Research: The British Board of Film Classifcation

The British Board of Film Classification is an non-governmental and autonomous body which has classified traditional and popular cinema films since it was founded in 1912. In 1984, the Video Recordings Act was passed therefore the classification of videos and DVD's was allowed.

Cinema
The British Board of Film Censors was set up in 1912 by the film industry. This brought a degree of consistency to the categorising of film nationally. However, the legal powers on film remain with councils, which may rule any of the BBFC's decisions. 

Video
In 1984 Parliament passed the Video Recordings Act, this stated that video recordings  for sale or hire in the UK must be classified by an authority designated by the Secretary of State. The name was changed to show that classification plays a larger part in the BBFC's work compared to censorship. 

Finances
The BBFC is a non-profit organisation, the money is adjusted to cover the costs. The money comes from its services and is calculated depending on the running time of the film or DVD's. Before making any changes to their fees, the BBFC consuls the Department of Culture. 

Classification in this contexts means sorting films, DVD's and videos into categories spending on the age of the viewer, it is determined on how appropriate the material in the film is. For example, a children's film shouldn't feature harsh violence, drugs or swearing. 

Guidelines for an Age 15 Film

• Discrimination - must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour however there may be homophobic or raise themes and language
• Drugs- drugs taking may be shown but it must not promote drug taking or drug misuse
• Imitable behaviour- dangerous behaviour must not be detailed as it could be copied. Weapons are allowed but will depend on realism
• Language- there may be strong language and very strong language may be permitted 
• Nudity- there may be nudity with sexual context but not with strong detail
• Sex-sexual activity may be portrayed but not with strong detail. there may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour but not very strong references
• Threat- there may be strong threats and horror however sadistic and sexual threat is not allowed
• Violence- may be strong but not to dwell on injury and pain. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but should be justified