Age ratings
In the UK the British Broad of film
classification (BBFC) are in charge of ratings on films and have been since the
early 20th century. Before
the 1912 local councils were allowed to make decision on what ratings they
wanted to put on newly released films, allowing them to make their own
conditions and restrictions.
Universal films (U)
The symbol ‘U’ stands for the term
universal and is an age rating that is said to be suitable for children aged
four and above. The reason as to why it is only the ages of 4 and above is on
the basic lines of the fact is it almost impossible to predict what is going to
upset a child of a younger age. Most films that are normally ‘U’s’ are that of
family films such as ‘Shrek’ and ‘Winnie the pooh’. Elements such as small
fights are allowed to be featured in the film as long as the moments of
emotional distressing events are over fairly quickly and are resolved to a
peaceful equilibrium. All U rated films have to have a ‘happy ending’ where all
characters end up okay or there is a reassuring element to the fact that the
characters will be okay. There may also be references to elements such as gay
or straight sex relationships and quick scenes of kissing or cuddling. If sex
is referenced in the film it is referred to as ‘making love’.
Things that may not be feature in the film
is references to misuse of drugs, illegal drugs as at this age children or
often very mislead. U rated films normally show a type of lesson at the end of
the film for the children to learn as an educational factor.
In comparison to our trailer- our trailer
wouldn’t be suitable as a U rated film as the amount of violence that is
feature within the trailer, younger audience can often be mislead and so
exploiting them to such elements would not be good for future development.
Parental
guidance films (PG)
Parental
guidance films are often family films also but may not be suitable for children
with out an adult around to comfort then, although these films are generally
suitable for 8 year olds to watch without an adult at hand. It is left down to
the adult to judge whether or not they feel their child should watch the film
or not.
In
a PG film there is able to be mild use of bad language depending on the context
that it is used in. if the film is using bad language as a very aggressive way
then it may not be suitable for the PG rating and therefore may be placed in a
higher category. Just as in U rated films references to sex are allowed
although they must be undetailed and lack and nudity. Violence is allowed just as in a U rated film
although the injury must be kept in ore as to how the injury occurred.
Un
like a u rated film there is allowed to be references to drugs although they
must not be a main topic and has to be kept to a minimum. PG films do tend to
include unsuitable things for children and therefore is why is has to be kept
to a minimum as children at this age can often act as they have seen in a film.
In
comparison to our trailer- I don’t fell that this is a suitable age rating for
our film as we have included a lot of violence and the idea of kidnapping is
not nessicarily understood easily by a younger audience and therefore it should
be seen by a older more mature audience that is able to process the idea.
Twelve
A films (12A)
12a
films are films that are suitable to be watch by a person of aged 12 and
younger as long as the younger is accompanied by and adult. String language may
be included in the film such as the word ‘f**k’ as long as they are not used on
a regular basis. Any more then irregular uses of swear word will cause the film
to be brought up to a higher age rating. The use of sexual references must be
kept minimal and cannot be anything that is going to be unsuitable for that of
a young teenager. Nudity is allowed in this age rating but must be discrete and
cannot be a reoccurring thing. Drugs and alcohol is allowed to be mention but
not play a massive roll in the film.
In
comparison to our film- I feel that although in some cases our film would fit
into this category that is may need to be raised to a 15 as I feel the emphasis
that we have made on the blood and gore of the thriller genre would be more
suitable for a mature audience.
15
rated films (15)
No
one is permitted to watch this film under the age of 15 years old as its not
suitable for the younger audience it may contain things that are not always
understood by a younger audience. No one under the age of 15 is allowed to
watch the film in cinema or buy the DVD. The film contains elements such as;
•
Sexual nudity
•
Strong violence
•
Frequent strong language
•
Strong spoken references to sex
•
Brief scenes of sexual violence
•
Drug taking
In comparison to our film- I feel this is suitable
category for our film as it is allowed to have the amount of violence that we
want to create in our film, also there doesn’t have to be a return to an
emotional equilibrium things may end on a cliffhanger. The audience is now
mature enough to handle the situation that is being portrayed in the film.
18 rated films (18)
Films that are under the rating of an 18 are firmly for
the eyes of adults only and may not be watch but anyone under the age in
cinemas or by a rented or brought DVD. 18 rated films contain elements such as;
•
Strong violence
•
Frequent strong language and/or very
strong language
•
Scenes of sexual violence
•
Strong horror
•
Strong blood and gore
•
Discriminatory behavior and language
•
Real life sex (in some circumstances)
In comparison to our film- I feel this rating is too high
for our film as I think that our target audience would be that of a 16 year
old.
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