BBFC vs HUMANS

EVER wondered why children as young as six and seven are being taken to see heavy duty, 12A-rated action films like Terminator Salvation and Transformers 2?

Well, a survey by the British Board of Film Classification has found that only three people out of four understand the 12A certificate means a film is 'generally unsuitable for under 12s'. Fancy that!

Every four years, the independent, non-governmental body charged with determining who can see what, consults with the public to make sure that it is complying with changes in the law and to 'accurately reflect public attitudes and concerns'.

Its latest updates include cracking down on scenes involving solvent abuse, saying that 'at 15, depictions are unlikely to be passed.. in response to... public concern and expert opinion'.

And, at 12A, a 'presumption against the passing of frequent crude sexual references in response to concerns expressed by the public about films such as Date Movie, Meet The Spartans and Norbit'.

This change of heart must have come too late for the abysmal Year One, then!

Horror films like The Others are now also more likely to be given a 15 rating than a 12A.

In a survey of more than 8,700 people, apparently '82 per cent thought that the BBFC was an effective regulator' and that 'the same people agreed with the ratings given to the films they had watched in 99 per cent of all cases'.

As someone who disagrees regularly with the BBFC's certification policy, I find the latter figure hard to believe.

I fully support the BBFC's view that adults should have the 'right to choose their own entertainment unless material is in breach of the criminal law'.

But it is not the 18-rated, sexually explicit films like 9 Songs which worry me.

I'm more concerned when material given an 18 a decade ago is suddenly deemed worthy of a 15 certificate today.

Even more so, when what was previously worth a 15 becomes a watered-down 12A.

The BBFC's guidelines state that a 12A means 'an adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child' and that 'the use of strong language (for example, f***) must be infrequent'.

So it's considered all right for children to hear such language in the first place, then.

We might think we live in a more sophisticated society in which adults can make ever more complex decisions.

But a child of, say, nine years old, still has an immature brain that has only been developing for less than 500 weeks.

He is still unlikely to have the experience to qualify what he sees in the same way that an adult can.

And how many parents will see a film first before deciding 'if a film is suitable for that particular child'?

By the nature of my work I am in the unusual position of being able to do this.

Which is why, even though my eldest child is just three months short of turning 12, she has still only seen one non-Harry Potter 12A film in a cinema - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a French story about a stroke victim making the most of his life.

Sometimes it can just feel good to wait for things in life.

Several times in its report, the BBFC stresses the importance of protecting children, viz: 'Before allowing a child to view a work, parents are advised to consider carefully the classification, together with any accompanying Consumer Advice'.

Yet for the leniently PG-rated Coraline, which had some under eights in tears at the Odeon New Street, such 'advice' merely states: 'Contains moderate fantasy threat'. Not much to go off there!

A section in one of the BBFC's three guiding principles worries about the 'moral harm' that may be caused... 'especially with regard to children, harm may also include retarding social and moral development, distorting a viewer's sense of right and wrong, and limiting their capacity for compassion'.

But by loading responsibility on to the shoulders of parents, it's worrying that the BBFC now admits that one in four then don't understand what a 12A means.

Trying to put a positive spin on its effectiveness, it says: '74 per cent of respondents understood that the '12A' category means that the film is not generally suitable for under 12s'.

The board's work is not easy, though, and it admits there will always be disagreements.
As well as monitoring thousands of releases every year, it has 11 major Acts to comply with, including the Human Rights Act 1998, The Licensing Act 2003, The Video Recordings Act 1984, The Obscene Publications Act 1959 & 1964, Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, The Protection of Children Act 1978, The Sexual Offences Act 2003, The Public Order Act 1986, The Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, The Animal Welfare Act 2006 and The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002!

+ For more information, particularly if you want to learn about a film's length or its certification history, visit: www.bbfc.co.uk

+ Parents wanting to learn more should visit: www.pbbfc.co.uk

+ Students who want to learn more should visit: www.sbbfc.co.uk

+ The BBFC's special website for children is at: www.cbbfc.co.uk and includes a chance for youngsters to post reviews.

+ Any pupil or teacher eager to apply the benefits of film to classroom learning should visit: www.filmeducation.org and you can also read my extended blog about the charity on this site from Sepember 5, 2008. This October, I'll be introducing The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas for children attending National Schools Film Week screenings in Birmingham.

For further reading on film censorship etc, try anything from the following BBFC approved list:

Reading List: some suggested titles
Barker, Martin (1984) The Video Nasties: Freedom and Censorship in the Arts,London: Pluto Press.

Barker, Martin and Petley Julian, ed. (1997) Ill Effects, The Media/Violence Debate,London, Routledge.

Barnett S., Thomson, K., (1996) 'Portraying Sex: The Limits of Tolerance' in British Social Attitudes the 13th Report,Cambridge University Press

Browne, K and Pennell, A (1998) The Effects of Video Violence on Young Offenders, London, Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate

Buckingham, David (1996) , Moving Images: Children's Emotional Responses to Television,Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Cumberbatch, Guy and Howitt, Dennis (1989) A Measure of Uncertainty: The Effects of the Media,London: John Libbey.

Dewe Mathews, Tom (1994), Censored, What They Didn't Allow You to See And Why: The Story of Film Censorship in Britain,London: Chatto & Windus.

Docherty, David, (1990), Public Opinion and Broadcasting Standards: Violence in Television Fiction,London: John Libbey.

Falcon, Richard, (1994), Classified! A Teacher's Guide to Film and Video Censorship and Classification,British Film Institute.

Ford, M., Holder, S., Phelps, G., (1993) Video in View - Public Attitudes to Video Classification, London, British Board of Film Classification.

French, Karl, ed. (1996) Screen Violence,London: Bloomsbury.

Gauntlett, David (1995), Moving Experiences, Understanding Television's Influences and Effects, London: John Libbey.

Gunter, B (1998), The Effects of Video Games on Children: The Myth Unmasked, Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press.

Hagell, A. and Newburn, T. (1994), Young Offenders and the Media: Viewing Habits and Preferences. London: Policy Studies Institute.

Hargrave, Andrea Millwood: Halloran, J and Gray, P (1996) Young People and the Media, London, Broadcasting Standards Commission

Newson, E, (1994) Video Violence and the Protection of Children, The Psychologist, 7 (6) pp 272-274

Phelps, Guy, (1975) Film Censorship,London, Gollanz. (Out of print, but may be available in public libraries)

Robertson, James C. (1985) The British Board of Film Censors. Film Censorship in Britain 1896 - 1950,London, Croom Helm.

Robertson, James C. (1989) The Hidden Cinema. British Film Censorship in Action 1913 - 1972, London, Routledge.

Schlesinger, P: Haynes, R, Boyle, R and McNair, B (1998) Men Viewing Violence, London, BroadcastingStandards Commission

Trevelyan, John, (1973) What the Censor Saw, London, Michael Joseph.

BBFC Annual Reports 1985 - 2007 are available upon request from the BBFC, 3 Soho Square, London, W1D 3HD. Some are available here in pdf format.