UK film board tightens guidance on sex scenes in 12/12A-rated releases | Film industry

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has introduced stricter guidelines for sex scenes and nudity in 12 and 12A productions, saying the public are concerned about the amount of explicit content to which young people are being exposed.

In the BBFC’s first major audience research for five years, sexual violence remained the biggest area of concern.

After surveying 12,000 people, the BBFC found that public opinion had shifted on sex, nudity, violence and drug use on screen, with respondents calling for a more cautious approach to sex scenes that could feature in 12/12A films.

The survey showed viewers 28 trailers, 151 clips and 33 films – including the James Bond film Goldfinger – in order to gauge “public sensitivity”.

The BBFC’s president, Natasha Kaplinsky, said there had been no “seismic shift” since the last research in 2019, although there were some significant changes.

While depictions of sex and nudity caused concern, respondents took a more liberal view of some drug use, such as of cannabis “so long as it is not detailed, glamorised or frequent”.

The BBFC said it would therefore take a less restrictive approach to such content, with Kaplinsky telling the BBC that the recent Bob Marley biopic One Love received a 12A rather than 15 rating despite it depicting drug use.

She said: “The public have told us there is an easing, a greater tolerance of dope, and the message of One Love is essentially about peace. Marijuana is completely essential to the Rastafarian religion so it felt important to give that a 12A rather than a 15.”

Kaplinsky said the organisation had to adapt to an “ever-evolving world”. She said: “Since we last asked people across the country what they thought about our standards, society has changed and opinions have followed – it’s fascinating how this vast body of new research reflects this.”

An area of concern for respondents was the use of bad language, with terms such as “son of a bitch”, “bitch”, “dick” and others with sexual or misogynistic connotations being highlighted as problematic by viewers. Such language may now require a higher age rating.

The BBFC added that while people were broadly in favour of how violence was currently classified, “audiences expressed concerns about how distressing or disturbing some forms of violence can be”, meaning a higher rating may be required for violence across all age ratings.

The BBFC chief executive, David Austin, said: “The effectiveness of what we do relies entirely on trust. To ensure we have that trust, and to get to the heart of what audiences think and feel, we go directly to them.

“Only by doing this can we ensure we are classifying content in line with the expectations of families across the UK. This is essential to maintaining the extraordinarily high levels of public trust that the BBFC is privileged to enjoy.”

The last time the guidelines were tweaked, in 2019, the BBFC adopted a stricter position on the use of racist language in programmes, such as the N-word, saying “attitudes had shifted” towards offensive behaviour or language.

The standards are updated every four to five years and are often described as a barometer of public opinion.

The contemporary guidelines are used to reclassify older films, essentially meaning productions that might have been shot 60 years ago are judged by modern standards.

When Mary Poppins came in for reclassification on the 60th anniversary of its release, its rating was raised to PG due to discriminatory language, and in 2022 the 1978 animated film Watership Down was given a PG rating as classifiers sought to “remain in step with societal standards”.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has introduced stricter guidelines for sex scenes and nudity in 12 and 12A productions, saying the public are concerned about the amount of explicit content to which young people are being exposed.

In the BBFC’s first major audience research for five years, sexual violence remained the biggest area of concern.

After surveying 12,000 people, the BBFC found that public opinion had shifted on sex, nudity, violence and drug use on screen, with respondents calling for a more cautious approach to sex scenes that could feature in 12/12A films.

The survey showed viewers 28 trailers, 151 clips and 33 films – including the James Bond film Goldfinger – in order to gauge “public sensitivity”.

The BBFC’s president, Natasha Kaplinsky, said there had been no “seismic shift” since the last research in 2019, although there were some significant changes.

While depictions of sex and nudity caused concern, respondents took a more liberal view of some drug use, such as of cannabis “so long as it is not detailed, glamorised or frequent”.

The BBFC said it would therefore take a less restrictive approach to such content, with Kaplinsky telling the BBC that the recent Bob Marley biopic One Love received a 12A rather than 15 rating despite it depicting drug use.

She said: “The public have told us there is an easing, a greater tolerance of dope, and the message of One Love is essentially about peace. Marijuana is completely essential to the Rastafarian religion so it felt important to give that a 12A rather than a 15.”

Kaplinsky said the organisation had to adapt to an “ever-evolving world”. She said: “Since we last asked people across the country what they thought about our standards, society has changed and opinions have followed – it’s fascinating how this vast body of new research reflects this.”

An area of concern for respondents was the use of bad language, with terms such as “son of a bitch”, “bitch”, “dick” and others with sexual or misogynistic connotations being highlighted as problematic by viewers. Such language may now require a higher age rating.

The BBFC added that while people were broadly in favour of how violence was currently classified, “audiences expressed concerns about how distressing or disturbing some forms of violence can be”, meaning a higher rating may be required for violence across all age ratings.

The BBFC chief executive, David Austin, said: “The effectiveness of what we do relies entirely on trust. To ensure we have that trust, and to get to the heart of what audiences think and feel, we go directly to them.

“Only by doing this can we ensure we are classifying content in line with the expectations of families across the UK. This is essential to maintaining the extraordinarily high levels of public trust that the BBFC is privileged to enjoy.”

The last time the guidelines were tweaked, in 2019, the BBFC adopted a stricter position on the use of racist language in programmes, such as the N-word, saying “attitudes had shifted” towards offensive behaviour or language.

The standards are updated every four to five years and are often described as a barometer of public opinion.

The contemporary guidelines are used to reclassify older films, essentially meaning productions that might have been shot 60 years ago are judged by modern standards.

When Mary Poppins came in for reclassification on the 60th anniversary of its release, its rating was raised to PG due to discriminatory language, and in 2022 the 1978 animated film Watership Down was given a PG rating as classifiers sought to “remain in step with societal standards”.