Certification of films is put into place to protect the public, more more specifically children, from watching harmful content which could unsettle or disturb them. This is important to ensure that viewers understand what to expect before watching a film or video, to be able to judge in advance whether its suitable for them to watch or not. This is especially important for parents when judging what to let their children what or not, as many films will be inappropriate for children under a certain age to view. Therefore this warns parent before letting their children watch, telling them that it is probably not suitable for their children if they are under a certain age. If a film or video is given the wrong certifications, this could cause for serious commercial implications. If this is done wrong and underage viewers go to see films that are unsuitable for them, this could cause serious damage to them, potentially being very harmful, especially if the child is sensitive. Advertising the wrong certification for films would not warn people in advance the appropriateness of a film and therefore it wouldn't let them judge accurately whether it is suitable for them or their children to watch.
Questionnaire Responses
In order to gain more feedback, I decided to put together a questionnaire to ask a wider range of viewers what they thought my film should be classified as. This was very interesting to read these and discover what a variety of people thought.
These results show that everyone who answered the questionnaire believed that this would not be suitable for children under 8yrs old. This is a very influential statistic to have as it says that everyone believed that this shouldn't be rated a U. Therefore from this I will consider ruling this classification out, as the majority of people thought it would be inappropriate for children under 8 years old.
Corresponding with the previous question, these responses show that a majority of people believe this film would not be suitable for children under the age of 4 years old. I actually agree with this majority as I believe that showing death in the way the film does, a very young children could find this upsetting.
These results show that the majority of people didn't find the language in my film offensive. I agree with this majority as I don't believe offensive language was used. This helps me to classify what film I should set my film at, as it rules out the option of giving it a 12 or above, as bad language was not used and therefore wouldn't be inappropriate for children under 12 to view.
These responses show that 100% of people thought this film would require parental guidance. This is very beneficial for me when determining what to certify my film as, as it shows that a majority of people believe that children younger than 8 should be accompanied by a parent when watching this film. This definitely influences my decisions when choosing a classification, as it suggests that this film should be rated a PG.
Concluding this questionnaire, I asked people what certification they would give this film and why. Nobody suggested that the film be rated over a PG, which suggests to me that this would be suitable for children under 12 to watch. However there is a slight contract between people who believe this should be rated a PG and others who this it should be a U.
Above, I have included a screenshot of the responses people gave as to why they chose the certification they did. This was to provide a clearer idea of why people who choose each classification, helping me to justify my point when I make a firm decision of which to certify my film as.
Overall, the results from this questionnaire suggests that a majority of viewers would find this film to unsettling for children under 8 yrs old. The results from this are very beneficial, as they help me to determine what the target audience would certify my film as, but also gives me an idea of what other people outside the target audience, helping me to gain a better perspective of what a majority of people think.
From my focus group and questionnaire feedback, I have been able to decide what certification I am going to give my film. I have decided to certify my film as a PG - Parental Guidance advised, as I feel that this would be too emotional for a children younger than 8 to handle. However for children 8yrs and above, I do think that parental guidance is needed as this could be quite upsetting, especially for sensitive children.
Now, I must send this letter off for acceptance to the British Board of Film Classification, to gain their approval for the classification I have chosen for my film.
Letter of Classification
BBFC
3 Soho Square
London,
W1D 3HD
To the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC),
I am writing to you to gain approval for the classification I have given my film for my Unit 41, media studies coursework.
From focus group feedback and data results from my questionnaire, I have decided to give my film the following rate of PG - Parental Guidance required. I learnt from my feedback that many people thought this film would be too damaging for children under 8 to view and would be quite difficult for them to understand. This is why I haven't rated my film as a U - Universal. I decided on PG as it was the most popular response from my primary data, but also because I felt that it may be unsettling for children as young as 8 to watch, without their parents' support.
Therefore I would like to conclude that I am requesting my film be classified as a PG, in order to prevent young children from being unsettled.
Thank you, I look forward to your reply.
Simone Moxam, Kent College.
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