Do you want to know how the BBFC decide age ratings, and what's right for your children to view? Ask their expert - £300 voucher to be won

[EllieMumsnet]

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has been responsible for age ratings for cinema for over a hundred years. Their classification symbols U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18 are well known to parents and children, and are used on DVD and Blu-ray, and increasingly on video on demand platforms like Netflix. Their decisions are based on a large scale public consultation, which takes place every four-five years and reflects changes in public mood. This month, the new Classification Guidelines - which sets out what is acceptable at each age category - are going live. Findings include heightened concern from parents and teachers around online content and a clear desire for more consistency, when it comes to age ratings and information, across all platforms. If you would like to find out more about the new guidelines please click here.

So, the BBFC’s Head of Education, Lucy Brett, is here to answer any of your questions.

Here’s what BBFC have to say: “Over the last five years the way we consume film and video has changed beyond all recognition. That's why it's so important that there is consistency between what people watch on and offline. Our research shows that both parents and teenagers want us to give them the information and guidance that they need to view what's right for them. We're here to listen to what people want, which is why they trust our age ratings.”

Here is a bit more information on Lucy Brett: “Lucy Brett is the BBFC’s Head of Education, and heads up the BBFC’s education programme. Ever year she speaks to thousands of children, teenagers and parents across every corner of the UK. Lucy hears directly about the concerns that young people have about films, how they would like classification to work and what the BBFC should be flagging and thinking about when making decisions. Lucy is also a mum of two, and her favourite film is True Grit”

Do you have a question for Lucy? Do you want to know what teachers think to age ratings? Do you have any questions about specific content that your child might have watched? Or maybe you have specific questions about what sort of content you might see in a 15?

Whatever your questions around the BBFC’s guidelines, post them below and we will choose 10 in total for Lucy to answer. Everyone who posts their questions will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Do you get feedback and act upon it? For example parents of a 15 classified film watching it and saying actually it seemed more like an 18, that kind of thing?
Are ratings ever changed is what I'd like to know.
I like and adhere to the ratings (so far, so good), so thank you!

I’d like to know how it is decided which type of things are deemed unsuitable for children to watch at different ages.

I’d far rather my kids heard the odd swear word than watch gory or violent scenes that tend to upset them and give them nightmares. Yet it often seems that film raters give films with swear words in higher age ratings than films that show graphic violence.

How/ Has the ratings changed over the years?

Would you agree that these guidelines need to be taken into consideration but that ultimately, knowing the child/young person and tailoring their viewing experiences to their unique personalities/sensitivities is just as important?

Why was Holmes and Watson rated a 12A? Level of innuendo, obscenity and sexual language was staggering and outweighed anything I have seen in a 15 rated film!

I’d like to know more detail about content. I’ve used common sense media for information on older films but I think if the BBFC did something similar with new releases it would make it easier to explain to the kids why you won’t allow them to watch.
I find it hard as I can’t afford to watch them once on my own to make my own judgement and would love to have a reliable, trustworthy source to use.
Do you have plans to expand on the comments currently made? “Mild peril” isn’t specific enough for making a judgement.

I have two children, my oldest has SEN, the age ratings are really not relevant to him, he needs more protection than age alone. Is there anything you can do?

Is there a difference between the way you rate now. Compared to the films 20 years ago?

How do you weigh up the content and arrive at a rating decision? I.e. if there is a one minute violence scene in an otherwise harmless movie - how does that work? Is swearing treated in the same way as sexual content/ violence? Would swearing alone warrant a 15 rating compared to a 12?

Do production companies submit a film to you with a suggested age banding as a starting point? Or do you start from a neutral position? How many people watch the film to decide on the certificate? How many times do they watch it?

Parents need to be educated on what the individual ratings mean. I wasn't aware that a PG is meant to be for kids 8 and older until I downloaded the guidelines! Is there any intention of doing adverts to highlight what the ratings mean?

What type of things would never be passed for general viewing?

What are the backgrounds of the people who make these decisions and how old are they? How diverse is the group of people making these judgements?

When I watch movies from when I was younger that are PG I find there's more 'bad language' in them. Is this due to more stringent guidelines or are films generally more 'wholesome'? I'm thinking about things like The Goonies.

It is good to have more information on a film or TV series - we have probably helped keep several companies in the black by having to watch films twice because we need to make a judgement call on suitability for our DS.

The certificates are largely irrelevent at certain ages eg 10-11 when all the schoolkids are watching eg Marvel films etc and can talk an adult into taking them. Peer pressure is, as ever, a hard thing to legislate around.

But films aren't the biggest problem. Tablets/YouTube/Netflix are. I can parental lock down Netflix but YouTube is a whole different issue and I'd love to know how/if the BBFC can compel YouTube or ISPs to restrict things. There's only so much one can do as a responsible parent short of removing the devices...

I haven’t used age ratings much so far but now DCs are getting older I probably should. Is there any guidance on why a film has been given a certain classification under each of the key headings you test against? For example we would be more comfortable about swearing but less so about violence

Have age ratings changed - we often watch older movies 1980s/1990s movies and are sometimes taken aback by the language especially. I think violence is treated less harshly but that could just be perception.

I didn't realise that a PG is meant for children over 8! It would be good to have better access to this information. I have children varying from 13 to 9 months so very hard to keep track of. Would be useful to have more information in the adverts or on the DVD case

Is there any plan to age rate youtube videos? With the rise in YouTube viewing and the number of channels specifically targeted at children it would be useful to have clear guidance available and enforceable on what is appropriate.

Who really decides the appropriate level for swearing, violence and sex? Are there panels of mixed genders and ages etc but then one person ultimately decides?

It sounds like your guidelines are based on opinions from parents and teachers, which seems rather subjective. Is there any other input from other professionals or scientific research? Is there much research done into how damaging certain levels of swearing are at different ages, or different types of depictions of violence?

Why exactly does the classification start at 4 years old?

A statement, rather than a question really, butnis does appear that there is far more bad language at ‘lower’ age ratings than in the past. 12A films often have lots of bad language and sexual references. I’m sure that goalposts have moved, so to speak; would this be true?

I wonder whether it is still even worth doing this, now that almost all children have access to the internet. Sadly I've heard children in the primary playground talking about playing Call of Duty etc. We need to protect them but how?

I would like to know which ratings you think you might have got wrong?

Also, I watched a trailer for one of the new spiderman movies the other month with my two boys, it is a PG, only in that version of the trailer a (fairly hilarious) swearword had not yet been dubbed out for the milder insult that it has been replaced with. Does BBFC have a role in rating trailers for movies on the internet?

Finally, I was appalled by the sexual assault scene in the PG Back to the Future which I was watching with my young children on Netflix. Is there anything that BBFC can do to help streaming services provide better parental advice to people now that the whole back catalogue of films is just dumped on the net for everyone to watch? It might have been PG in the 80s to watch casual sexual violence, but it isn't now!