Friday 5 December 2014

Essay Plan

Introduction (150)
  • Discuss what argument is about and relevant issues
Section 1 (650)
  • Fast and Furious 6
  • Textual Analysis

 Section 2
Section 3

 Section 4

 Section 5
  • Future issues and problems 
  • Future of certification
     
  • http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/19/bbfc-change-film-certs-here-are-mine
    The old principle, whereby BBFC representatives sit through hours of dross in order to create certificates that might protect children from filthy language or behaviour at the cinema, is redundant when kids can watch these films (or far worse) online anyway.
    (Mitchell, 2014)
  • http://www.cbbfc.co.uk/film-ratings/why-we-age-rate-films
    If the filmmakers decide the likely rating is too high, they may decide to change the film, eg by removing scenes or changing the special effects, so they are more likely to get the lower rating they want. This is called a ‘cut for category’ and is the most common sort of cut made to films in the UK.
  • http://www.cbbfc.co.uk/film-ratings/why-we-age-rate-films
    Even today, for films shown in cinemas, councils have the power to ignore any decision made by the BBFC and can give them their own age ratings.
  • Media Magazine 49
    We have access to so much information and we are skilled consumers of the media. Most of us are not passive, unthinking consumers of film or other media.
  • http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-regulation-and-censorship/
    The BBC has its own powers of regulation, as well as partly being under the influence of Ofcom.  Like many media industries, they try to avoid external regulation and censorship by regulating themselves.

 Conclusion
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Bibliography

Bibliography

BBFC launch 12A cinema advert. (2014, July 29). Retrieved October 2014, 28, from BBFC: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc/media-centre/bbfc-launch-12a-cinema-advert

Bagshaw, C. (2009, August 27). Understanding Regulation and Censorship. Retrieved November 1, 2014, from MediaEdu: http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-regulation-and-censorship/

Bovingdon, E. (2012, March 27). The most controversial 12A films. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from Yahoo! Movies : https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/the-most-controversial-12a-films.html

Child, B. (2012, March 28). The Hunger Games' 12A classification not to the taste of concerned parents. Retrieved November 04, 2014, from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/mar/28/hunger-games-12a-classification-concerned-parents

Chrisafis, A. (2002, August 30). Spider-Man seizes the under-12s. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/aug/30/filmnews.filmcensorship

Lawson, M. (2008, July 31). Is The Dark Knight suitable for children? Retrieved October 31, 2014, from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/jul/31/isthedarkknightsuitablefo

Meadows, S. (2007, April 23). An 18 for This is England? This is an outrage. Retrieved October 29, 2014, from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2007/apr/23/an18forthisisenglandthis

Mitchell, V. C. (2014, January 19). Film ratings: a little advice for the BBFC. Retrieved November 3, 2014, from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/19/bbfc-change-film-certs-here-are-mine

Neish, S. (2011, March 29). Is The 12A Certificate Still Valid? Retrieved October 31, 2014, from HeyUGuys: http://www.heyuguys.com/is-the-12a-certificate-still-valid/

Sparrow, A. (2008, August 5). Dark Knight: MPs criticise 12A certificate. Retrieved November 2, 2014, from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/aug/05/politicsandthearts

THOMAS, L., & BOSHOFF, A. (2012, March 27). Shocked youngsters 'are walking out of The Hunger Games' as experts demand film's certificate is raised to 15. Retrieved November 2, 2014, from Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2121303/The-Hunger-Games-rating-Shocked-youngsers-walking-movie.html#ixzz3GrKomYtx

Why we age rate films. (n.d.). Retrieved November 01, 2014, from cbbfc: http://www.cbbfc.co.uk/film-ratings/why-we-age-rate-films


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Wednesday 19 November 2014

Critical Investigation Task #1

In one scene from Fast and Furious 6, a military tank drives over several cars during a chase scene, most likely killing anyone inside; although violent there is no blood and no injured occupants seen in these smashed vehicles, however the audience can see that the people/person in the car were killed. 

 In The Fast and The Furious, the first film of the successful franchise, there is a very similar scene where a car tries to squeeze under the truck and in-between its wheels; the car is bounced back and forth, then it goes under one wheel and is trapped by the tires; eventually the trucks wheels roll over the car killing the driver inside. 

 These two scenes were both noted in the certification of the movie, but the film ratings that were given were both different, The Fast and The Furious received an age certification of 15, whereas Fast and Furious 6 received an age certification of 12A. This shows that over time certification has changed as younger audiences are being exposed more and more to violence and profanity.

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Wednesday 12 November 2014

Notes and Quotes Feedback


  • Met deadline – 1,500 words on Notes and Quotes.
  • Found two Media Magazine articles to research – keep looking because there may be more.
  • Check Media Edu for case studies – there should be something on film classification.
  • Major gap now is academic books and journals…
  • You’ve got six pdf academic journals and read and collect quotes from – that will revolutionise your research.
  • Also check the books we have in DF07 – the general film books will almost certainly have something on censorship or classification.

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Wednesday 22 October 2014

Notes and Quotes

Articles:

Shocked youngsters 'are walking out of The Hunger Games' as experts demand film's certificate is raised to 15
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2121303/The-Hunger-Games-rating-Shocked-youngsers-walking-movie.html#ixzz3GrKomYtx
  • Children who see the controversial film are at risk of having its disturbing scenes ‘hard-wired’ into their brains, one expert warned.
  • Psychologists, child health professionals and parents yesterday joined calls for The Hunger Games to have its rating raised to a 15 because of its violent content.
  • Was initially given a 15 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification but this was lowered to a 12A after producers agreed to make several cuts.
  • ‘During the preteen and teen years, children’s minds are mentally pliable. They are being hard-wired... So, when an image comes into a teen’s brain it melds into that wiring and sticks.’
  • Geoffrey Beattie, professor of psychology at Manchester University, says watching teens killing each other will have a stronger effect on young people than adult battle scenes.
  • Even Zygi Kamasa, chief executive of Lionsgate, the company behind the film, said he would not let his ten-year-old daughter watch the movie, which he admitted had a ‘lot of adult themes’ and ‘frightening and gory scenes’.

The most controversial 12A films
https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/the-most-controversial-12a-films.html
  • ‘The Hunger Games’ is the next billion dollar teen franchise
  • ‘The Hunger Games’ is rated 12A by the British Board of Film Classification, and the success of the film has once again ignited the debate over this most controversial of movie certificates.
  • At one point ‘Games’ was set to be a 15 before the studio nixed seven seconds of particularly gory footage.
  • The complaints, surely accompanied by commercial pressure from studio Sony, eventually saw the creation of the softer 12A certificate, with ‘Spider-Man’ reclassified.
  •  One of the most high profile examples that followed was Bond flick ‘Casino Royale’, with the BBFC receiving 82 complaints over the violence and a few sexually suggestive scenes.
  • Another 12A movie that sailed close to the shores of a 15 was ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines’ - which got the most complaints in 2003 (54).
  • Tom Cruise vehicle ‘War of the Worlds’ got a whopping 65 complaints thanks to scenes of ‘sustained menace, threat and moderate horror’.
  • The debate over the 12A rating was undeniably fiercest however in 2007 after the release of ‘The Dark Knight’. As we’ve already reported, the Batman sequel is the most complained about movie of the last decade in Britain, with 364 complaints.
     
Dark Knight: MP's criticise 12A certificate
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/aug/05/politicsandthearts
  • Duncan Smith said he enjoyed the film and thought it was well-made. But he thought the BBFC had "caved in to commercial pressures".
  • Vaz also said the film should have been a 15. "There's a line between good entertainment and something which influences young minds … We need to be very vigilant in terms of what we do about these issues," he said.
  • "There is no way that a parent could have been guided by the classification and realised what they were about to see."
     
The Hunger Games' 12A calssification not to the taste of concerned parents
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/mar/28/hunger-games-12a-classification-concerned-parents
  • The British Board of Film Classification had intended to give the movie a 15 rating, but agreed to a 12A following the removal of seven seconds of brutality and bloodshed.
  • "We weren't going to make a watered-down version of what we love," she said. "If you take the violence and brutality out of the movie, you take the entire heart out of it."
     
Is The Dark Knight suitable for children?
http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/jul/31/isthedarkknightsuitablefo
  • The number that fits is 15, although, as the movie industry is well aware, such toughness would cut its box office numbers. 
  • If the BBFC really is not recommending that under-12s go, why choose a classification that could admit them?
     
 Spider-Man seizes under-12s
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/aug/30/filmnews.filmcensorship
  • He said a survey of 4,000 parents in Norwich showed 70% of adults were in favour of the new rating. Around 64% said children should be accompanied by someone over 18 - either a parent, relative or friend.
  • Criticism reached crisis point in June when the box-office hit, Spider-Man, was rated 12 due to a graphic fight scene between the superhero and his arch-nemesis, the Green Goblin. 
  • Under-12s in Britain were previously banned from films such as Titanic, The Mummy, and most of the recent James Bond films - resulting in floods of formal protests from parents.
  • The Hollywood thriller, The Bourne Identity, will be the first film to be released under the new 12A category.
     
Film ratings: a little advice for the BBFC
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/19/bbfc-change-film-certs-here-are-mine
  • The old principle, whereby BBFC representatives sit through hours of dross in order to create certificates that might protect children from filthy language or behaviour at the cinema, is redundant when kids can watch these films (or far worse) online anyway.
     
An 18 for This is England? This is an outrage
http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2007/apr/23/an18forthisisenglandthis
  • Then, earlier this year, we heard that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had decided to give the film an 18 certificate for its use of "realistic violence and racist language".
  • By having one piece of violence and one piece of really acute verbal violence I've managed to get an 18 certificate, whereas someone else can slay thousands of people in a single film and that's OK.
     
BBFC launch 12A cinema advert
  • The advert reminds parents to check the BBFCinsight for every 12A film before they take a child to see it.
  • The BBFC saw a rise in the number of 12A films released during 2013, with 87 more films classified 12A in 2013 compared to 2012.
  • The BBFC also carried out their latest large scale public consultation in 2013, which showed 92% of recent film viewers agreed with BBFC age ratings for films and videos they had seen recently.
  • We want to remind parents that the certificate was designed to help them decide if a film at the 12 level is suitable for their child.
  • Lucy Brett, BBFC Head of Education, said: “So far this year we’ve visited over 4700 students, primary school children, cinemagoers and adult learners through our outreach programme.
  • No two 12A films are the same and no two children are the same, which is why BBFCinsight is designed to help parents find a good film fit for their child."
     
Why we age rate films
  • With 12A films you must be 12 or older to go and see them, unless you have an adult with you.
  • It is up to that grown-up to decide that you won’t be upset or disturbed by anything you see.
  • Anyone wanting to release a film, video or DVD for showing in cinemas or watching at home has to make sure that their film has a BBFC age rating symbol.
  • It's against the law to try and sell videos and DVDs without this.
  • The BBFC was created by the film industry in 1912, long before anyone had even heard of Harry Potter or Pixar.
  • Even today, for films shown in cinemas, councils have the power to ignore any decision made by the BBFC and can give them their own age ratings.
  • For example, in 1993, the comedy film Mrs.Doubtfire was given a 12 classification by the BBFC. Some councils disagreed with our decision and gave the film a PG.
  • It is against the law in this country to show films or videos in which an animal has been harmed during the production.
  • If the filmmakers decide the likely rating is too high, they may decide to change the film, eg by removing scenes or changing the special effects, so they are more likely to get the lower rating they want. This is called a ‘cut for category’ and is the most common sort of cut made to films in the UK.
     
Is The 12A Certificate Still Valid?
  • Although the BBFC proclaims not to recommend that children under the age of 12 choose to view the movie, their jurisdiction is limited by general ignorance.
  • As such, the 12A rating is treated just like PG, parents being lead to the cinema by their savvier children – often having done little to research the film of choice and its content.
  • With a spokesperson for the BBFC telling the Telegraph that “the use of the f-word up to four times in a 12A film is considered acceptable”
Media Magazine:

Media Magazine 34: The Change Issue
  • Originally called the ‘British Board of Film Censors’ it changed its name in 1984 to reflect the belief that classification of film.
  • The same year, Parliament passed The Video Recordings Act 1984, an Act that required that any home video available for sale or hire within the UK must carry an age certificate designated by the BBFC.
  • We classify DVD products under the Video Recordings Act. We also have a contract with the public, basing our decisions on regularly updated guidelines, protecting viewers (especially the vulnerable, such as young children) from harmful or illegal content, and offering a clear guide to the suitability of a work for a particular audience.
  • Context is paramount when making classification decisions. It would be impossible to classify in a vacuum, and it wouldn't reflect the needs of the public or treat film-makers fairly.
Media magazine 49:
  • I can remember an examiner from the BBFC telling me that when they watch and classify films, the number of ‘f-words’ is taken into consideration, and this may be the difference between a 15 and an 18 classification.
  • Like Wolf of Wall Street the film raises the debate ‘Should there be an Uncensored Adult category in Film?’ As adults, are we free to watch what we want to? And, like Wolf of Wall Street, a ban on any film simply affords it a massive dose of publicity.
  • The ‘hypodermic needle’ theory of the effects of the media has suggested that we can be influenced by what we watch.This theory is now largely seen as outdated.
  • We have access to so much information and we are skilled consumers of the media. Most of us are not passive, unthinking consumers of film or other media.
  • In the UK the BBFC passed the film uncut with an 18 certificate. A religious or moral standpoint would argue that the film’s arguably excessive images of sex and drug use might affect a society’s moral values.
Academic Journals:




Media Edu

Understanding Regulation and Censorship
  • The Media Effects theory has achieved widespread acceptance by society. This theory suggests that those who are exposed to violence in the media are influenced to behave in a violent manner.  Although it is extremely difficult to “prove” this theory, a number of high-profile cases have been used to support the theoretical link between media and actual violence.
  • Moral panics, (first identified by Cohen in the 1960s), where the repetitive reporting of incidents in the media creates a (possibly inflated) fear. 
  • Ofcom On the whole, it investigates only when complaints have been received. Broadcasters are encouraged to consider its advisory code and it has the power to penalise organisations which go against its code.
  • The Hitchcock film Psycho was given an “X” certificate on release in 1960, (equivalent to the current “18”).  However, on re-release in 1986 it was given a “15”.
  • In the 1960s, the use of swear-words in a TV programme was unacceptable.  Now you will frequently hear swear words, although usually under certain conditions, including after the 9pm watershed or when a pre-programme warning is given about bad language.
  • The BBC has its own powers of regulation, as well as partly being under the influence of Ofcom.  Like many media industries, they try to avoid external regulation and censorship by regulating themselves.
  • The BBC have a 9pm “watershed”. They also have Editorial Guidelines which outline the standards the BBC expects of all BBC content on TV, radio and online. Because of their tax-payer funding and their huge, international status, the BBC tend to show less controversial material than other channels such as Channel 4.
  • The BBFC are “the independent regulator of the film and video industry in the UK.” They are responsible for classifying cinema releases, DVDs, video-games and advertisements shown in cinemas.
  • It ranged from personal experience – newspaper columnist Allison Pearson and former Tory Party leader Iain Duncan Smith complaining the film was too strong for their children – to wider condemnation of the BBFC, its policies and its role. In addition the BBFC received over 200 complaints from members of the public. (Dark Knight Rises).



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Wednesday 8 October 2014

Critical Investigation Research

News Articles:

Academic Textbooks:


Documentaries: 


Other:
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Wednesday 1 October 2014

Critical Investigation Tutorial


  • Good choice of topic - loads of research available.
  • Great to see some research/links already.
  • Question definitely needs work.. Current format: How violence in The Fast And Furious franchise and other films have become more susceptible to the audience in recent years and why?
  • Potential rework: To what extent does the Fast and Furious franchise reflect a growing leniency in Hollywood film certification?
  • Need to clarify hypothesis - age becoming more lenient and this therefore has an effect on young audiences.
  • Linked production - will work perfectly but needs a lot of thought in January.
  • Start identifying key scenes in primary text and F&F1 to analyse / do content analysis.
  • Identify and research secondary texts including historical.
  • Some big questions:Commercial pressures - are these changes due to film institutions needing to make money?Is certification even relevant in the online age
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Friday 19 September 2014

Critical Investigation Proposal

The next step in our critical investigations is to develop our presentations into detailed academic proposals. You will be given a one-to-one tutorial to help you find the right angle and issue to concentrate on but first need to develop a blog post working through the following headings and tasks:
Working title
To what extent does the Fast and Furious franchise reflect a growing leniancy in Hollywood film certification?

 Angle
What impact does the low age certification have on their audience? How has this changed the Film Industry today? Is this simply because we are more susceptible to violence and understand that it is not real, or because film institutions want more money?

Hypothesis
Age certification is becoming more lenient and this therefore has an effect on young audiences.

Linked production piece
Trailer on a horror or action film which includes age ratings and possible scenes/flashes of violence and things that are on the border of acceptable for young children.

MIGRAIN

  • Media Language 
    In the films there are many violent scenes of fights and gun violence portrayed. There is also street races and illegal driving stunts shown.
  • Institution
    The main institutions involved in the film franchise are Universal Pictures and Original Film and Relativity Media. The films are produced by Relativity Media and Original Film, but are distributed by Universal Pictures.
  • Genre
    The genre of this film is action as there are many stunts and fighting scenes.
  • Audience
    The audience of this film has changed overtime from much older audiences 15+ to much younger audiences 12A.
  • Narrative
    The Fast And Furious is an American media film franchise based on an illegal street racing. 

Issues/Debates

Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using the Media A-Z to help you think about this:
  • Media effects 
  • Moral Panics 
  • Ownership and control - who controls the age ratings in the media world.
  • Regulation and censorship - age ratings are becoming more lenient.
  • Media technology and the digital revolution – changing technologies in the 21st century - this allows many people to access prate copies online regardless of what age. 

Theories

Media A-Z:
  • Colonialism and Post-colonialism 
  • Audience theories - Psychographics, what people tend to watch films as such. 
  • Genre theories - Are all action movies given lower ratings due to higher demand.
  • Contemporary Media Landscape - more films with increasing amount of violence are being exposed to young audiences.

Research plan (media texts, academic texts and websites)


Media texts
Fast And Furious

Other media texts
Terminator
Die Hard


TV documentaries
Empire of censors Part 1
Empire of censors Part 2


Academic texts/books
Link 1
Link 2


Internet Links

The Hunger Games age rating
BBFC Launch 12A Cinema Advert
History of British Film Certification
Why We Age Rate Films
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Wednesday 17 September 2014

Ignite Presentation Feedback

Movie Age Ratings/Violence

 Teacher Feedback:
  • Great choice of topic and potential for critical investigation here.
  • immediately on to a primary text - Fast and Furious - but lack of rehearsal here - long pauses.
  • Good use of images rather than text.
  • Took a bit too long to get to the point - the change from 15 to 12A as the franchise continues.
  • Excellent image analysis putting the two alongside each other.
  • Good use of historical text - Terminator that adds to the debate.
  • There are some brilliant points here but overall a frustrating lack of detail and depth to the presentation. Lack of authority in delivery.
  • BUT, good selection of texts.
  • Where are the media debates? Theories? So much more depth possible here. A relevant media debate but only scratching the surface here.
  • Q+A raises commercial aspect - very important and not addressed in presentation. Institutional issues.
  • Is there any point in age ratings in the digital world?

WWW:
  • Good use of images and not text.
  • Placing images side by side to compare the difference of before and after.
  • Historical text was relevant and showed research had been put in.
  • Interesting, and very current debate raised.
  • Very good use of a film franchise.
EBI
  • Rehearsed more.
  • There were no long pauses between some slides.
  • Got to the point faster.
  • Raised different theories and points about the issue, such as commercial aspects.
  • More detail put in to what the reason for these age ratings could be and about the films.

In order to turn my ignite talk into a top quality critical investigation, I would need to research further about my main media text, Fast and Furious. I could find out facts and key details such as how much money they may have grossed when the film was a 15 compared to when it became a 12A. I could also raise debates within my topic about various aspects of the films and what gives them the ratings that they do receive and whether the bbfc are becoming more susceptible to violence in movies as such. 
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Tuesday 24 June 2014

Media Magazine 34 Presentation

Teacher Feedback:
  • Interesting topic.
  • Relevant issue and taps into audience, NDM, representation.
  • Excellent choices of potential critical investigations.
  • Short presentation - needs more depth.
  • Some brilliant issues: Twitter bringing celebrities closer to audience.
I think that my presentation had very good intriguing critical investigation topics that would be found relevant, however, my presentation as a whole was not presented entirely well and was calling for more detailed information.
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Internet Video


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