Research: Age Certificates (Miss B)

Age certificates

 

The BBFC serves a social function in society which is to advise and protect viewers from moving images. The BBFC stand for British Board of Film Classification. They decide on censorship and based on the content of films they either ban or cut scenes to make it appropriate to watch. Also based on the content they decide on the age rating this basically means what age the film is suitable for and this is the age certification.

 

Thrillers usually have a age certification of 15 to 18 and over as the content can be disturbing it may include weapons, blood, religious content, language and drugs.

Films that have 'Universal' means that the film is suitable for all ages and because of this parents could allow their children to watch these films by themselves without worrying. The lion king can be an example film which has a rating of 'U'.

The Lion King has been rated as 'U' as it has no unappropriate content, and this means that it is suitable for younger years.

  PG stands for Parental Guidance. It means that it is duitable for general viewing, however some scene may not be suitable for young children.A PG film will not contain any theme which is inappropriate for a child. PG works can explore challenging issues such as bullying, bereavement or racism.





 

The difference between 12 and 12A is that the 12A requires an adult to accompany any child under 12 seeing a 12A film.

Aggressive discriminatory language (for example homophobic or racist terms) is unlikely to be passed at 12A or 12 unless it is clearly condemned.When a film is rated 12 it means that only children who are 12 or ove can watch it however if it is rated 12A this means that a child under the age of 12 can watch the film however with a parent.
One film that we can look at is Spider man that was released on 12A by the BBFC as it stated that the film was suitable for young children and becauseof this they recommended a parent to accompany the child who wants to watch the film.  This meant that children under the age of 12 could watch the film however they had to have someone with them.

The BBFC has come up with the 12A rating when a 12 rating already exisits. 12A rating means that children under the age of twelve should be accompanied by an adult when watching a film which is rated as 12A.The first film that a 12A rating was used was the sprider man. The reason for this was that the BBFC suggested that the film should be 15, however because the spider man has a large audience for the 15 below the film makes really wanted the age certification of 15 to be lower to allow the young spider man fans to watch their hero on the big screens. This is where the BBFC decided that the 12A should be used and anyone under the age of 12 must watch with a parent.

 

The 15 rated films usually have strong language,sexual nudity, discrimination and drugs.

The Judge has a 15 rating as it contains murder, strong language and sexual reference.

The last age rating is 18 and this is in th UK. People that are under the age of 18 are not permitted to watch the film, you would asked for ID in cinemas to watch these types of films. The reason for this age rating is that the films that are rated 18 may include the following:

• Criminal law
• Display criminal offence
• Use of illegal drug
• violence
• Sexual activity
• Strong language

 Saw 3 has a 18 rating. Jigsaw kidnaps a doctor to keep him alive while he watches his new apprentice put an unlucky citizen through a brutal test. The film contain brutal tests, blood, weapons and kidnaping may realate to real life.




Conclusion
I think that learning about age certification helped me alot now that I know the different age certifications and what they all include I can make sure that the thriller production that I make include suitable scenes. For example, 15 rating may be more suitable for my production as it is a thriller and it may include, strong laguage, violence, weapons and criminal offence.

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.

Research: Narrative themes (Miss B)

Narrative theme

 

Themes

It is a piece of music that frequently recurs in or accompanies the beginning and end of a film, play, or musical.

The impact of themes on the audience is significantly important in many different ways. From the themes the audience know what to expect from the film they are watching. Also from these the audience and identify and learn. Moreover, the audience can create meaning. By using themes the director can meet the needs of the audience and make sure that it is appropriate.

 

Examples of common themes within thrillers include the following:

• Medical
• Death
• Super natural
• Rape and revenge
• Psychological
• Vengeance
• Mystery
• Conspiracy
• Good VS Bad
• Religious
• Weapons and violence

Themes and genres - Discuss how themes are dependant on genres and why ????

Different genres use different themes in order to relate to their audience. For example, Romantic comedy may include the following themes:

• Break up
• Love
• Loyalty
• Family
• Divorce

On the other hand thriller may include:

• Ghosts
• Fighting
• Death
• Revenge
• Super natural

 

 

 

The Conjuring Trailer

The themes that are included in this trailer: Family, super natural, innocence, childhood and mystery.

Research: Narrative theory

 Narrative theory

Narrative is the organisation given  to a series of facts and it outlines the story line. This is important for the audience as they understand and construct meaning using our experience of reality and of previous and the text through its relationship with the audience. 

 

Propps

Propps was mainly interested in narrative folk tales. He came up with the idea that characters have a narrative function: they provide a structure for the text.

 

Propps has introduced its characters

• The Hero
• The Donor
• The Dispatcher
• The false hero
• The Princess
• The Villain

According to Propps the characters go through different stages which include the following:

Complication  is a state of disorder - The hero plans action against villain.

Transference - The hero reacts to the donor.

Struggle between the hero and the villain  - the villain has to be overcome.

Recognition - the false hero or villain is unmasked.

Return - the hero arrives home and is not recognised. 

Some critics claim there are many more character types than Propps suggests and we should feel free to identify them.

Propps theory relates to the thriller genre. This is because it includes conventional and expected characters for example the audience would always expect a villain/ dangerous character.

Tzvetan Todorov

Thinks that everything has a start, middle and end which in his interpretation as the following; equilibrium and then a disequilibrium is created and then a new equilibrium.

There are five stages the narrative can progress through:

• A stage of equilibrium everything is normal.
• A disruption of that order by an event.
• A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
• An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
• A return or restoration of a new equilibrium.

Todorov argues that narrative involves a transformation. The characters or the situations are transformed through the progress of the disruption.

The first scene of the Scream movie can be related to Todorovs as the scene starts calm as the young girl is preparing for a calm night making popcorn which is the equilibrium. Then we are introduced to the mysterious phone calls from the killer. This is where the disequilibrium is created as there is a disruption. Furthermore, the family comes and a new equilibrium is created.  

Aristotle

The importance of plot. It is important to arouse emotion from the audience, and this is mainly within tragedy. Also evoking emotions through themes.

 

Barthes

Semiology within narrative. 

Narrative can be defined by using the following things:
 Symbolic - connotation

Semic - denotation

Cultural understanding - events which can be recognised as being part of a culture.