Research: Censorship

What is film censorship?

Film censorship is when a film is needed to be re-edited or even have cut outs in the film, or change some of the films scenes. Maybe due to the amount of content that the film has shown as it could be said has harmful to the audience watching the film. Also the films can become banned from the country or go through loads of cuts from the film so that it doesn't have the content too disturbing and if the BBFC finds the film suitable for the age group that they think is right to the audience.

Role Of BBFC: 
In the UK the BBFC is responsible for all the national film classification that the british citizens watch in the cinemas or any where else. What the job of the BBFC is, to protect the public from any harmful and offensive type of content that is shown in the film that could possibly harm the members of the public by stopping it being released in UK cinemas unless the film has been changed or edited that the BBFC wants. For example; censor the scene or cut out the scenes. 
They could ban the film if the want if they think it is too harmful towards the public.

What Gets Censored?

- Strong Violence
- Sex & Nudity 
- Sexual Violence
- Language
- Controversy And The Press
- Corrupting The Young
- Religion 
- Drug Abuse
- Class
- Graphic Representation Of Realism 

Difference Between Cut & Banned:

The different between banned and cut is when a film is banned it is then banned completely removed from the cinema viewing to the public audience due to harming and offensive content. And the cut from the film is cutting things out of the film to protect the audience from what they are viewing. The people that do this, does it to protect the public from the harmful content that the directors make, that the audience may become exposed from watching the film. Also things in the trailer may be cut out because it could possible be too harmful for the young audience to watch.



Forna & Kemode....

These two people are fighting for and against the censorship of films. These two people was on a TV show in 1999 on channel 4 on a short season about censorship. During this show there was a case about the censorship of films which these two people have debated about. 

Four arguments made by Forna for censorship were:

- To protect the audience from racist view social stereotypes. 
- To protect the audience from the bias views. 
- To protect the audience from being influenced by the movie. (E.G. Think being raped is good/pleasure.) 
Copycat Killing. 
- Human manipulation in real & film world, thinking it's okay in film but not real life. 

Four arguments made by Kermode against censorship were:

- Being told what you can't and can see watch - difference between right and wrong. 
- Fear of expression - freedom of speech. 
- The public should be able to distinguish between action and non - fiction. 
- Everyone has their own response to things - not just a general emotion. 


My View: 
I think that i am more on Forna's side because i do think that i should be protected in watching certain things in the cinema's, also while the BBFC is putting age certificates in what goes into the cinema of what i can watch and also is cutting and banning films in the UK, i think this is right because it wouldn't allow me as an audience to become effected by the films that i watch. For me i do agree a little bit with Kermode because i do feel controlled by the things i watch, but thats where feeling protected and knowing that certain things is wrong. But if there was no control in the film industry of banning and cutting films i think i would have been influenced because of the films. 

Conclusion: 
What i have learned about the film regulations i that not to be to explicit in the thriller that i am going to make. Also not to show any sexual violence or nudity. Because knowing that i have boundaries will allow the thriller i make not effect the audience in where they will not know the difference or be manipulated from the thriller.