The BBFC press release reads: BBFC launches new Classification Guidelines reflecting shifts in public opinion towards violence, drug use, sex and use of language
Today, the BBFC publishes its new
Classification Guidelines, informed by its largest-ever public consultation. Throughout 2023, the BBFC spoke to 12,000 people across the UK to explore what matters most to audiences when it comes to classification.
The research
found people are now more concerned about depictions of violence on screen in content across all age ratings. The findings demonstrated broad support for how the BBFC currently classifies violence, but audiences expressed concerns about how distressing
or disturbing some forms of violence can be. Going forward, a higher rating may be required for violence across all age-rating categories, especially when particularly intense or impactful scenes occur.
The last time the BBFC
conducted this research was in 2019. Then, as now, sexual violence was the biggest area of concern for UK audiences. Since 2019, however, suicide and self-harm has risen to the second biggest area of concern - ahead of sex, violence and drugs. People
expressed a clear desire to be warned about this type of content, and the BBFC will continue to highlight suicide and self-harm in its content advice.
Although people are largely in agreement with the BBFC's current approach
towards classifying drug content across all age categories, audiences have become more relaxed about cannabis use and solvent misuse than they were in 2019.
The research revealed that people are now slightly more accepting of
cannabis misuse at 12A/12, so long as it is not detailed, glamorised or frequent. The BBFC will therefore take a less restrictive approach to such material, but maintain its current standards on other drugs. People also felt the BBFC's current policy
towards classifying solvent misuse was overly cautious, and this finding has been supported by expert advice. Such content will now be treated less restrictively.
People are calling for a more cautious approach to classifying sex
scenes at the border of 12A/12 and 15. Participants were concerned by the level of sexual detail, nudity and the duration of the sex scenes rated 12A/12 under the 2019 guidelines. Similar content is now more likely to be rated 15. However, the research
also indicates that audiences are happy for classification to be more lenient towards some sex references at the 15/18 borderline, especially in comic contexts.
The new research also offers valuable insights into the evolving
perspectives and expectations of parents and caregivers, grandparents, educators, and young people.
Parents are concerned about the normalisation of bad language, especially terms with sexual or misogynistic connotations. For
example, terms such as son of a bitch, bitch, dick. The worry is that young viewers may hear and repeat such language. Language such as this may now require a higher age rating.
Audiences are comfortable with the relaxation of
standards across most areas when it comes to trailers, especially in the junior categories (U, PG and 12A/12). For example, in some cases, this may include isolated use of strong language in trailers at 12A/12.
More than eight in
ten (81%) people want a consistent age rating system across cinema, physical media and Video on Demand (VoD)/streaming services. Netflix, which carries BBFC age ratings across its entire UK platform, is now the third most popular source of recognition
for BBFC age rating symbols (behind cinema and physical media) and the second most recognised source for content advice (behind cinema).
The findings support that the BBFC and its iconic age rating symbols are highly trusted, well
recognised and valued by audiences across the UK.
99% of respondents recognise at least one BBFC age rating symbol, with 78% recognising them all 97% of people see a benefit to age ratings for some or all audiences 90% of
parents/caregivers (a 7% increase in the last five years), 91% of teachers, and 88% of teens aged 16-19 trust BBFC age ratings all or most of the time 87% of parents/caregivers agree with BBFC age ratings all or most of the time 85% of respondents trust
BBFC age ratings to accurately reflect the nature of the content they consume
To help parents facilitate important conversations and help increase awareness, the BBFC has created a collection of BBFC Guides that focus on various
classification areas such as discrimination, drugs, and sex. Each bite-sized guide provides an overview of how the BBFC classifies different issues, what they mean at each age rating, and a collection of film case studies.
President, Natasha Kaplinsky OBE stated:
At the BBFC, we're dedicated to ensuring what we do is responsive to the ever evolving world around us. Since we last asked people across the country what they thought about our standards, society has changed, and
opinions have followed 203 it's fascinating how this vast body of new research reflects this.
This is the first Classification Guidelines update I have overseen as President. Not only am I proud and thrilled to launch these
findings, but as someone who has always looked to the BBFC for guidance for myself and my family, seeing first-hand the level of dedication and insight that went into this process has been eye-opening and inspiring. Without a doubt, we are truly shaped
by you.
Chief Executive, David Austin OBE stated:
The effectiveness of what we do relies entirely on trust. To ensure we have that trust, and to get to the heart of what audiences
think and feel, we go directly to them. Only by doing this can we ensure we are classifying content in line with the expectations of families across the UK. This is essential to maintaining the extraordinarily high levels of public trust that the BBFC is
privileged to enjoy.
