BBFC Target Audience Research

This research based task is focused on the differences between a '15' and '18' rating movie which has come from the British Board of Film Classification website (click)

 15

• No one younger tham 15 can watch a 15 film in a cinema, nor can they buy or rent any 15 rated video work.
• The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.
• Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (aerosols or solvents etc.) is unlikely to be acceptable.
• Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.
• Dangerous behaviour (hanging, suicide and self-harming etc.) should not dwell on detail which could be copied.
• Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorized.
• There may be frequent use of strong language, the very strongest language may be justified if used in an acceptable context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.
• Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.
• Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.
• No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.
• Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

18

• No one younger than 18 may watch a 18 in a cinema, nor can they buy or rent any 18 rated video work.
• Most adults are able to choose what they want to watch but there are some constraints.
• The material must not be in breach of the criminal law, or must not be created through the commission of a criminal offence.
• Material or treatment must not appear to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault.
• Must not include explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context. Such images may be appropriate in ‘R18’ works, and in ‘sex works’.

This research into rated films is going to help my group understand and decide whether we should base our film around a 15 or 18 rating film. By creating a 15 we could say we would be limiting ourselves due to the restrictions. This is because we want to make violent thriller, thus making our film an 18. With our research we have completed so far, we are considering a 'Crime Thriller' however this is not final as thoughts can change throughout the research stage. However, if we were to go ahead with this, it would most likely to be a 15. We need to possibly find out our basic storyline of our thriller first, and then decide whether to make a 15 or 18 rated film.