Tuesday 19 January 2016

Essay Plan - How far do changes to the regulation of media reflect broader social changes?

Week 17 Regulation Student Research and Presentation

Starter http://video.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2016/01/06/7580219847879311430/640x360_7580219847879311430.mp4 

Objective: To research and outline the History, Purpose and Effectiveness of a UK media regulatory body.

A to consider social context (ie desentisation) and justify the effectiveness of the regulator
B to analyse the history of the regulator and case studies for arguments for and against
C apply terminology and extract significant information with case study examples

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/08/homophobia-winston-mckenzie-celebrity-big-brother-channel-5-tyson-fury

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/celebrity-big-brother-ofcom-complaints-7134284

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/celebrity-big-brother-fans-slam-7137560 

http://www.bbspy.co.uk/tag/ofcom

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35243803

http://www.itv.com/news/2015-02-20/with-almost-12-000-complaints-between-them-here-are-last-years-most-offensive-adverts/ 

What you have to do

Research your allocated regulatory body (OFCOM, BBFC, PEGI, ASA) and prepare a class presentation (in Prezi) with a handout for the other students.

You must research their

  • History (Timeline of key events)
  • Purpose
  • Effectiveness
  • Key Case Studies in its history (including relevant video footage)

Your presentation must answer the following questions:

  • What are the origins of the regulator and why was it brought in?
  • What are it's aims - how have these changed and why?
  • What regulatory practice does it take and how does it make it's decisions?
  • What are the arguments for and against its form of regulation?
  • How effective is the body? (Pros and Cons plus conclusion)

You must also apply the terminology we have been learning

  • Statutory or Self-regulation
  • Pro-active or Reactive

Presentations will be next Tuesday - they will be video'd for revision purposes
This will be FSA 3.2

As a starting point - here are some Resources

Thursday 7 January 2016

Week 15 Homework & Prep (Intro to Contemporary Media Regulation) 2 hours

A - Justify opinion on effective Media Regulation - effectiveness, social context, technological context, political/ideological context

B- Explain the debates surrounding Media Regulation

C - Analyse the changes in attitudes towards regulation and what needs to be regulated with reference to changes in society

D - Identify regulatory bodies and discuss their practices

In Pairs, use the resources provided in the blog post below and extract relevant information.
Come to class for the first lesson next week with a position on where you stand on the debate over regulation of contemporary media

Download the document below here to fill in as much as you can in pairs for 1st lesson next week
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B15FWaY5r7MNWUtCMV91Z2xJd2c/view?usp=sharing



Here is the link to the resources:






Prep: Opinions Please Sex, Art and Censorship in Film



BBFC Case Study 2: BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR: Sex, sexuality and realism

Released: 22nd Novembre 2013
Directed by: Abdellatif Kechiche
Writers:  Abdellatif Kechiche (screenplay), Ghalia Lacroix (screenplay), Julie Maroh (screenplay)
Rated: 18 uncut
Genres: Drama, Romance
Simplified Plot: Adele’s life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.
  • Rated 18 for strong sex and very strong language.
  • Some of the sex scenes are quite long and include full nudity, with sight of genitals including brief sight of an erect penis.
Issues:
  • scenes of lesbian sex.
  • long sex scenes lasting up to 10 minutes.
  • Filmed to look realistic.
  • Very exposed sex scenes.
  • close ups during nudity scenes.
  • Full showing of genitals.
  • Strong language.
  • one of the characters is under 18.
  • This is an arty film that is made for a particular audience.
  • There is no violence or rape in the film.
  • Both of the actresses in the film are over 18.
  • The actresses felt intimidated by the director whilst making the film.

Exemplar JUNE 2014: HOW WELL DOES CONTEMPORARY MEDIA REGULATION PROTECT THE PUBLIC?

The BBFC and PEGI are the two organisations who certificate and rate media products. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) was set up in 1912 to protect the public from media material that may present harm risk. Originally the BBFC only classified cinema films until the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984 when it started regulating videos/DVDs. In 1984 the BBFC began to regulate video games as well. From 2003 the responsibility of regulating video games was passed from the BBFC to PEGI (Pan European Game Information). However, the BBFC will continue to classify all games that feature strong pornographic content and ancillary games attached to a wider, primary linear submission.
The BBFC are an non-government regulatory body to which films are submitted for classification based on their content. They aim to protect the public by providing them with information that allows them to make a more educated decision when selecting a media products. The BBFC also provide verification for as to why they have awarded media products the certificate that they have. Like with the BBFC video games are submitted to PEGI to be given appropriate age ratings. These age ratings are in place to give guidance to the video game customers, particularly parents. The age ratings given to video games are awarded based on their content and suitability, not their difficulty. PEGI used descriptors that are placed on the back of the video games packaging. These descriptors explain the main reason behind why games have been given a particular age rating.
Although these regulatory bodies are in place there are problems with the systems that prevent them from being used as a means of protection, for the public, from the media. For example, it is not illegal for a person who is of age to buy a particular media product for a person who is under the age certificate of a product and allow them to view it. In this respect organisations such as PEGI and BBFC are carrying out the service that they hope to provide by informing the buyer of the content and the potential harm that such products may cause to a consumer who is not of suitable age to be subjected to the media product.
The BBFC and PEGI aim to work as  gatekeepers (Kurt Lewin 1890-1947) between the media that is appropriate for us to consume and that which is deemed to have the potential to cause harm. However this role means that we have to place our trust in these organisations as we, the audience, rely upon them to make the decision of what we should and shouldn’t be subjected to in media products. Problems are faced by these gatekeepers when it comes to media that they are unable to regulate. For example, media platforms such as YouTube are unregulated due to the excessive quantity of videos submitted to this platform. Also piracy of video games and films cause major problems for these gatekeeping organisation. Piracy is a prime example where an advance in technology has posed a threat to regulatory companies aim to protect the public.
A Serbian film is a prime example of a film where by the BBFC have taken precautionary measures in an attempt to prevent the public from being exposed to potentially harmful media content. The film, directed by Srdan Spasojevic, was eventually passed after four months of negotiation with the BBFC for release on the 10th December 2010. The BBFC required forty-nine individual cuts, across eleven scenes, before classifying it ’18’ for very strong sexual violence, sex and violence. Cuts were required to remove elements of sexual violence that tend to eroticise or endorse sexual violence. However, even after cuts the film was still seen to be disturbing, offensive and shocking to some adult audience members.
The Woman In Black was passed by the BBFC with a 12A classification following cuts and was later released uncut on DVD with a 15 age certificate. The film was directed by James Watkins and was released on the 10th February 2012. The BBFC received 134 letters of complaint following the cinema viewing. This was as a result of the film being aged at a young age group to attract audience members who would watch the film as a result of it being Daniel Radcliffe’s first post Harry Potter film. The film was cut by 6 seconds in order to secure a 12A rating on release. This was as a result of the film being said to hare been “too scary” for the 12A certificate in its first-submitted form. In an attempt to satisfy both the audience members and the film producers the BBFC suggested the cuts in an attempt to release the film with a certificate that would be deemed appropriate by both parties and to prevent causing offence and harm to the younger audience members and their parents. However, the letters of complaint that were received suggest that the audience members and their parents did not feel that the BBFC did a sufficient in preventing the film for potentially causing harm.
In the case of video games there is a huge amount of moral panic that is endorsed by the press in an attempt to show them in a bad light and suggest that they are causing a great deal of harm to younger generations. This view points the finger at the regulatory bodies of this industry to suggest that they are not doing a sufficient job in protecting the public from video games that have potential to cause harm.
Hatred is a game that has not yet been released has already stimulated moral panic simply based on the release of its trailer. In Hatred you play an anti-hero whose sole aim is to put as many “human worms” into the grave as he can. Hatred was given an “Adults Only” (AO) rating by the ESRB for extreme violence rather than sexual content. Effectively preventing any mainstream distribution of the game at retail or on video game consoles. However, PEGI have not yet rated the game and have said that they will not award the game a rating based dimly on the trailer. Until a PEGI rating has been awarded to the game it is hard to criticise the extent to which the regulators have gone to protect the public. Although,  fans of Hatred have demanded developer Destructive Creations include even MORE violence in the stomach-churning title. Such comments may alarm organisations such as PEGI and affect their view of the video game during the classification process.
Dark Souls II is another example of a video game that has evoked moral panic amongst the public. Dark Souls II is an action role-playing video game. PEGI rated the video game with a 16+ for the violence that was in the game. It was suggested that ‘Dark Souls II is truly the most controversial game this generation’. One of the main controversial factors related to the video game Dark Souls II was the crime that followed that was later blamed partially on the criminal having played the violent game, including Dark Souls II,  in which he was able to virtually perform that acts that he later carried out in person. In November 2014, months after the release of Dark Souls II, Ann Maguire a Spanish teacher at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds was stabbed seven times by Will Cornick (a 16-year-old student) and died as a consequence of the school boys actions.  The age rating given to the video game by PEGI meant that Cornick was seen to be of an appropriate age to be playing such games as Dark Souls II. In this case it could be suggested that the regulators failed in their job and should have taken stricter precautions in an attempt to prevent such crimes.
Both the producers of film and video games are attempting to push the boundaries to see what they are able to get away with. This is making the role of regulators to protect the public even harder. The regulatory bodies are only ably to regulate for the ‘normal’ person and have to make a decision on media products as they see appropriate. There is never going to be full protection of the public from media but the regulators work to do the job to the best of their ability. Content is always going to be available on formats that aren’t able to be regulated and therefore the extent to which the public can be protected is limited.

VIDEO GAMES REGULATION – HISTORICAL CONTEXT

http://videostandards.org.uk/MzCms/ContentImage.ashx?cpath=000%5C000%5C844%5C502%5CVIDEO+GAMES+HISTORICAL+OVERVIEW.pdf

This section highlights those games which managed to get themselves noticed for all the wrong reasons. 

DEATH RACE This game, loosely based on the 1975 film Death Race 2000, was an arcade game in which the player drove a car and gained points by running over "gremlins" within a set time. As the gremlins were struck a small groan would be heard followed by the sight of a crucifix denoting the death of the gremlin. Its notoriety was picked up by The National Enquirer and even featured on US television's Sixty Minutes which first began to probe the psychology of playing such games. As can be seen below, the graphics were hardly sophisticated or realistic, but this did not prevent an adverse reaction to the game.




CUSTER'S REVENGE Released on the Atari 2600 in 1983, this ill-advised game made by a US porn company, was subject to a tirade of protest most notably from the National Organisation for Women and the native American Indian community due to its highly questionable premise in which a naked General Custer, sporting only a hat, boots and an exaggerated erection, crosses the screen whilst avoiding a hail of arrows in order to attain his 'prize' - in this case a Native American Indian woman bound to a pole - whereupon he proceeds to have sex with her or, as many critics claimed, rapes her. 




A leading member of Women Against Pornography, Kristen Reilly, organised a mass protest against the game and told the author, Tom Moriarty: "The game features an enactment of a white male, General Custer, ravishing an Indian Woman who is tied to a post. Once there was a lot of furore over the game, the company (American Multiple Industries) denied that it was rape. They claimed that it was mutually consenting visual images, which is really asinine." Custer's Revenge never recovered from this attack and though the company concerned produced two more x-rated games it closed its operations shortly thereafter.

NIGHT TRAP Released in 1992 and probably the first video game to feature full-motion video (FMV) as opposed to digital sprites, Night Trap centred around a group of co-eds A screenshot from the 1976 arcade game, Death Race The rather questionable Custer's Revenge released in 1983 13 occupying a house that was being subject to attack by vampire-like creatures. The player, as a member of a special ops team, surveyed each room via a CCTV system and set traps in order to capture the creatures. The game played like a B-movie with the nightie-clad college girls screaming and running around at the appropriate point, but somehow the game was misconstrued and claims were made that the player was actually involved in killing the housemates. This was palpably untrue, but for commentators the fiction was more interesting than the truth. As a result, Night Trap was quickly pulled from the shelves and became a target of the 1993 congressional hearings into video games.


MORTAL KOMBAT Making its arcade debut in 1992, Mortal Kombat had managed to keep its head below the parapet of controversy until it was released on consoles. It soon became apparent that many commentators found it difficult to square the brutal, visceral nature of the gameplay with a console system that many thought was essentially aimed at children.

Using photorealistic images combined with the gruesome fatality moves, this gore fest of a game managed to survive calls for its ban, but was one of the games that the U.S. Senate debated during the congressional hearings into "offensive video games material." 


DOOM ID Software's Doom saw light of day in 1994 and was an instant hit with gamers who found it well-designed, pacy and thrilling. In the game, the user takes the role of a space marine trapped on Mars. In order to reach sanctuary he must first blast his way through hordes of assorted aliens hell-bent on destroying him. Fortunately, the hero acquires a range of increasingly powerful weaponry with which to eliminate the attackers and which also included the now mandatory and plentiful supply of bloody impacts as the aliens are zapped. 

Unfortunately for Doom it also found itself being linked to the Columbine High School Massacre which took place in 1999 when two students of the school, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, went into the school fully armed and proceeded to murder 12 students and a teacher. According to the Rocky Mountain News, which reported the case in detail: "His [Eric Harris] nickname, Reb, was inspired by a character in one of his favourite computer games, Doom, where the goal is to score high body counts." Politicians and the public alike wanted answers and it seemed that Doom was the only readily available target to hand. A number of lawsuits were filed against the game's makers and console manufacturers, but all were ultimately dismissed. 



CARMAGEDDON SCi's Carmageddon, released in 1997, was a car-racing game with a significant difference. Although a player could simply race against other AI controlled cars, the real 'fun' involved running over a variety of pedestrians (peds) which helped to increase the score. This was several gears up from the old Death Race game in that not only did the peds scream loudly when hit, but bled profusely too. In the UK and Germany, the classification bodies were less than impressed with this viscerally violent game and insisted that the human-like peds be turned into zombies and the Germans insisting that bloody effects were shown in green. In the UK, SCi appealed against the BBFC's refusal to issue a certificate. The BBFC’s refusal to Id Software's Doom 15 issue a certificate was revoked by the Video Appeals Committee and the game was finally granted its '18' certificate. 

CANIS CANEM EDIT (aka BULLY) Released in 2006, Bully (later changed to the less-than-snappy Canis Canem Edit, or Dog Eat Dog in English), was generating controversy long before it arrived in the stores. At that time, anti-social behaviour in schools was a key topic of public and political concern and when news started to emerge that Rockstar Games were developing a game set in a school featuring a protagonist who appeared to do little more than offer violence against other kids, it can be imagined how many commentators, and the press in particular, erupted into anger. In truth, few, if any, of these commentators had actually seen the game in action so the wide-spread condemnation was rather premature. The inevitable calls for a ban were directed at the BBFC who, the pressure notwithstanding, stood their ground and correctly pointed out that no decision would be taken until they had actually completed the examination of the game. This they did and, to many people's surprise, promptly classified the game at '15'. The effect of this decision was to take the sting out of the controversy immediately as the critics soon realised on viewing the game that it was not the monster they had made it out to be. The BBFC's decision was in line with many other video game regulators world-wide with the American ESRB awarding it a 'T' (Teens) rating and the Australian ACB giving it an 'M' (Mature) rating.



MANHUNT 2 Once again, Rockstar Games were at the front of video games controversy when, in 2007, Manhunt 2 was submitted to the BBFC for certification. The game put the player in the role of one Daniel Lamb, an inmate of an asylum who escapes in an effort to discover who he really is and why he was incarcerated. His only way out of the asylum is to despatch the various 'goons' who guard the place and in order to do this he must approach them stealthily and without alerting the other guards to his presence. From a BBFC perspective the violent action was considered to be incessant and sadistic and they noted that Manhunt 2 was: "…distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing. There is sustained and Jimmy Hopkins the anti-hero of Canis Canem Edit 17 cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game." The game was, therefore, formally rejected, but Rockstar submitted a toned-down version of the game. These changes notwithstanding, the BBFC rejected this new version too and Rockstar went to the Video Appeals Committee (VAC) for a ruling. In December 2007, the VAC upheld Rockstar's appeal against the modified version of the game. Further complications arose when the BBFC sought a Judicial Review of the VAC's decision on the basis that their judgement was made on a misinterpretation the Video Recordings Act. The Judicial Review over-ruled the VAC's decision, but when the VAC reconvened to reconsider the appeal in accordance with the legislation they still found in favour of Rockstar and the BBFC finally gave the game an '18' certificate though the original version still remains technically banned. 




Q. What do you notice about the attitudes regarding the level of permissive/acceptable or offensive material over the years? 


What is BBFC? – An Introduction into Media Regulation

The BBFC is an abbreviation for the “British Board of Film Classification”. This is a non-governmental body, which has exercised responsbility over the cinema for just over 100 years.
The British Board of Film Censors, began in 1912 (what has now become the British Board of Film Classification), when local authorities started to impose their own, widely varying, censorship standards on films. This created an additional job for local authorities, who felt that it was their responsibility to protect the public from certain media. Arguably at the time, it could have been done better, and so this is why the BBFC began.
The BBFC was out there to focus solely on looking at films and assessing who should be able to see them. The aim was to create a team within the BBFC who, not only had a very good understanding of films and their effects on society, but also a team which the public could rely on to make the right judgement of certain media.
The BBFC then had the job of trying to win the trust of the local authorities, Parliament, the press and also the public, so that it could become a successful body which would be used. Fortunately, the BBFC grew and became more and more trusted, until in the mid-1920s it was common for local authorities to simply accept the decisions of the BBFC with little or no negotiation.
However, the BBFC is not law and local areas are still able to adjust the classification of films accordingly as they see fit. This may be important if a certain area is more vulnerable to certain media than others.
However, as far as law goes, in 1984 Parliament passed the Video Recordings Act. This was an act which stated that video recordings offered for sale or hire in the UK must be classified by an authority designated by the Secretary of State. It was at this point that the British Board of Film Censors, became the British Board of Film Classifications, as this was the fundamental job of the body.

Contemporary Media Regulation – What needs regulating?

To put it simply, EVERY film in the UK which is released in cinemas today must be regulated by the BBFC with an age-rating. However, it is not just films which need regulation as the media industry is much larger and there are now a diverse selection of different media formats. Newspapers, magazines, video games, music videos, advertising and of course films may all be viewed by the modern person in the 21st century as part of their normal, everyday life. Consequently, regulation must be applied to a multitude of different formats in order to protect the public from seeing potentially damaging media.
  • Music videos are an example of a type of media which requires regulation. Today, with the internet, YouTube and numerous music channels, music videos are easily accessible. Music videos may also be played in public locations, such as in shops, gyms, restaurants; and so they can literally be viewed by the majority of audiences. The problem with this is that music videos can be very impressionable to audience members, and unfortunately it is the case that many audience members feel that the people portrayed in these sorts of music videos are role models. This can be related to the previous theory of Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze, as often women in music videos today are subject to a form of objectification and it can make society feel that it is more widely acceptable.
  • Video games today, are said to be played by more than 1.2 billion people worldwide. It is a growing industry and as technology is seeing constant improvements, video games are becoming more and more vivid, and are becoming more and more like films in that respect. It may be hard for more vulnerable audiences to see a difference between reality and a highly vivid modern video games. As a result, regulation is required. Additionally, with video games unlike many of the other forms of media, the player is in control more and acts as less of a passive audience member and more of an active one.
  • Films are probably the most well known form of media which is regulated. Films can be vivd in nature and immersive, so for more vulnerable audiences, distinguishing between reality and the world of film can be more challenging.
  • not have a detrimental effect upon society.

Contemporary Media Regulation – Who should regulate?

Regulation as previously mentioned can be quite important to ensure that society is not affected by certain content. The question of who regulates is a different one, as we need to be able to trust the final judgement regulating a product. Who we trust can depend on a number of factors…
  • Impartial decisions. We need everything to be treated relatively equally, as in we can’t have just one regulator who approves gender inequalities for example because it would be largely biased.
  • It must be representative of society, so have a diversified culture. Race, age, gender and regional culture may have an impact on the ultimate decision for regulation; thus there needs to be a good variation to ensure it is the right one.
  • There must be a democratic decision so that every regulator has their own say. Everyone should be listened to in an ideal situation and then the decision should be approved by the majority.
  • Multiple voices are key. It would be extraordinarily rare to come across an individual with beliefs which absolutely everybody agrees with, whom we could rely on to make the right decision 100% of the time. Ultimately, by using multiple voices you are reducing the risk that regulation is done incorrectly, thus improving the system.
  • Multiple viewings but with a note of initial impact to ensure messages are received as a proper audience would recieve them. Sometimes when watching a film over and over again, you may come across messages within it which you never did before. Therefore it is important regulators engage in the product thoroughly so messages are not simply missed. Initial impact is also important because some messages might be a lot more transparent in nature.
  • The regulator should ideally be mature enough to make the right decisions, thus being an adult. This would ensure that the regulator is more experienced in the real world.
  • Non-governmental regulators are quite important, because politicans are not the majority and are often completely different from the man on the clapham omnibus (or if you prefer, the average human being).

Contemporary Media Regulation – Why regulate?

Why regulate? What are the purposes of regulation?
Firstly, we should be familiar with the definition of “regulate”, which is to say; “a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority.”
So, what is the purpose of any regulation and why do we regulate?
  • Protect the vulnerable (particularly children, as they are still developing and are more susceptible to messages, good and bad.) We don’t want an infant watching a particularly terrifying horror film and not being able to sleep at night.
  • To uphold the law (unlikely to encourage the average person to break the law). Basically, there needs to be some sort of negative message to remind people of the implications of breaking the law, which should (hopefully) be enough to stop them.
  • To prevent the immoral being shown positively – by this we mean for example, racism cannot be shown in a positive light. There must be some sort of repercussion to highlight what is good and what is bad in society.
  • To take into account the message of the work in its entirety
  • To protect against harmful messages, for example messages from the Islamic State might want to be regulated to reduce the impact of any harmful impacts.
  • Avoid perpetrating real-life criminal acts for entertainment purposes, otherwise this would enable people to carry out illegal acts in order to make a film.

Video Game Regulation

Whilst the BBFC classifies videos and DVD’s, it is no longer responsible for rating video games. This role has been passed on to the Video Standards Council (VSC), which became the sole statuatory in July 2012. The VSC uses the PEGI rating system to give games ratings, by using the Games Rating Authority (GRA), which acts as the VSC’s arm. However, games featuring strong pornographic content are still rated by the BBFC, along with ancillary mini-games which are released with a DVD.
The process which PEGI applies can be seen in detail here
Or alternatively, a simplified explanation can be seen below:
PEGI uses a number of different ratings which are listed below:
  • PEGI 3
  • PEGI 7
  • PEGI 12
  • PEGI 16
  • PEGI 18
Additionally, there are often descriptors on video games which PEGI will supply which warn consumers what they might expect to see within a video game.
  • Bad Language
  • Discrimination
  • Drugs
  • Fear
  • Gambling
  • Sex
  • Violence
  • Online gameplay
When a publisher finishes producing a game, they may complete an online form, assessing the content of the game. PEGI allocates the according provisional age rating, and then the VSC confirm the rating through an examination pack, which contains all the relevant information and materials. The publisher then has the authorisation to use the rating labels on their product/game.

BBFC Case Studies - A History of Controversial Films

The BBFC have had to really look into the potential to harm for a very large number of films since they became the body for film regulation in the UK. Recently, I looked at a number of different examples of controversial films, some of which seem quite minor and some of which seem to be quite extreme cases. Here is a brief overview of the films I looked at:
The Bunny Game (Unable to receive a suitable age-rating.)
– This is a horror film about a prostitute who catches a lift with a trucker who turns out to be a rather nasty (a slight understatement)  psychopath. The BBFC applied the current Classification Guidelines (2009) in order to try and classify the film… However, there were serious concerns about the portrayal of the violence, and especially because often the violence is sexual or sexualised. Since the abuse of the kidnapped woman takes up the greater part of The Bunny Game, and there was emphasis on the womans nudity which potentially eroticises the film, the BBFC were unable to rate the film and it was therefore refused a certificate.
Antichrist
Antichrist is a film, which you may or may not have heard of by the notorious Lars Von Trier, who many say repeatedly challenges the conventions of the world of film. The film is about a couple who are grieving the loss of their child, who go to an isolated cabin in the middle of the woods in order to try and help repair their broken hearts. However, the plot is much more complex than just that, and there are rapid changes and significant turmoil as the death of their child creates psychological damage. There were several strong images which the BBFC were a bit unsure of, when looked at in 2009. There were strong images of real sex, and unsimulated penetration, combined with self-mutilation, bloody violence and strong gory images. However, it was eventually released 18 uncut, as the BBFC want to enable adults to have liberty on what they view. Warnings were released on BBFCInsight and made very clear, so that the potential to harm was reduced further.
Black Swan
Black Swan is a popular film, released in 2010 by a known director, generating a mass audience. There were however issues with self-inflicted pain and the length of a sex scene, even though it was quite implied. There were also issues with body image and the spiking of a drink. Because of the appeal to a young female audience, the film managed to get rated a 15 uncut.
Nymphomaniac
Another film by the notorious Lars Von Trier. The film contained more unsimulated sex with genetal penetration, strong gore and additionally there was a rather gory abortion. Once again however, there were no cuts and it was rated 18 for similar reasons to Antichrist.
Straw Dogs
An example of a much older film, released in 1973 as an 18. Straw Dogs is quite a famous example of a film which was regulated. There was a rather controversial rape scene, which appeared to start as rape but finish as being consensual. As a consequence, cuts were made to reduce the potential to harm, but the story did not quite work in the same way as before. Whilst Straw Dogs was released as 18 with cuts, later the cuts were dismissed.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games had quite a unique plot, in that it hadn’t really ever been attempted before. The idea that teenagers were being trained to kill other teenagers would be seen by many as being a bit risqué pre-The Hunger Games. However, the film eventually made it as a 12A. There were initially issues to violence and gore, and realistic scenes which appeared to glamorize violence. However, The Hunger Games, a bit like Black Swan was trying to attract a younger audience and so it was at first released in the cinema as a 15, but later on DVD a few minor cuts were made for a 12A.
The Woman In Black
A haunted house film, which was the first film Daniel Radcliffe showed up in after the Harry Potter series. Because of Daniel Radcliffe, the film will have attracted a mass audience of younger viewers. Issues which the BBFC picked out, were that children were killing themselves at the beginning, as well as children drinking bleach. However these were the only real issues. The BBFC recieved a massive 134 letters of complaint after releasing the film in cinemas as a 12A. However, this decision was realistically quite proportionate, since children killing themselves and drinking bleach was only a minor part of the film, and the letters of complaint mainly referred to the intensity of the horror. This is a good example however of a horror done well, and it is very jumpy. However, because it does not really show anything particularly damaging to viewers, it could not really be made more strict. The intensity however was reduced slightly by making cuts to the music and soundtrack.
Natural Born Killers
Natural Born Killers is one of the unfortunate films to get caught up in a number of violent films of its time. It showed people on a killing spree and was relatively violent. However, it was not particularly bad and was eventually released 18 uncut. However, at the time 4 minutes were cut from the film, and this was mainly thought to be from murders going on around the same time as the film being released. The potential harm to society was therefore thought to be greater, as society was a bit more sensitive to the concept of murder and killing sprees.
The Exorcist
The Exorcist challenged new conventions and there were anti-catholic issues, which made regulation more difficult. However, the BBFC focuses more on the potential to harm, than the potential to offend, and so whilst a film might not be enjoyed by a universal audience, it must be remembered that the harm to the audience is much more important than anything else. It was therefore rated 18 uncut, although there were some issues with sexual references of a 12 year old girl, which caused problems with the children protection act.
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas was originally a book, and it was a successful book which was often read in class by schools in the UK. It’s was about a German who made friends with a jew between the fence at Auschwitz. Because of it being read in classes in the UK, the film makers wanted to try and achieve a PG certificate from the BBFC, in order to reach the largest audience possible. However, because of the prolonged distress of the missing child, it meant that it could not achieve a PG, and the intensity meant that it could only achieve a 12 certificate.
Reservoir Dogs
A well-known film by the highly famous director, Quentin Tarantino. The film is about a group of robbers who are stealing a diamond, but the robbers are ambushed and there is a shoot-out with the police. The robbers eventually make it back to their warehouse but there is a problem. The robbers suspect a snitch amongst them, and the rest of the film follows the robbers trying to figure out which one of them is the snitch. There was blood, swearing and sexual references which the BBFC did not mind so much. However, because most of the film is filmed in the same location – one of the characters spends most of the film bleeding to death in the background which was thought to be a bit much. Additionally, there was more controversy over a torture scene with a police officer, where the police officer has his ear chopped off. The character appears to take pleasure from the act, and so it made it quite risqué. However, it was eventually released 18 uncut regardless of all this content.