Research:Film Censorship

Film censorship is when a film is re-edited to either cut out or change scenes due to the content it shows as it may
 be considered harmful to the public. 
A film can either be banned from a country or asked to be to cut a few times so that the content is not too disturbing and the BBFC find it suitable for a certain age group

A highly expert and experienced regulator of the moving image.
BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification

The BBFC has an important job which is to advise and protect viewers from moving images. Provide public information that empowers them (and parents) to make appropriate viewing decisions for themselves and those in their care. They help to protect vulnerable viewers and society from the bad consequences of viewing potentially harmful or unsuitable content while respecting adult freedom

of choice. In order to help protect those vulnerable there are age certificate created by the BBFC.


 banned or cut?

There is a difference between a film being cut and being banned. When a film is cut there only the currupted sections gets cut by the BBFC if they dont think it is suitable fot that age certificate. On the other hand when a film is banned it cannot be shown ever in a public cinema or in that country. Which means theres more than one part that is currupted and it is unacceptable for public viewing.


These are some examples of films that have been banned.
A example of a banned filmed is the Cannibal Holocaust which is an Italian horror film that is banned to this day in over 50 different countries due to the film's content being too disturbing

Forna Vs. Kermode debate:
In 1999 Channel 4 broadcasted a short season of programmes about censorship. During this season it showed two short programmes; one of them was about a case fighting for the use of censorship, and the other was against the use of censorship. 
Fighting for was a journalist called Aminatta Forna and fighting against was a film critic and broadcaster: Mark Kermode.
Three arguments made by Forna for censorship were:

1. The public associate themselves with different characters and may be influenced to put themselves in that situation
2. Some films may start to break down the barriers us as humans put up, for example there may be a film about a woman being raped however the woman starts to enjoy even though before they watched the film the audience would think it wrong for her to do so.
3. The power of words and images featured in some films may affect the audience and have the potential to stir racial hatred etc.

Three arguments made by Kermode against censorship were:

1. Everyone has different reactions and interpretations on what they see in the film.
2. It is unfair that we are being told what we can and can't watch. As human beings we know what is right and what is wrong so it should be our choice whether to watch it or not.
3. The issue of responsibility; policing films is impossible, the films we watch should'nt be seen to be encouraging however they should be seen as showing the audience realistic situations e.g. rape/ murder etc.

In my opinion kermodes arguments are more pasuassive because I believe we are all responsible for our own actions and what we see on tv.