Age Ratings and Film Content: A Study

Film classification is important in ensuring that the content of the media is suitable to various viewers and especially the young viewers who should not be exposed to harmful or unfit content. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is charged with the responsibility of giving age ratings to the movies in the United Kingdom depending on the content. Such ratings allow viewers to make better choices on what to watch at the same time helping filmmakers to paint their projects to fit a particular target audience.


The BBFC applies various age ratings such as U (Universal), PG (Parental Guidance); 12A, 12, 15 and 18. U rating, which means that it is good to all audiences and has extremely weak themes. PG-rated movies are mostly child-friendly, but other scenes might need any kind of parental guidance. A 12A certificate enables children below 12 years old to watch movies in movie theatres and is accompanied by an adult, but 12 rated movies can contain medium content like non graphic violence and mild strong language. Films with more intense content, such as more intense violence, higher frequency of strong language or adult themes are rated 15 and are limited to viewers over 15 years of age. The 18 rating is associated with films having explicit or highly mature material and is only allowed to an adult audience.

The BBFC has a number of major elements when categorizing movies and these include violence, language and fear. A bit of violence is allowed in the lower category of like PG or 12, but the hard violence or even graphic violence is restricted to higher categories like 15 or 18. In the same way, strong language is not used extensively in lower rated films but is more tolerable in high classification ratings. The scenes that are aimed at producing fear or distress are also assessed carefully and the content which is very intense or disturbing is not considered suitable to be seen by the young viewers. These rules make the classification of films responsible and uniform.

In the case of a particular film project, a 12/12A rating would be the most appropriate as it would allow a broader audience, at the same time allowing some level of narrative sophistication and conflict. The language used is moderate, there is no graphic violence, and other mild scenes of fear making it suitable to a film that is intended to be entertaining and not a movie that is too intense and unsuitable to watch with younger audiences. This category is very effective when it comes to a wider target audience and it still allows a great degree of creativity.

In order to satisfy the criteria of 12 rating, some changes to the content of the film would be required. Any portrayal of violence would have to be in no way graphic but rather implied. Strong language would have to be minimized and kept within acceptable levels. Also, scenes designed to provoke fear would require to be toned so that the images would not be offensive or too lengthy. Such changes would make the movie interesting and still be able to meet the classification criteria.

Cinema is not the only sector in which film classification is shown, and the same goes with other media. In video games, organisations like PEGI (Pan European Game Information) issue age ratings in Europe which are based on 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18. The ESRB has assigned the following ratings in the US: E (Everyone), T (Teen), and M (Mature). In the United Kingdom, the television content is controlled by the Ofcom which ensures programmes are aired at the right moment especially concerning watershed. Although an age rating is still not a universal system in the music industry, advisory labels with explicit content are widespread, usually bearing the name of organisations like the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Finally, the categorization system in different media industries plays the crucial role of educating the audience, safeguarding the younger audience and upholding media production standards. A knowledge of these systems would allow creators to make accountable choices about their content and at the same time make sure that they reach the desired audience.


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