Planning: Age Certificate Ms Begum

Age Certificate

 

 

Age certificates are age ratings given to all films to decide what age group should be able to watch what film. The people that make these decisions are the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Set up in 1912 the BBFC regulate all films in Britain and give it a certain age certificate depending on the content the film has. There are 5 cinema film certificates and there are 5 video/D.V.D film certificates plus some retired age cetificates as well including the most recent one Universal Children (Uc). Universal Children (Uc) rating was a video/D.V.D rating and means that the film is particularly suitable for a pre-school child to view alone although this film rating was discontinued in 2009.

 

 

Universal (U). It is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a ‘U’ film should be suitable for all audiences. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should not contain anything that would offend or upset a child. An example of this is the film the lion king.

 

Parental Guidance (PG). Parental guidance is usually made for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. PG films may contain scenes of fear or comical violence. An example of a 'PG' film is Megamind.

 

The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. A 12A film may contain fear, moderate violence, brief bad language and brief shock. An example of this is the iconic reason for the 12A rating existing: Spiderman

 

The ‘12’ category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a ‘12’ rated video work. The content in a 12A rating is exactly the same for a film in a 12 rating. An example of this is The Dark Knight

 

 

 

15 rating. No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema and No-one younger than 15 is allowed to rent or buy a ‘15’ rated film. Things included in 15 rated films are violence, controversy, mild sex scenes and nudity, frequent bad language and mild drug abuse. An example of a 15 rated film is Disturbia.

18 rating. No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema and No-one younger than 18 is allowed rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video work. 18 rated films are usually on the brink of being cut or banned from cinema viewings. An example of an 18 rating film is The Godfather

Thriller films are almost always given a 15 rating because they leave a chilling feeling amongst the audience. Furthermore they keeps you on the edge of your seats. Thrillers are meant to make you jump. Some of them are made to psychologically play with your mind and get you thinking. All of them have some tension and suspense.
 

The story of the 12A rating film

 

In 2002, many citizens, ignored the BBFC's ruling that Spider-Man would receive a 12 rating, and allowed children younger than 12 to see the film. they thought that because spider-man was a childhood hero for many kids they wanted to watch him on the big screen. However, the BBFC were already in the process of replacing the 12 rating with a new 12A, which allowed under-12s to see the film if accompanied by an adult, so in the end, Spider-Man was reclassified as 12A. The first 12A certificate film released was for The Bourne Identity.

Conclusion

This lesson on age certificates in general has really helped me to understand the concepts of the film and understand what would be deemed unsuitable for a certain target audience for example a theme like discrimination would not be shown in a film rated PG or show nudity and sex scenes on a filom rated U. But furthermore i has given me an insight on what themes to include in my thriller opening.because thrillers are usually given a 15 rating, that broadens the choice of themes to include in the scene