top of page
Joshua

British board of film classification (bbfc) ratings system

The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.
 

PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.

 

Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child.

 

12A-rated films are usually given a 12 certificate for the VHS/DVD version unless extra material has been added that requires a higher rating. The content guidelines are identical to those used for the 12A certificate.
 

 

No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.  

 

  • Strong violence.

  •  Frequent strong language.

  •   Portrayals of sexual activity.

  •   Strong verbal references to sex.

  •   Sexual nudity.

  •   Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual     violence.

  •   Discriminatory language or behaviour.

  •   Drug taking.

 

Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy / rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children. 18 works are for adults and can contain strong issues such as:

 

  •   Very strong violence.

  •   Strong portrayals of sexual activity.

  •   Scenes of sexual violence.

  •   Strong horror.

  •   Strong blood and gore.

  •   Real sex (in some circumstances).

  •   Discriminatory language and behaviour.

     

The R18 category is a special and legally-restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. R18 videos may not be supplied by mail order.

Evaluation:


The main reason we completed this task was to grasp an idea of what sort of age rating/ category our idea should we use it, would fall into. This is important as it can really debate what age or type of audience come to see our product. If we branded it universal it would be hard to make it psychological or action packed and still be suitable for children. Therefore doing research on BBFC and certificate ratings will be useful in better deciding our target audience and style of opening we produce.

 

This will help us decide what classification our opening will be most suitable to for the society.

 

This will help us decide on the classification of how appropriate our film is for certain age groups, so for e.g if it's not suitable for u15 we would use the sign and/or if it’s suitable for all age groups we will use the universal sign.

 

Maxwell St. Hill, Juriz Castillo and Andrew Fernando

 

 

bottom of page