6degrees - What role do you see BBFC serving ?
JB - The central role of the Board is to classify films, videos
and video games in line with statutory requirements. This serves a dual purpose: to
protect the film industry from breaching the criminal law and allow it to comply with
local authority licensing arrangements, and to provide consumers with information about
the contents of films etc. in order that they can make informed viewing decisions.
6degrees - What changes occurred when Robin Duval took over from
James Ferman?
JB - The nature of classification is constantly evolving in line
with changes in public sensibilities and attitudes. This makes it difficult to isolate
shifts during the transfer between one director and another. James was in the post for a
long time, during which radical changes affected the Board's work (not least the
introduction of video). It is too early to say how Robin's approach to the business of
classification will impact on the system.
6degrees - Is there a resource archive that you access when
attempting to place films in context?
JB - Examiners have a number of resources at their disposal when
attempting to place films in context. First and foremost is their combined knowledge of
previous decisions- wherever possible the Board operates on the principle of precedent,
allowing for continuity within the system. This shared knowledge is backed up by written
records stretching back over the years, with detailed notes on all previous decisions.
These records are in the process of being stored electronically, allowing instant access
via a powerful database search engine.
The Board also has a comprehensive library of film related literature
which provides a valuable insights into film history, criticism and so on.
6degrees - There seems to be a more transparent and accountable
feel to the BBFC lately - comment?
JB - When Andreas Whittam Smith became President, he outlined
three objectives for the Board: to promote consistency within the classification system;
to ensure that the Board remained in touch with public attitudes; and to encourage the
Board to be as open as possible. There are a variety of means to achieving these aims.
Since 1985 the Board has been obliged to lay an annual report before Parliament as the
designated authority for video classification. In addition, the Board strives to answer
all letters from the public. Recently, the commitment to openness has been facilitated
with the publication of a set of classification guidelines, and the provision of access to
the classification database available on the web site. Last year the Board also ran a
series of roadshows around the country, in an attempt to open up the work of the Board and
invite feedback from the public.
6degrees - What guidelines, if any, are there from the government
to your policy decisions?
JB - The government provides no guidelines. The BBFC must,
however, comply with the requirements of the law including the Video Recordings Act 1984-
for example Section 4A which requires that, when classifying videos, the Board must have
special regard to any harm that may be caused by the portrayal of criminal behaviour,
illegal drugs, violence, sexual activity etc. Policy decisions (and the classification
guidelines) are a matter entirely for the BBFC.
6degrees - Previously banned video nasties are now being released
what are the BBFC’s attitudes to this, given that anyone can gain access to these
movies?
JB - Many of the so called 'video nasties' were never prosecuted
under the Obscene Publications Act, and so are eligible, in principle, for video
classification. These titles have lost a lot of their power due to the fact that audience
expectations, and the ways in which audiences relate to films, change over time.
Audiences, used to films like ‘Scream’ and the ‘Nightmare on Elm
Street’ series, are no longer taken in by dated horror techniques to the same extent
that they were when these films were at the cutting edge of the genre. Things have moved
on, and the Board recognises that older horror titles can be read in different ways with
the passage of time. As for these titles appearing in the home, they have such notoriety
as a result of their mythological status as 'nasties' that many parents will be forewarned
about their likely contents and can act to restrict them accordingly.
6degrees - Is there a relaxing on the attitudes to violence and
soft porn laws?
JB - No.
6degrees - How significant is the film ‘The Idiots’
being released uncut?
JB - The decision to pass ‘The Idiots’ without cuts was
entirely consistent with our written guidelines on sexual material at '18', which allow
explicit detail if it is brief and justified by the narrative context. It does not signal
any change in policy.
6degrees - Does media / press reaction make a difference to the
way films are released?
JB - Media reaction to the Board's work is a useful, if flawed,
barometer of public attitudes. By monitoring media coverage of the Board's work, we are
able to get a sense of the ways in which the public relate to our decisions. This can
provide useful feedback, although we recognise that such coverage is not a perfect
representation of public attitudes.
6degrees - What can you see for the future of the BBFC?
JB - These are interesting times. Film and video are ever more
popular, and there are some exciting developments ahead (DVD, the continuing development
of digital media etc.) Two factors in particular are going to influence the Board's future
operations. The first is an appeal in July, brought by two porn distributors who are
appealing recent R18 decisions. The outcome of the appeal, heard by the Video Appeals
Committee, will have implications for the way in which sexual material is dealt with by
the Board in the future. The second development is the incorporation of the European
Convention of Human Rights into UK law. Article 10, which deals with freedom of
expression, will inevitably have some bearing on our work as regulators.
