RATINGS RUMBLES
DOES THE BBFC REALLY NEED TO TIGHTEN ITS GUIDELINES?
The British Board of Film Classification has repositioned itself in the headlines lately. Reports on ratings for films from 1964’s Mary Poppins (which was rereleased in March) to 2024’s Poor Things have stirred, in BBFC-speak, ‘mild’ debate. Now, the institution has drawn attention for its half-decade guidelines update, which suggests tighter restrictions on representations of sex and violence.
Drawing on consultations with 12,000 participants by the group We Are Family, the BBFC – under president Natasha Kaplinsky – notes that ‘people’ are concerned. Not about ‘cannabis use and solvent misuse’ – the report notes relaxed attitudes there. They are concerned about sexualised or misogynist terms like ‘bitch’ or ‘dick’. They’re concerned about sexual content at the 12A/15 border, whatever that might be, though less so on the 15/18 borders if said content occurs in ‘comic contexts’. Images of suicide, self-harm and sexual violence also stirred consideration, as did representations of ‘particularly intense or impactful’ violence that ‘may cause harm to public health or morals’.
The finer details of how on-screen violence ‘may cause harm’ are unclear, though recent ratings reports for new releases and resubmissions stir doubts about the institution’s thinking. In 2022, generational tentpole Watership Down (1978) went from a U certificate to a PG partly because a gull tells a bunny to ��
