Research: Age Certificates - Mrs. Quinlan

Age Certificates

What is the role of the role of the BBFC and why are they important to the film industry (relate to parental guidance/appropriateness of content)?

The BBFC stands for The British Board Film Classification and it's job is to protect the public from films that might upset, offend, shock or may psychologically damage the viewers by rating films appropriately according to the content in the film by age groups. Before films are allowed to be screened to the public, the BBFC watches and scrutinizes what age group might be most appropriate for the content viewed within the film, after that, they award the film with an age certificate and the access for it to be screened to the public. 

The BBFC are so important to the film industry as it provides a guideline or platform for a film before its release, it protects the audience keeping the safe from scenes that may be inappropriate for a particular age group. Moreover, parents are informed about the viewing of the film allowing them to decide whether its appropriate for their child to watch.

What are the different age certificates? Examples:

Universal - The 'U' stands for Universal which means these types of categories are awarded for their suitable content, in general, for those aged four and above are able to watch with a happy and positive mindset also offering reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror. These films that are rated 'U' demonstrates positive moral framework that could hugely effect the younger audience which is why 'U' rated films must always maintain a happy and positive vibe throughout. In some cases, there is mild foul language such as "Shut-up" and 'Damn' and sexual encounters for example hugging and kissing within the characters in the film however there is little material on this that doesn't really focus on it much.

Examples:

Films such as:

• Aladdin, a story that originated from a Middle Eastern folk tale tells the story of a young boy who frees a Genie from a magic lamp. Through his journey, he meets a beautiful princess that he tries to save from love she's not quite ready for. This has been rated 'U' for the general audience to enjoy as it has a positive moral framework in place educating the younger audience on particular values.

• Lion King is about a lion cub that looses his dad due to his evil and jealous uncle. Lion King is the only Disney movie that has shown a death of a beloved character on screen which has many criticisms but was able to overcome this by teaching the younger audience to never give up. So in the ended it had been happily awarded an age certificate of a 'U' as it also displays a positive moral framework for the younger audience, and older too. It educates the viewers to always be happy about who you are.

Parental Guidance - The 'PG' stands for parental guidance and is for the general viewing of the public but some scenes might be unsuitable for the younger audience hence why should be accompanied whilst watching. A film that is rated a 'PG' should not upset or offend any audiences aged around eight or older however parents are advised to consider whether the content viewed is suitable for their child, furthermore, which means that the responsibility is handed to the parents if any child that may be upset or sensitive to the material. Words that might be use in a 'PG' rated film might use the word 'Bitch' however would not consistently use this throughout the movie.

Examples:

Films such as:

• Night at the Museum  is about a museum security man that explores the museums magical secrets that occur only in the night. It shows some scenes of sexual nature for example body contact and kissing but is not exaggerated to a point where children will dwell upon the matter. It has minor violence that is needed to defeat the villain for a happy and conclusive ending.

• Harry Potter and The Camber of Secrets is about a boy with magical wizard powers that attends a wizardry school to enhance his knowledge but faces some challenges along the way. It has some violence that demonstrate other characters getting hurt from this but also illustrate the antagonist always winning in the end illustrating the positive messages it portrays.

12 Adults - A 12A stands for viewers who are at the age of 12 and older with an adult accompanying them. This category only exists in cinema films. No one younger under the age of 12 may watch it alone as the content within the film might be upsetting to them or particular things that a parent or adult might find inappropriate for a child under that age to watch. Adults taking children under the age of 12 must be aware that some scenes might be offensive and inappropriate for them. Some strong language might be used for example "Fuck" but not frequently. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under the age of 12 to view lies with accompanying adult.

Examples:

Films such as:

• Spiderman is about a teenage boy who unfortunately gets bit by a spider however fortunately gains amazing powers to shoot webs from his wrists. Gliding through New York City, he saves the city with his cool moves with fun, filled, action packed scenes. This movie was the first movie to be very controversial whether the movie should've been rated a 15 instead of a 12. This was because Spiderman had many death scenes and violence that many people were upset about. There was also some nudity and sexual encounters between few of the characters which also raised a couple of eyebrows. However others argued that the age certificate it was originally awarded for (12) was perfectly fine because children grew up reading comics of Spiderman so why can they not watch it in theatres? This then revolutionised the film industry and forced the BBFC to create a whole new age certificate and called it 12A.

• Avengers Age of Ultron has also been given a 12A due to the same reasons to Spiderman. Violence is portrayed throughout the movie but it is established clearly that it is overcome and the character who has been hurt does not dwell on the injury.

12 - Films that were given the age certificate of 12 may have some content that have controversial elements to it, but on a whole, there shouldn't be any discrimination that might offend the viewers or upset them. Drugs and alcohol can be subtly touched upon but not promoted or glorified in any way unless the film progresses demonstrating the harms of it. Moreover, violence can be displayed to the audience but cannot dwell on the injury or pain. There may be frequent use bad language, nudity and sexual nature shown but only where appropriate.

15 - Films categorised as 15 are awarded with acceptable material such as bad language, drug and alcohol use unless it is not glorified in any way, nudity and sexual encounters however, ages under 15 will find this type of content disturbing, shocking or inappropriate.The 15 category only exists fir video works and no one younger than that specific age may buy or even rent this rated video work.

Examples:

Films such as:

• The hangover has been awarded the age certificate of '15' which allows them to show material suitable for this age group. The film is about a group of men on a bachelor party celebrating the characters last few days of a single man until they have a little bit of too much fun and find themselves stranded somewhere unknown. The film displays heavy drug use and consistent bad language although it suitable for this particular age group as audiences are able to understand themselves that this is negative behavior that they are seeing.

• Limitless has also been given the age certificate of '15' as it includes material such as sex and nudity, bad language and violence that may be distressing the audiences under the age of 15. The movie revolves around a man who after takes this fictional drug that allows him to access 100% of his brain making him 'Limitless' to everything.

18 - This age certificate only allows audiences over the age of 18 to view a particular movie as material may cover criminal law, displaying criminal offence the younger audience might carelessly imitate. Violence and dangerous acts might occur within an 18 rated movie such as illegal drug use however the drugs used in the film must portray its causes to harm to the public health and morals in it. Other examples such as portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence should abide to this rule too.

Examples:

Films such as:

• Fifty Shades Of Grey tells a story about a young student who meets a man who generally likes being very dominant within a relationship. It portrays explicit sexualised scenes where viewers under the age of 18 may find uncomfortable to watch which is way is has been awarded the 18 age certificate.

What age certificate thriller tend to get and why?

Thrillers usually portray themes such as death, violence, vengeance, supernatural, crime and mystery that all can be seen as negative. Because of this, age groups below 15 are not suitable for this type of material showed in cinemas and as a result, thrillers tend to target age groups 15 and above. With thrillers, the majority of the audiences are students (teenagers) in which they find exhilarating and interesting to watch which is why thrillers tend to target audiences of that age group.

What age certificate would you give your thriller?

For my thriller, I would award it an age certificate of 15 because I believe that tends to be the most popular age groups that find thrillers most interesting to watch. Furthermore, if I was to give my thriller an 18 then my audience would massively decrease as its better to have more people watch and enjoy my thriller. I feel as it was to be any lower than 15 then people would really feel uncomfortable to watch it due to major conventional themes such as death.

Conclusion:

This research on age certificates has taught me how significant I must focus on certain age groups when creating my thriller. I have also learnt that most thrillers are rated 15 and above due to explicit scenes of sex and nudity, drug and alcohol abuse and bad language that could potentially upset audiences under that age.