Research: Film Censorship (Mr Smith)

The BBFC...

The British Board Film Classification's (BBFC) role is to protect the public from anything offensive or anything that could cause any harm. They decide the age certificates for films and if they feel a film is not appropriate for an audience they will either need to ban it completely, cut it or censor it depending of content. The BBFC is important to the film industry because without it the public would not be protected and would be open to seeing films in which could disturb, upset or shock the audience. 

What things get censored?

• Violence
• Graphic representation and realism
• Corrupt and young 
• Controversy and the press
• Sex and nudity 
• Sexual violence
• Religion
• Class
• Language
• Shock
• Drug abuse 
• Culture 
• Race
• True events 

Films that have been censored...

• Shrek 2:

This film has been censored in the UK due to Princess Fiona headbutting Prince charming. This was changed into a neck drop instead as the BBFC thought the children would imitate headbutts. 

• Peter Pan

This film has been censored in the UK due to Captain Hook headbutting Peter Pan. This was also censored as the BBFC thought children would imitate.

Films being cut and banned...

When a film is cut it means it is edited or has had scenes taken out of it to make it appropriate for viewing. However, when a film is banned it is taken away from cinema viewing completely due to indecent, harmful or offensive material.

A film that has been banned is "The Human Centipede 2".
This film was banned due to people being portrayed as objects which are brutalized, degraded and mutilated for the arousal of the main character. This is giving off bad behavior, violence and graphic scenes which may influence the audience and cause controversy which is a reason why is had been banned in the UK.

A film that has been cut is "Face off".
This film had a scene cut in which the main character shows a young girl how to use a butterfly knife. This was cut in the UK as it glamorises the use of weapons to the audience which could also influence bad behavior.



Forna vs Kermode: 

The Forna and Kermode debate is based on a case for censorship or a case against.
Forna discusses how she believes in censorship. She recognises the importance of freedom of expression but she also recognises that freedom comes with responsibilities allowing some groups to use their freedom to stir racial hatred removes the freedom of minorities to live without persecution. She also states that experience has shown that when suicides are shown on TV there'll be an increase in attempts that night. In an episode of Eastenders,one of the characters called Angie, tried to kill herself which prompted a country wide series of emergencies that same evening. Forna also believes that images and words have the power to distort the way we think. Films can promote racial violence or lead to sexual aggression. Lastly, she states that when the audience are watching adverts they know and understand they're being sold something, however, when watching a film audiences are unaware they're being sold stories which may influence them unconsciously.

On the other hand, Kermode discusses that the basis for all this madness is a peculiarly British fear of freedom and responsibility. He also states that when he met fans of the film "I spit on your grave" they did in fact state they hated it because it wasn't any fun at all to watch and was appalled, however, it did not corrupt them highlighting the fact that people do not imitate what they see in films. Kermode also believes that although we may all watch the same film, we see different films suggesting that everyone's personal responses are different and effect them differently. Lastly, Kermode's final thoughts were that no matter what our censors do, art and literature will continue to inspire strange and baffling responses in people.

Personally, I believe that censorship in the UK should not be used to such an extreme extent. Adults are able to look after themselves and decide whether they want to watch a certain film or not. There should be age certificates but not censorship as this eliminates the rest of the public's rights just because a certain number of people can not understand the fiction and may be influenced.

Conclusion:

From researching about film censorship I have understood what exactly is allowed to be in films and what is not. This will help me as I'm planning, to know what is appropriate to include. In my thriller I may use iconography such as guns and blood which concerns me as this may be giving off negative influences to my audience which may have to be cut.