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
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
- ‘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
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/mar/28/hunger-games-12a-classification-concerned-parents
http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/jul/31/isthedarkknightsuitablefo
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/aug/30/filmnews.filmcensorship
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/19/bbfc-change-film-certs-here-are-mine
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."
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."
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?
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.
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.
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.
- 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).
