British Board of Film Classification

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rate films, in ages, in terms of the content. There are seven main catagories which I will analyse below:


The first catagory is U. This stands for universal, meaning it is suitable for anyone to watch including the ages of 4 yrs and above. The contents of the film will NOT contain and drug references, discrimination, imitable behaviour that a child could potentially copy if it's dangerous, only mild references to sex and mild nudity (natural), mild language and violence, and horror scenes shouldn't be to scary or frequent.


The next classification is PG, which stands for Parental Guidence. it is similar to the rating U however children of the age eight and above are allowed to watch it unaccompanied but it shouldn't have the possibility of scaring young children. most children can watch a film of this rating but parents are advised to check whether or not they think it is suitable for their childs viewing.


The third and fourth catagories are very similar, 12 and 12A. These films are not suitable for anyone under the age of 12. When renting or buying DVDs/videos, children under 12 cannot buy films with the rating 12. 12A on the other hand only exists in the cinema where anyone under 12 cannot watch a 12A film, unless a parent is with them is thinks that it is approriate as long as they watch with their underaged child.


The fifth catagory is 15, and films with these ratings cannot be shown to under 15 year olds. This is because the film may contain drug taking, but is not allowed to encourage misuse of drugs. It can also contain threatening horror scenes as long as they are not sexual. It can also contain dangerous behaviour including self harm and suicide as long as it is not shown in detail. Lastly, nudity and sexual activities can only be vague, not in detail.


The last two catagories are 18 and R18. They can only be shown to 18 year olds and above (adults) because of their detailed sexual content and nudity. They film could have been created in the breach of the criminal law. The difference in these ratings is that you can see 18 films in the cinema, but only R18 films (restricted 18) can be played in licensed cinemas or bought in licensed sex shops.