Certification

In all forms of media, certification is needed to put certain films into advisory and age related categories. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) classification categories are: U- Universal which means any age can watch it, PG- Parental Guidance which means anyone can watch it although children need a parent with them, 12A- Under 12 can watch but they must have a parent with them, 12- only 12 and over, 15- only 15 and over, 18- only 18 and over, 18R- only special cinemas show these films and only licensed sex shops can sell these films.

 The BBFC’s areas of concern are violence, nudity, sex, language, drugs, imitation and discrimination. The biggest concern is violence, if the audience enjoys it, finds it funny, or see it as a positive solution, the certification will rise higher. The quicker violence is resolved happily, the lower the certification becomes. If nudity is natural it has no certification, however, the more sexually orientated it is the higher the certification. Sex is another issue of concern. If the sex is simulated, the certification will be an 18; if the sex is real then it goes up to an 18R. If sex and violence are linked the certification is very high. Language is an important issue, the word F*** may only be used once in an age 15 film, if swear words are used more than that then the certification goes up. The word C*** is rated the worst word that can be used. Drugs can be shown in a film but they never be glamorized. If you wanted to show someone taking drugs then the certification would be very high.

The BBFC are very concerned about imitation. The use of weapons has to be carefully shown as children can get hold of things such as knives and there’s a risk they could copy actions they see. When showing suicides the method can’t be shown as children may be able to imitate actions. Discrimination is another issue that contributes to certification. It shouldn’t be shown that it is good to discriminate, but it can be shown that it happens. Certification influences the audience as it limits who can see the film. If you want to target a certain age, don’t make a higher/lower certification film. The narrative is influenced as the story is affected by what you can and can’t show because of the certification. The theme is affected as it is an opinion but it has to be socially acceptable otherwise you won’t get a certification. The intention is influenced as it has to be one that society would agree with.

 The audience pleasures are also influenced as the emotions will be different according to the certification e.g. an 18 would create fear where as lower certifications would not be able to show the same content. Depending on what certification you decide to have, this affects the theme of the film as you are limited by what you can show e.g. if you want to show drugs are bad and your certification is a 12, you can only talk about drugs and never the actual taking of drugs. If it was an 18 certification, you would be able to show drug taking and the effects.