Is Film Censorship Necessary?
When classifying a film many aspects have to be put into consideration, the use of violence, sex and bad language can change the certification dramatically. British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a private body, which has considerable power over the showing of films. The BBFC has developed a system of certification for films that provides guidance on the public acceptability of the film. Distributors pay a certification fee, and the Director of Public Prosecutions will not prosecute films that have been granted certificates. The Video Recordings Act 1984 gives the BBFC statutory recognition as the regulator of licensing of videos charged with monitoring material that is "suitable for home viewing". Censorship bodies have written the rules about what is prohibited in films, and these have been subject to change over time, depending partly on the expressed concern of the public, but mainly on what the government and the main church of the country wants. In more recent times, such censorship bodies have surrendered to their power, particularly in the United States, where censorship has returned to the local level, and the central body only classifies films with respect to their content as suitable for various age groups.
By putting an age boundary on the side of a video box the BBFC hope that it will stop 15 year olds watching an 18 movie or 12 year olds trying to watch a film classified 15. I feel the age boundaries shouldn't stop the public from watching the film; it should just be a warning to the viewer that they are about to watch a film, which more than likely will contain scenes of violence and/or bad language, it is then up to them if they want to view such material. The BBFC are trying to protect us from seeing things that may disturb us, even though violence, prostitution and foul language goes on all around us everyday. If you don't like horror films and get scared, why watch them? The age guidelines should not tell you if you are or are not allowed to watch the film, it should be your choice, and if you are considering watching an 18 film, at that age you should be old enough to make the decision by yourself. Would it disturb you? If the answer to that is yes, then maybe that film is not for you. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a brutal film involving the deaths of a group of teenagers while they are on holiday. The film was unavailable for decades as it was too disturbing for the public to view, but eventually it was shown on television on channel 4 as part of a horror weekend. This shows that the BBFC is getting more relaxed with classifying films as they r
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Approximate Word count = 922
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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