BBFC LAUNCHES PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOR '12A' FILM RATING (09.02.05)

A public awareness campaign, designed to improve the understanding of the ‘12A’ cinema rating, gets underway today. Centred on cinemas, the campaign will highlight on screen explanations as well as improved point of ticket sale information. 

Improving the understanding of the ‘12A’ cinema rating was one of the key outcomes of the extensive public consultation exercise carried out by the BBFC in 2004.  The ‘12A’ category replaced the mandatory ‘12’ cinema rating in August 2002, joining ‘U’ and ‘PG’ as an advisory rating.  ‘12A’ rated films are suitable for children of 12 and over, but parents who would like to take children younger than 12 can do so.  To help them decide which films are suitable for their children the Board provides Consumer Advice about the content of the films.

From now on at the beginning of ‘U’, ‘PG’ and ‘12A’ rated films, immediately following the well known BBFC ‘black card’, audiences will see an explanation of the meaning of the category that the film has been awarded.  

Announcing the campaign, David Cooke, Director of the BBFC, said:
“Our research showed that around 40 per cent of people polled fully understood what the ‘12A’ category means.  That is actually quite good after only two and a half years, particularly when it was also clear from the research that there is still some confusion about what ‘PG’ means, and that was introduced over 20 years ago!  It was particularly good to see that the greatest understanding was among parents with children in the nine to eleven age range – the very people the category was designed for.  However, parents with children younger and older than that group were confused.  This had, in some cases, resulted in very young children being taken to see films unsuitable for them, causing disruption for other cinema goers, or older children being prevented from seeing ‘12A’ films because their parents thought the ‘A’ meant that the film contained adult themes.

“We did consider whether a cut off age should be introduced to address the problem of very young children being taken to unsuitable films.  But our current view is that imposing a mandatory lower age restriction on an advisory rating would only increase confusion.  Instead, we decided to raise awareness of the meaning of the three advisory categories and the provision of Consumer Advice in the place where the public are most likely to be receptive to the campaign - at the cinema. 

“I am delighted to say that the film distributors and cinema exhibitors have agreed that the messages should appear at the beginning of films.  In addition we are currently talking to the Cinema Exhibitors Association about providing increased information in cinema foyers, and in particular at the point where tickets are sold.  The film distributors have improved the provision of  Consumer Advice on ‘12A’ film publicity, as well as extending the provision of Consumer Advice to cover all categories.  An overwhelming majority of respondents (almost 90 per cent) were in favour of this approach.

“The ‘12A’ category has been a real success with the audience for whom it was intended.  But we owe it to the rest of the cinema going public to make sure that there is no confusion attached to any of the advisory categories.”

BBFC PUBLISHES NEW CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES (09.02.05)

The BBFC today published new classification guidelines which increase protection for children from harm, while retaining the right of adults to choose their own viewing.  The Guidelines reflect the views of over 11,000 people from across the UK, 7,000 more than contributed to the 2000 Guidelines survey, as well as advice from a variety of experts consulted by the BBFC. 

President of the BBFC, Sir Quentin Thomas, said:
‘Our classification Guidelines are at the heart of our contract with the public and therefore have to reflect their views as accurately as possible.  As well as the quantitative research, we used focus groups to look specifically at violence, bad language, drugs and the ‘12A’ cinema category. The clear outcome of all of the research was that the Guidelines are still, on the whole, in line with public attitudes and concerns.  However, drawing on both the public’s responses and expert advice, we have added, or given greater weight to, a number of key concerns.  These include suicide techniques, self-harming and incitement to racial hatred or violence.  The protection of children remains at the heart of the Guidelines.’

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:
‘Some might say that because we have not made major changes to the Guidelines the whole exercise has been a waste of time.  On the contrary, it enables the Board to re-affirm its public accountability in the thoroughly researched knowledge that, since the 2000 Guidelines were published, public opinion has become neither markedly more censorious nor more liberal.  The Guidelines ensure that people going to the cinema or renting or buying a DVD can be confident about what to expect from the work.  In support of this approach, the Board now provides informative Consumer Advice on every work we classify.  We rely on the industry for the display of this advice in publicity and on packaging, and we greatly value their co-operation in making this information available.  It can also be found on the BBFC’s website.

‘It is impossible to reach a classification decision which will be agreed upon by the whole population.  Indeed, as a member of one of the focus groups said “We can’t agree here, so how are 56 million people going to agree?”  What did receive overwhelming support was the proposition that the BBFC’s role is to protect children from both harmful and unsuitable material, with over 90 per cent of respondents agreeing.  The proposition that adults should be able to choose for themselves what they watch, within the law, was disputed by fewer than 20 per cent of respondents.   

‘We are acutely aware that there will be works which we pass, at whatever classification, which may shock or offend some sections of the population, just as we sometimes outrage libertarian views when we intervene to cut, or even refuse a certificate to, a work.  What the research shows, and the Guidelines reflect, is that for the majority of the public we get it right for the most of the time.’

The most important classification issues for the public were (rating it very important):

drugs and drug taking – 75 per cent
violence – 65 per cent
sexual activity – 56 per cent
swearing and strong language – 49 per cent
racial references – 46 per cent
religious references – 34 per cent

Percentages of people who think the BBFC Guidelines are ‘about right’:

Sex – 58 per cent
Violence – 53 per cent
Language – 51 per cent
Drugs – 54 per cent

Issues which have been added to the range of classification concerns, or which have increased in emphasis:

incitement to racial hatred or violence
expletives with a racial association
language which offends vulnerable minorities
suicide and self-harm
emphasis on easily accessible weapons
sexual violence and rape
promotion or glamorisation of smoking, alcohol abuse or substance misuse

(09.02.05)

Download BBFC Guidelines 2005

BBFC ANNOUNCES NEW WEBSITE FOR STUDENTS: sbbfc.co.uk (26.05.05)

Did the BBFC ban A Clockwork Orange? Why wasn’t The Exorcist available on video until 1999? What is the truth behind the classification of Straw Dogs? Why did the BBFC ban The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? The correct answers to these questions and many more can now be found on www.sbbfc.co.uk which goes live today.

sbbfc – Students’ BBFC is a website designed for media studies students and film fans of all ages and joins the highly successful cbbfc – Children’s BBFC which caters for primary school children. cbbfc averages over 90,000 hits a month from around the world (not all of them from children!) and the new website is expected to more than match that level of interest. The BBFC is the only media regulator in the world to have websites specifically designed for children and students. The websites form an important and integral part of the Board’s media literacy commitment.

As well as containing information about the day to day workings of the BBFC, sbbfc includes case studies about specific films (including the ones in the introduction); sets classification decisions in their historic context; explains the legal framework within which the BBFC works; and will provide teachers and students with material for use in media studies courses.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

“cbbfc proved so popular with children, parents and teachers alike that we knew we had to do a version for older students. sbbfc is clearly geared towards media studies students from secondary through to further education but I am sure that anyone interested in film will find the site interesting and informative. cbbfc was unique anywhere in the world, but happily that will not be the situation for long. We have talked to a number of the other film and media regulators across the world, including in Australia, Thailand and South Africa who want to take up cbbfc’s, and no doubt sbbfc’s, winning formula.

“The BBFC remains committed to protecting children through our classifications. But, we are also playing our part in improving media literacy. Our examiners regularly visit educational institutions from primary schools through to universities to talk about media regulation and the work of the BBFC. The two websites form an integral part of that work. Last year the BBFC appointed an Education Officer to coordinate the Board’s educational activities and maintain the two websites to make sure they are up to date and interesting for a very demanding audience. The young people of today are the parents of tomorrow and helping them to inform themselves about the medium of film will ensure that future generations can make informed choices about what they and their children choose to watch.”

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