Research: film censorship (Mr LHS)

Film censorship

BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification. The first organisation that would come into our minds when censorship is mentioned. TheY have the power to regulate film censorship and decide on what film and games go out to the public in the UK. Their role is to protect the public from offensive and disturbing content. They make the age cerification for films meaning that  only certain age groups can watch them. In this stage they will either ban the film this is when the film is taken away from cinema viewing completely due to indecent, harmful or offensive material or they can cut the film and this is when a film is editied or has had scenes taken out of it to make it appropriate of viewing.

The BBFC has the right to ask the producers of a film to make cuts several times till they are happy that the film is appropriate for the specific age group to watch. 

The last house on the left was banned by the BBFC for 30 years and not passed uncut until 2008. After kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging to the parents of one of the victims: a mother and father who devise an increasingly gruesome series of revenge tactics.

Fight night censored due to sexual and brutal violence.

Things that may get sensored in films include the following: 

• Religion 
• Language 
• Sexual Violence 
•  Drug Abuse
• Culture
• Graphic representation and realism

 The Human centipede 2 was banned in the UK for being 'tasteless and discusting'.

The cannibal holocaust is banned in over 50 countries due to its portrayal of graphic brutlity, sexual assault, and genuine violence towards animals.The film is a 1980 italian film and filmed in the amazon rainforest. The film tells the story of a missing documentary film crew who had gone to the Amazon to film cannibal tribes.

Also an example film that has been cut by the BBFC is The Serbian film and it is now 18 cinema rating. The BBFC has made requests about some of the scenes to be cut. ''The Board has therefore required 49 individual cuts to the work amounting to approximately three minutes 48 seconds. These include cuts to the juxtaposition of images of children with sexual and sexually violent material''. In addition I think that the film contains alot of disturbing content and it should be banned instead of cuts being made. We are aware that people under the age of 18 can easily get hold of these films online and making cuts and rating 18 wouldnt stop young people from watching these type of films. 

Forna Vs Kermode

Don't look now: A case for censorship ( Aminatta Forna)

1. In the adult world of mass media and mass audience we're beginning  to recognise the power of words and images to harm.  The freedom of expression is allowing people to stir racial hatred. For example Romper Stomper ' niggas out'.

2. Films start to break down barriers - For example the rape scene in Straw Dog, showing a woman getting raped and then enjoying it. Scenes like this repeated often enough start to to destroy those barrier. It cannot be argued that this is the only cause for people to commit such crimes however these scenes do have a role and should be cut. 

3. Undersirable acts such as rape and illegal incidents encourages the audeince to carry out acts in real life. Experience has shown that when suicides are shown on TV there'll be an increase in attempts that night after seeing that scene. E.g. Eastenders in which Angie tried to kill herself was thought to have promopted a country wide series of emergencies that same night of the series on TV. This shows that the audience are strongly effected by things that they watch on TV and actually carry out what they see if they relate to the situation or mind set of the character.

Eyes wide open: A case against censorship (  Mark Kermode)

1. Being told what you can't and can watch - difference between right and wrong. Kermode describe those as idiot, stupid, weak, impressionable, easily led and unable to distinguish between fiction and reality. He mentions that this is what we are in the eyes of such organisation as the BBFC. They have to tell us what is right to watch and what is wrong. He also states that the films that haven't been banned but cut now make no sence because the scenes have been cut an put back e.g The Evil Dead. 

2. Fear of expression and freedon of speech.

3. Sex doesn't occur during the making of films so there's no need to censor it. Things like this shouldn't be generalised and the BBFC should restrist itself to classifying and describing material, making cuts only when an actual offence has been commited in the production of the movie. 

4. Different people have differnt interpertations of things and just because on person think its wrong doesn't mean its wrong for anyone else. 

Overall I'm personally agiainst film censoring. One reason for this is that people have their own say in what they watch and this is why they dont need someone else like the BBFC to make cuts or ban films. We could agree that some people may be influenced by the things they watch however this cannot be reduced by making cuts and banning films. When it comes to children their parents are responsible for everything and they sould make the decision of something being suitable or not for their children. Things that were not acceptable years ago are now seen as normal in the society. People go to the cinemas to watch a work of art and there is a reason for certain scenes and if there are cuts I don't see the point of actually watching the film from the startas it may lose the actual meaning. 
 

Moreover, from the information that I have learned from the film censorship research is what the BBFC is and their roles, some arguements on for and against censorship. These arguesments allowed me to see from two different prespectives. Allowing me to make a overall statement of what I think and what I should be thinking about when I make my own triller. This is significantly important as I will be making a thriller and most thrillers include scenes that may need to be censored. I have to make sure that the scene of my thriller production is suitable to the age rating so that i don't have to make any cuts to the actual production.