Film regulation and the BBFC - Blog task

1) Research the BBFC in more detail: what is the institution responsible for? How is it funded? What link does it have to government?
The BBFC is responsible for classifying films ang giving them their age ratings. The BBFC is an independent, non-governmental body funded through chagred fees meaning film distributors have to pay a fee to have their films rated.

2) Read this BBFC guide to how films are rated. Summarise the process in 50 words.
BBFC's decisions are reached by an consensus involving the Chief Exec, President and two Vice Presidents taking the final responsibility. Solo viewing is used when viewing the DVD's and films for for cinema release are classified by teams of two and extreme content is seen by teams and more often than not by multiple teams. The main thing they search for is sexual scenes, violence and bad language as they are the main areas which films ratings are determined.
3) Read this BBFC outline of the issues faced when classifying a film. Summarise the debate in 50 words.
An issue faced was that some material is in conflict with the law or been created through the commission of a criminal offence, therefore there may be persecutions if released. the second problem is that the context in which an issue is presented is central to the question of its acceptability and this is extremely important depending on who is viewing as young children viewing it is not acceptable as it wil be too inappropriate. Another issue is suppressing pro-social attitudes and encouraging anti-social attitudes and reinforcing unhealthy fantasies especially regarding Children.
4) Read this BBFC section on controversial decisions. Why did The Dark Knight generate a large amount of media coverage regarding its certificate? Do you agree with the 12A certificate The Dark Knight was awarded?
Batman The Dark Knight received a lot of media coverage because consumers were concerned with the huge amount of violence in the film and it can be argued that the age rating should've been higher than 12A because of the strong violence which isn't appropriate for 12 year olds as they shouldn't be exposed to this. This would result in the media getting a lot of backlash for promoting violence to such a young age.
5) What are the guidelines for a 15 certificate?
The guidelines for a 15 certificate is that violent behaviour shouldn't dwell on detail which can be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable depends on factors such as realism, context and setting. This can be emphasised with sex as it states sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail.
6) The BBFC website offers an explanation of every classification it makes and detailed case studies on selected titles. Look at the rating for Chicken and explain why it was given a 15 certificate.
Chicken was given a 15 which I think is correct as there is strong violence and strong language throughout the whole film. The scene where Poly is beating up Richard is very detailed and would not be acceptable for any age under 15 and so I feel like 15 is the correct rating as there is violence and string language quite a lot.