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.