Student Guide - History
New Guidelines 2000 In 1999, the Board embarked on an extensive consultation process to gauge public opinion before the compilation of new Classification Guidelines. The process involved a series of public presentations across the UK, two Citizens' Juries, surveys and questionnaires. The film and video industry and other interested groups also contributed their views. The major outcomes were that the depiction of drugs and drugs use was the cause of greatest concern to parents, as was the issue of violence in the lower classification categories. Use of bad language on screen provoked a range of responses, reflecting varying tolerances in the general public. Portrayal of sexual activity, however caused less concern than previously. Details of this consultation process are available in Sense and Sensibilities: Public Opinion and the BBFC Guidelines. Controversy Baise-moi (2001) included not only scenes of explicit sex but also a horrifying rape scene, which incorporated explicit detail. Although the Board was prepared to accept the explicit sex elsewhere in the film, and judged that the rape scene was sufficiently aversive to be The issue of sexual violence was also at the heart of an appeal against the BBFC's decision on The Last House On The Left. Rejected by the BBFC for cinema release in 1974 and again in 2000 (after the distributor declined to make cuts), Wes Craven's notorious 'video nasty' was submitted for video/DVD release in 2001. When the BBFC requested that cuts should be made to reduce scenes of eroticised sexual violence (linking sex together with violence in a potentially harmful way) the distributor refused to comply and took the BBFC's decision to the independent Video Appeals Committee (VAC). The VAC universally upheld the Board's decision to require cuts, providing a robust endorsement of the BBFC's strict policy on sexual violence. The DCMS and Ofcom
The '12A' rating In 2002, the new '12A' category replaced the '12' category for film only, and allows children under 12 to see a '12A' film, provided that they are accompanied throughout by an adult. The
Consumer Advice While the BBFC has been producing Consumer Advice for films which appeared on the website, it was the introduction of the '12A' category which saw it making its appearance on film posters, TV advertisements and in cinema listings for '12A' films. A single line of information about the film's content indicates what viewers can expect to encounter in the film and therefore why it was given the rating it was. This is particularly helpful for parents deciding what films are suitable for their children, and in particular whether to take children younger than 12 to a '12A' film. In 2004, the majority of film distributors agreed to include the Consumer Advice in publicity for all films.
Robin Duval's retirement In late 2004, David Cooke was appointed Director, following Robin Duval's retirement. The first film David Cooke had to consider was Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs, described by some commentators as 'the most sexually explicit film in the history of British cinema'. Whilst this description might well be accurate, the Board's decision to classify it at '18' uncut was in line with previous decisions on various European films. The BBFC's Guidelines do not distinguish between films on the basis of their language or country of origin. However, given that the film was in the English language and had been made by a well known British film-maker, it achieved a wider release and attracted more attention than previous explicit films such as Romance and The Idiots.
New Guidelines 2005 On 9 February 2005, the BBFC published a new set of Guidelines based on an even more extensive research programme than the one which resulted in the 2000 Guidelines. Over 11,000 people contributed their views on the BBFC's Guidelines, 7000 more than in 1999/2000. Public support for the BBFC went up from 59% in 2000 to 63% in 2004. The outcomes of the research can be found in BBFC Guideline Research - Public Opinion and the BBFC Guidelines. Educational Websites
Important 2006 Decisions In 2006, landmark ‘18’ certificates were awarded to two high-profile films containing explicit images of real sex. The first, Destricted, is an exploration of the links between sex and The latest film in the 007 franchise, Casino Royale, received critical and commercial success and a ‘12A’ certificate from the BBFC. The film was seen on advice and the distributor was asked to reduce the impact of a torture scene in order to obtain the requested ‘12A’ certificate. Moving on in 2007 2007 saw the introduction of Parents’ BBFC, a website designed to help parents and guardians make what they consider to be sensible choices for their children’s viewing. The website provides up -to -date information about films and video games in the junior categories, offering a brief plot summary and details of why the film or game received its U, PG or 12A/12. The purpose of the website is to take the guesswork out of making an informed decision about what is suitable viewing for any particular child, a decision best made by a parent or guardian. This kind of information is also provided on the main BBFC website in the form of Extended Consumer Information (ECI) for all films and video games, a further innovation for 2007. ECI allows the public to access information intended to add detail to the Consumer Advice already carried by posters and other sources, for people who prefer to have a clear idea of the content of a film or game.
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In 1999 the BBFC had received three European films that challenged the Board's standards on sex. These were The Idiots, Romance and Seul Contre Tous. All three films contained scenes of unsimultated sex that would not normally have been be acceptable at '18'. In the case of Seul Contre Tous it was decided that the images in question were too explicit - and of too great a duration - to be acceptable at '18' and the images were removed. 
However, in the cases of Romance and The Idiots, it was decided that the comparative brevity of the images, combined with the serious intentions of the films, meant that both films could be passed without cuts. This was in line with earlier 'exceptional' decisions in the cases of WR - Mysteries of the Organism (passed 'X' uncut in 1972) and L'Empire des Sense (passed '18' uncut in 1991). However, as the Board moved into the new millennium it soon became clear that these were not to be isolated examples. A whole generation of European film makers seemed determined to push the boundaries of what was sexually acceptable on the screen.
Fortunately, the 1999-2000 consultation exercise had revealed a general desire on the part of the public that the BBFC should relax its attitudes to sex at '15' and '18'. Accordingly the new guidelines stated that real sex may be permitted at '18' in the future, provided that the images were exceptionally justified by context (ie not purely there for titillation). This policy was put to the test by a number of films from 2000 onwards, including Intimacy, Dog Days and The Piano Teacher, all of which were passed '18' uncut. However, once sexual violence entered the equation, things became more complicated.
During 2007, the BBFC took the decision to reject the video game Manhunt 2 because of its callousness and sadism. Another (modified) version of the game was submitted and this too was rejected for the same reasons. The distributor of the game appealed this decision to the