BBFC Importance- Miss Hartt

The Importance of the British Board of Film Classification

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) are a highly experienced regulator of the moving image. It serves a social function that advises and protects. Adults should be advised about the content of a film but ultimately, they should make the final decision as to whether they should watch the film or not.

The BBFC is important to the to the film industry because they regulate the age restrictions of films that are shown in Britain. It advises and protects viewers from unsuitable content. For example, an action film may have a scene in it which shows a lot of violence. This would change the age rating to a more restricting one to protect children from replicating violent scenes. Classifying films can be difficult because some films may have some features of one age group but some more features of another age group. If the BBFC did not regulate restrictions, then many viewers may be offended or distressed by many scenes in certain films.

Sometimes a murder scene is cut prematurely so that the audience is aware of what has happened but does not actually see the murder happen. This is used for films with ratings such as '12' and '12A' so that the film can be viewed by more people.