Racial hatred 'upsets film-goers'

The 12A rating was introduced in 2002

Racial violence, self-harm and suicide are the key things that the public want movie ratings to warn them about, research has suggested.

Concerns about depictions of race and suicide have grown in the past five years, said the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

The body published new classification guidelines on Wednesday.

The 12A rating is also being clarified after only 40% of the 11,000 surveyed understood what it meant.

Public attitudes

The research into movie ratings is the first by the BBFC since ratings guidelines were last changed in 2000, and was carried out to inform Wednesday's guideline changes.

As a result the BBFC will take greater note of scenes involving suicide techniques, self-harming and incitement to racial hatred or violence when allocating ratings.

Last year censors gave Tracey Emin's film Top Spot an 18 certificate because it showed a teenage girl committing suicide.

The film was subsequently withdrawn from theatrical release at the artist's insistence.

"The clear outcome of all the research was that the guidelines are still, on the whole, in line with public attitudes and concerns," said BBFC president Sir Quentin Thomas.

We did consider whether a cut-off age should be introduced to address the problem of very young children being taken to unsuitable films David Cooke, BBFC director

"However, drawing on both the public's responses and expert advice, we have added, or given great weight to, a number of key concerns."

The overwhelming majority of those surveyed felt that the BBFC's role was to protect children from unsuitable material while allowing adults to choose for themselves what they watch, said the body's director, David Cooke.

"We are acutely aware that there will be works which we pass which may shock or offend some sections of the population, just as we sometimes outrage libertarian views when we intervene to cut, or even refuse a certificate to, a work," he added.

"What the research shows, and the guidelines reflect, is that for the majority of the public we get it right most of the time."

Cigar

Anti-smoking campaigners had lobbied the BBFC over the glamorisation of smoking in films.

But while the new guidelines say greater emphasis will be given to these concerns, the board has decided against banning smoking altogether.

Focus groups were shown clips of smoking scenes from films, including one from the James Bond film Die Another Day in which Pierce Brosnan enjoyed a Havana cigar.

Pierce Brosnan (right) smoked a cigar in Die Another Day

"They were quite happy with it and thought a junior audience were unlikely to take it up," said Mr Cooke.

"Quite a high percentage felt quite strongly we shouldn't prohibit smoking in films because it would be realistic."

However, he said any perceived glamorising of smoking, drug or alcohol abuse might affect the eventual classification awarded.

Of those questioned for the survey, only 40% understood what the 12A stood for. Introduced in 2002, it offers guidance to parents that no-one under the age of 12 can view the film unaccompanied but an adult can take younger children to see it.

An explanation as to the meaning of U (universal), PG (parental guidance) and 12A will also now be shown at the beginning of films with this classification.

"We did consider whether a cut-off age should be introduced to address the problem of very young children being taken to unsuitable films," said Mr Cooke. "But our current view is that imposing a mandatory lower age restriction on an advisory rating would only increase confusion."