Research into the BBFC - Miss Miller

 

BBFC
The BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification. They are an organisation that watch over all of the different films before they can be sent off and shown to the public in the cinema. They give each of the films an age classification that will give the viewers an insight about the film before they watch it as public protection, especially of the younger viewers, is one of the most important aims that the BBFC have, the six possible age classifications are U, PG, 12, 12A, 15 and 18. They want to make sure that young children are protected from any content in a film that may cause them to feel upset, or that parents may consider too inappropriate, such as violence or the use of drugs and bad language. Without the BBFC, viewers will not know anything about a film before they sit down to watch it, which could result in them not enjoying the film or not understanding the narrative.

 

U (universal) is the only age rating that the BBFC believe means the film will be suitable for everyone, but more specifically four years or older. U rated films are seen to be targeted for the younger audience, which includes one of many childhood favourites Monsters Inc (2001). Monsters are stereotypically seen to little children as scary creatures that live under the bed, but Monsters Inc explores the idea that not all monsters are big and scary. The narrative of the film follows the characters 'Sully' and 'Mike', two monsters that live in a city that gets it power through scaring little children and collecting the screams. They suddenly find their lives turned upside down when Sully accidentally meets 'Boo', a young girl who enters the city one day and wants Sully to look after her. The two monsters attempt to continue with their everyday lives whilst keeping Boo hidden from all the other monsters who view children as being dangerous.
It is unlikely that a film rated U will include any language that can be considered mild bad language, such as 'hell' but if it does the characters will not say them very often. It is certain that the film will not promote the use of drugs and alcohol to their young viewers, nor will it include any characters that behave in dangerous ways that young children will see and want to copy. Characters in the film may be seen kissing or cuddling but there will be no detailed references to sexual behaviour. Monsters Inc contains no sexual references within the film as this would clearly be too age inappropriate and irrelevant to the narrative. Films rated U are considered family friendly and are watched and enjoyed by viewers of all ages. Monsters Inc is a Disney Pixar film, which is one that is well known for being children orientated, therefore this alone will comfort parents and they will feel safe and happy allowing their children to watch the film. There are moments within Monsters Inc that some young children may find scary to watch, especially when they see the monsters scaring the children on screen through the use of loud noises. But these scary moments are usually accompanied by funnier moments, especially ones that involve the character Mike who uses singing and dancing in the film to make Boo laugh and to calm her down if she is ever upset. In a way, the younger viewers represent the character of Boo in the film, who sometimes finds Sully scary but is then made to laugh by Mike.

PG (parental guidance) is when the film is suitable for children of eight years or older, but parents can still take children younger than this age to see the film. Not all PG films are made specifically for the younger audience (Saving Mr Banks), but the BBFC believe that the material in the film should not upset the younger audience which is why they are still allowed to watch the film. Madagascar 3 (2012) is an example of a film that was rated PG. The narrative follows Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman; four zoo animals that decide to join a travelling circus in order to return to their home in New York without getting captured by animal control. Most PG films are generally seen as ones that can be enjoyed by all of the family. PG films are allowed to focus on themes such as bullying and racism as long as they emphasise that they are both bad things to do.
Any violence within the film will only be seen in mild detail, meaning the audience will not see how the character got hurt, only how they look after it has happen, for example, they may be covered in a little bit of blood. Weapons that are considered easily accessible to the younger viewers, usually ones that they may find in their houses (knives) will not be dwelled upon when they appear in the film or made to look cool in any way. In Madagascar 3, the leader of the animal control team is sometimes seen holding a sedation gun that she plans on using to capture Alex the lion, this is a weapon will not be accessible to the younger viewers and could not actually  be used to kill the animal. As for smoking, drugs and alcohol, if for some reason they do appear in the film, the characters will usually put a clear message across to the audience or to another character in the scene that those are bad things to do and it will be emphasised that they can be very harmful. Madagascar 3 does not show the characters using drugs or drinking alcohol at any point in the film, but if they had the alcohol could have been passed off as any other drink. Also, if the characters are heard using mild bad language, such as 'shit' it will not be very often or spoken with any aggression as the BBFC will not want the younger viewers repeating those words outside of the cinema. Any sex references will be undetailed, but usually there will be no reason for them in films rated PG. If the BBFC believe that a young child will not understand one of the references anyway, they will allow it to remain in the film.

 

Films rated 12 are fairly similar to those rated 12A, but the main difference between the two is that anyone under the age of 12 who wishes to view a film rated 12A has to be accompanied by an adult who is over the age of 18, who will be asked for ID when buying tickets at the cinema. 12A is the newest derived age rating for a film, and was created so that it could be given to films that the BBFC thought weren't quite 15 material, but were not a 12 either. In order to prevent a 12A film from being rated 15 there needs to be moments within the film that the audience will either find funny or reassuring if ever something scary or serious happens. The material within a film that is rated 12A may be considered too inappropriate for the younger viewers to watch, which is why it is advised that parents go along with their children to watch these films. Mean Girls (2004) is a 12A rated film that deals with the subject of homosexuality, sex and the social groups and statuses within a high school.
The narrative follows the life of a girl named Kady, who moves with her parents from Africa to America and begins high school for the first time where she is unintentionally befriended by the 'plastics', three of the most popular and meanest girls in the school. The three girls teach her to dos and don'ts of high school and begin to turn her into one of them. The film as a whole is quiet light-hearted and easy going, but one of the most shocking scenes within the film happen towards the very end when Regina George, the leader of the plastics, is hit by a bus after a confession session between all of the girls in the school goes wrong, and Janice Ian reveals to Regina that Kady was only pretending to be her friend and had drunk kissed her boyfriend, Erin Samuels. The audience do not see the body after it has been hit by the bus, but the scene is sudden and unexpected. The reason Mean Girls was rated 12A and not 15 was, first of all, due to the character being completely fine, but also due to the same incident being made comical at the very end of the film when the audience see three girls in the year below the plastics, walking and dressed in a similar way to the way the plastics had before the bus incident. The voiceover of Kady makes a comment about there no longer being anyone to cause trouble in the school now that the plastics had gone their separate ways, but that if someone was to come along, they knew exactly what to do. The audience then saw the same school bus hit all of the three girls at once. This - joke

 

 

The Woman In Black (2012) is an example of a film that was rated 12 by the BBFC. In order for the BBFC to give a film the rating of 12 they will consider the nature or plot of the film unsettling for a child of under the age of 12 to watch. There are many scenes in The Woman In Black that are set in dark and eerie places, such as the graveyard, that could potentially frighten the younger audience. In The Woman In Black, the , main character 'Arthur Kipps', portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe is a young lawyer that is sent away from his son to a remote village to try and sell the house of a woman who recently passed away. Actors will be allowed to use both moderate (bitch/twat) and bad language (shit), but the latter should not come across as aggressive in the way that it being spoken. Also, if the language is being used too often it may be taken out of the film as well. If any of the characters are acting in a dangerous way, for example, hanging themselves, that viewers who are watching the film could copy, the footage can be shown but the images of the event should not be seen on screen for too long. The characters are allowed to be seen using weapons during any action sequences, but if those weapons, outside of the cinema world, are within the reach of the younger viewers, for example, a knife that they may find in their kitchen, their use should not be made to look appealing or glamorous to the viewers. In The Woman in Black, the characters are rarely seen with harmful weapons as the majority of the film narrative is based on a ghost story, therefore weapons would be useless anyway. If there are any sex scenes in a film rated 12, they will only be shown to the viewer in minimal detail and for a short amount of time. Also, any sex references will usually be followed by a comedic moment between the characters on screen in order to lessen the impact that it has on the younger audience. The film will contain no material that can be classed as discriminating in any way (racist/homophobic).

In one of the scenes from The Woman In Black, Arthur Kipps pays a visit to the town centre police station after seeing the woman in black for the first time. He goes to report it to the policeman on duty but while he is at the station, a young girl and her two brothers stumble in. The boys tell Arthur Kipps that the girl drank lye (poison), who then falls into Arthur Kipps arms after coughing up blood. In the end, the little girl dies leaving the audience shocked and emotional due to the young age of the girl. Some of the younger viewers especially may find this scene frightening, and may not fully understand what has happened to the little girl.
 

 

 Films rated 15 are unsuitable for anyone under the age of 15. There are no prohibited themes for a 15, so long as the treatment is suitable for 15 year olds. Films rated 15 are likely to include strong violence that is not sadistic, frequent use of bad language, sexual references and nudity in limited detail, discriminatory language and behaviour and the characters may be seen using drugs. However the film must not promote or encourage the use of drugs. Any sexual violence, such as rape, must be discreet and justified by the context of the film. The film must not linger on any dangerous behaviour, such as suicide, that could potentially be copied by teenagers who are easily influenced by what they watch.
The Breakfast Club is an example of a film that was rated 15. The film follows five high school students from completely different social groups who find themselves together in detention one Saturday. They each have different reasons for being there and as the film goes on, they begin to reveal what they did wrong. As the film progresses, they begin to open up to each other about their home lives and their problems, and they start to realise that they have a lot more in common with each other then they expected. This clip appears towards the end of the film when one of the boys, Brian Johnson, tells the others that the reason he was given a detention was due to a teacher finding a gun in his locker. Seeing as the rest of the film is mostly light hearted and comical, this scene is very unexpected, and therefore shocking to watch. Also, younger viewers may not appreciate just how serious the scene is. The sequence is once again made comical when he finally reveals that the gun was a flare gun that exploded in his locker. When the audience see the other characters laughing they immediately relax back into the scene and enjoy the dance sequence that follows. This comical moment is what prevents this sequence from falling into the age rating 18. The Breakfast Club was rated 15 due to the characters often using bad language, for example, when the teacher watching over them threatens to give John Bender extra detentions and then when he finally leaves the room, Bender screams 'f*** you' at him. Also, in one of the scenes that characters can be seen taking drugs after retrieving them from Bender's locker.

 

The Godfather films are all considered classics, exploring themes of violence and rivalry, they were rated 18 for good reason. The BBFC believe that adults over the age of 18 should be free to choose their own source of entertainment; to watch whatever they want to, which is why there is arguably no limit to what films rated 18 can and cannot show their viewers. These films will explore difficult themes, such as racism and prejudice that if shown to, may disturb the younger audience or may be difficult to understand. They may also include scenes of strong gore and horror that will scare young children and keep them awake at night. The main concern that the BBFC have when deciding what the public should be allowed to see if whether or not the film will cause the viewer any harm. For example, if the material is illegal or encourages illegal behaviour, if the use of drugs is promoted or encouraged, or if explicit images of sexual activity cannot be justified by the context the BBFC will make some cuts. The BBFC do not want viewers to take dangerous influences from films that could get them into serious trouble outside of the cinema world.

The clip I have chosen follows on from the scene in the second Godfather film in which Sonny receives a call from his pregnant sister who is distraught over the fact that, in anger, her husband has once again beaten her. Sonny leaves his house without protection, concerned only for his sister and her baby's safety. On his way to collect her, Sonny is set up by one of his rival gangs who meet him at a toll booth and open fire on him, shooting a defenceless Sonny to death. Even after he is dead, one of the men stands over his body to shoot him twice more. The death of Sonny is brutal and unexpected, and the finishing sight of his body covered in blood and bullet holes makes it difficult for anyone to watch the scene without wanting to cover their eyes or look away. This scene is one of the best examples of why the Godfather was rated 18 by the BBFC. The overall film is described most often as brutal and graphic in the way that the scenes of violence occur. 'The violence is startling and abrupt, and the horrific expressions on the faces of the victims make the images difficult to forget.' The Godfather has a very detailed plot that some believe will only be understood and appreciated by those over the age of 18.

In conclusion, age certificates are important as they give parents and film viewers a rough idea of what they can expect to see in the film. If they were going to see a film that was rated PG, they will not expect to see violence and gore they may been seen in a film rated 18. After researching the different age certificates that a film can fall into, I think that our thriller sequence is most likely to be given the age rating of 15. This means that in our opening sequence we will be able to include some violence, which will appear when the mother is being stabbed to death. Also, the characters may be heard using bad language, again in the scene where the mother is being killed, as a way for her to express her pain. Our scene will not tackle a difficult theme that a film rated 18 might have, and it will not include strong gore or explicit images as this would be irrelevant to our narrative.