methods of putting down the ‘undead’,
often quite inventive, are also employed from time to time.
 Although the violence is strong and bloody, it is significantly moderated by comedy
and the fantasy nature of the film. Everything is played for laughs and the horror is too
silly and fantastical to be credible. Moreover, the film has no sadistic edge and lacks
the very strong gore and / or injury detail necessary to tip it into the adult category.
 Zombieland also contains a scene of implied marijuana smoking, and some mild
female breast nudity during the opening credits is seen as a topless female zombie
runs towards the camera in slow-motion.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s01i5a1JHTI