Classification - the process of giving age ratings and content advice to films and television shows. This helps people decide what to watch, but is also a legally binding classification, and if cinemas let people below the age rating in to see the film or stores sell the product to people that are underage, they could;d and would have legal action taken against them.
Censorship - is when a company (BBFC, IPSO, ASA, OFCOM, PEGI) will recommend cuts or changes to a text to make it conform to the rules. When a director knows that it wants its target audience to be 13 and 14 year old girls, they are not allowed to drop the 'F bomb' in the middle of a scene for no reason. This would be when it would be recommended to cut the word so keep the rating at a 12 or a 12A.
BBFC - British Board of Film Classification
The BBFC have at least two Compliance Officers watch the film that is getting ready for cinema release, and then decide on an age rating. If they are having problems because of a certain scene or a few words, then another officer would be called in. If there are still issues, then more people would be called in, l going all the way up to the BBFC's Chief Executive, Presidents and Vice-Presidents. If the director wanted the film to be released at a certain age rating, and there are only a couple of words that cross the line, then it would be suggested that they are cut. This refers to the process of classification.
DVD releases are a lot more simple, as they have already been classified for a television release. This means that they only need to be seen by one Compliance Officer, but opinions from other officers, the Compliance Manager, the Head of Compliance and Board of Classification could be brought in if the content is harder to classify. This could be because of context issues. Something like Band of Brothers is a very gory and gruesome series, but is only classified as a 15 because of the context it has (World War Two) and it is considered as educational.
IPSO - Independent Press Standards Organisation
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