Q1B - Audience Summarised

Hypodermic Needle Theory - Frankfurt School - Germany between the wars 20s and 30s - the rise of Hitler and the influence of the mass media on the public - related to film - also known as the effects model - audience is passive.

Cultivation Theory - George Gerbner - keep seeing a representation on the media and it reinforces a stereotype- people who watch soaps think there is more divorce in society than there actually is - tv and advertising - passive audience.

Roland Barthes - Myths are created in society by the media.

2 Step Flow - Paul Lazarsfel - opinion leaders influence society more than the original text does - this relates to film critics influencing you to watch a movie .

Uses and Gratifications - a text can inform, entertain, cause you to identify with the characteristics in the text, meet your social needs.

Stuart Hall - Reception Theory - Texts are created by producers with a meaning in mind that might be  read differently by an audience due to their social or cultural backgrounds - Preferred or dominant reading, oppositional reading and negotiated reading - (oppositional would be: if a sympathetic character in a soap has an affair then an audience of very religious Christians would no like the character anymore)

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - media texts meet the needs of an audience - e.g. some car ads sell the car on its safety; aftershave adverts sell sex; Coke adverts sell the idea of friendship.

BBFC History

1.       What year was the BBFC founded? 

1912

2.       What was the original name of the BBFC? 

British Board of Film Censors

3.       Who actually had power to license and screen films, regardless of the BBFC’s advice? (This power was given by the 1909 cinematograph act) 

Local Authorities

4.       What were the first two age certificates given? 

U & A

5.       How many reasons did T.P O’Connor list upon which a film could be ‘deleted’?

43

6.       Who was the chief censor in the 1940s and 1950s? 

Arthur Watkins

7.       What Marlon Brando film causes big problems between the BBFC and it’s distributor? 

The Wild One

8.       Who was the next chief censor? 

John Trevelyn

9.       What certificate was ‘Garden of Eden’ eventually reclassified as? 

 A

10.       What is the name of the controversial film featuring the first full example of male nudity/

Women In Love

BBFC Case Study

1) A brief history of the BBFC - how it was founded, how it's role has changed.

The BBFC is a non-government, non- profit company that was founded in 1912, and was originally called the British Board of Film Censors. Initially, local authorities were the people who were licensing films, but the BBFC was made to standardise all ratings of films around the UK. The first two ratings used by the BBFC were U & A. In 1916, T.P. O'Connor , the newly appointed president, made a list of 43 reasons for film to either be cut or deleted. These included things like 'Cruelty to animals', 'Nude figures' & 'References to controversial politics'. This was to gain the trust of the public. Nowadays, it's role has changed to protecting children and the rating are used by parents to gauge whether the film is suitable for their child. 

2) What case studies (key films or events) have caused these changes at the BBFC?

In 1954, the film 'The Wild One' was denied classification for thirteen years as the BBFC thought the film was a 'spectacle of unbridled hooliganism'.
'A Rebel Without A Cause' caused controversy for showing anti-social behaviour and teen violence.
'The Garden of Eden' - had scenes containing female nudity. It was eventually given an A rating.
'Straw Dogs' featured a sexual violence in the form of a rape scene.
'A Clockwork Orange'  had scenes of violence, criminal activity, rape and anti-social behaviour that was deemed imitable by the BBFC.
'The Devils' included ' strong violence and sexual nudity' and was believed to be blasphemous by the christian community. It was cut many times before it was given the rating of an 18.

3) What the key pieces of legislation are that govern how the BBFC works as a regulator.

Cinematograph Act - Local councils are charge of whether cinema's provide or withhold licenses in their area (1909)

'H' certificate is introduced, letting the audience know if the movie has a horror theme or not (1932).

Changes to the 'Cinematograph Act' mean the first compulsory film rating is issued, 'X'. No one under the age of sixteen could view these films (1952).

Obscene Publications Act - A law that makes it an offence to publish content whose effect will tend to ''deprave and corrupt'' the majority of the audience (1959).

'X' rating is changed from a sixteen to an eighteen. 'U', 'A' & 'AA' are introduced (1970).

BBFC establish the 'PG', '15', '18' & 'R18' certificates(1982).

Video Recording Act -  All videos sold in the Uk must be given a certificate by the Home Office, most likely the BBFC (1984).

The '12' rating is added. Tim Burton's Batman is the first film to be given a '12' (1989).

In cinema's, the '12' rating is replaced with '12A', allows children younger than twelve to see '12' related content (2002).


4) How the BBFC is different today than it was at other times in it's history.

5) How does the BBFC classify and rate films today? (What are the certificates and what is allowed in each)

U- A 'U' rating means the film is suitable for people aged four and over.

PG- Anyone can view a 'PG', but some in scenes young children might be unsettled by the content shown. Ages 8 or older is the general rule. 

12/12A- '12' means no one under the age of twelve can view or purchase videos with this certificate. A '12A' certificate refers to films being shown in the cinema. If an adult accompanies the child during the showing then they may enter. Adults should take into consideration whether the film is suitable for their child.

15- Simply, no one under fifteen years of age can view or buy films with this certificate.

18- Since eighteen is the age you are seen to become an adult, people of that age should be allowed to make their own choices. For this reason, anyone over the age of eighteen can rent, buy or view '18' rated content.

6) What challenges the BBFC has going forwards, how it's role has changed?


Due to recent development in technology and the internet, people can now view films legally and illegally at home with no regulation. A twelve year old can watch a '15', a fifteen year old can watch an '18'. The BBFC only have control over films shown on cinema and released on Blu-Ray & DVD. So, they can only give age certificates to those films. VOD services like Netflix and Amazon Prime are legally able to stream content without having to show an age rating before hand, meaning anyone can access anything. 100 years ago, the local councils had tight control over what was shown and what wasn't, now they have none. Some companies ask for their film to be given a classification, but the large majority of them don't. This a problem for the BBFC as they can't govern who sees what, unless a law comes into effect where services like Netfilx have to give an age rating on the films they have. Even if that were to happen, no one would be able to control what gets viewed online, the internet is so large that to control all of it would be far too difficult to do. The BBFC would have to find a way of limiting what websites can be access, which is almost impossible.

Professor Martin Barker - Media Magazine Clips

1. What is Martin Barker’s approach to studying Audiences and how they view media texts?

Who you are matters (attitudes, preferences)

You bring your attitudes with you to the cinema

2. What is the effects tradition?
1. What is cultivation theory?

The idea that people spend more time living in the television world than real life.

3. What is Martin Barker’s main criticisms of the effects tradition?

Lab experiments produce unrealistic behaviours

4. What does Martin Barker think is the problem with most research and theory into the effects of screen violence?

Reading too far into things.

5) Why isn’t the screen violence in the Pulp Fiction scene with Jules and Vincent and Marvin the drug dealer shocking to a lot of people?

They are desensitised to the violence.

1. Why do some people find it funny?

Because it's a combination of violence and non-violence.

6)  What does Martin Barker state are the effects of the depiction of ‘real’ violence on screen?

It develops people as citizens and the can learn what kind of person they want to be.

1. How do you think these differ from the effects of fictional screen violence?

Because people know it's not real they don't feel as strongly towards it.

7)  According to Martin Barker, what are Moral Panics

When the media are blamed for doing something.

1. What was the stated reason that the ‘‘Action’ comics were withdrawn from sale in the 1970s? And what was the reason Barker suggests it might have really been banned?