To what extent does the Fast and Furious franchise reflect a growing
leniency in Hollywood film certification?
Over the last decade films have increasingly
been becoming more and more part of the culture of young people, whereby age
certification of films have become ever more lenient allowing young audiences
to become exposed to violent and mature themes. As a result, moral panic has
been caused amongst the audience and the media. Due to this on-going issue it
is believed that the continued exposure of this material and content has the
ability to disturb and even persuade young audiences. Also, with the BBFC
believing that parents should determine whether their child is ready to watch
certain films upon the 12A certificate released in 2002, it is unsure whether
the BBFC is becoming an irrelevant body. Films seem to be cutting clips off to
lower the age certification in order to suit their commercial target, which
leads to the consistency of the certification process to be questioned. In
order to provide sufficient evidence of this case the text I have studied
closely is The Fast and The Furious franchise which has produced 7 films since 2001.
The BBFC have been held to much
controversy with their inconsistent film certification. They have been the UK’s
film certificate providers since 1912; prior to this there were no such
regulators therefore local councils had to provide their own ratings. The BBFC
have in fact no control over cinema releases as they do not require to be
presented for classification as local councils have the deciding factor,
however the vast majority of the time the councils do use and apply BBFC’s
certification to the films. Although, in the past there has been some cases where
the BBFC’s certificate had been overruled by the council; this was the case
with Mrs Doubtfire in 1993 when the BBFC had given it an age certification of
12 which caused a disagreement between the council and the BBFC as stated by a
spokesperson on behalf of BBFC: ‘Some
councils disagreed with our decision and gave the film a PG.’[1] However, there has also been the case whereby
the BBFC have changed their mind or have been pressurised by these large media
giants into allowing the film to be released to the age bracket they had wanted
it to such as the dark knight, which ‘was initially given a 15 certificate by
the British Board of Film Classification but this was lowered to a 12A after
producers agreed to make several cuts’[2].
Due to this some believe that the pressure from these blockbuster movie
producers may be too much for the BBFC as the producer of This is England
states: ‘By having one piece of violence and one piece of really acute verbal
violence I've managed to get an 18 certificate, whereas someone else can slay
thousands of people in a single film and that's OK.’[3]
This shows that the BBFC may not be a consistent body as suspected, with
different ratings provided for films which may not necessarily reflect the
nature of the film. One reason for this could be that the BBFC hadn’t fallen
under commercial pressures from This is England as it was a low budget film
which was produced by a smaller institution compared to the blockbuster
franchise; The Fast and The Furious. Also, another key debate is how over time
the leniency of the BBFC has reduced significantly; ‘The Hitchcock film Psycho
was given an “X” certificate on release in 1960, (equivalent to the current
“18”). However, on re-release in 1986 it
was given a “15”. In the 1960s, the use of swear-words in a TV programme was
unacceptable. Now you will frequently
hear swear words, although usually under certain conditions, including after
the 9pm watershed or when a pre-programme warning is given about bad language.’[4]
However, now it is much acceptable ‘with a spokesperson for the BBFC telling
the Telegraph that “the use of the f-word up to four times in a 12A film is
considered acceptable”’[5]
Over the years from the 1960’s, the age certification and classification of
films has changed a vast amount, with the use profanity a given amount of times
to be acceptable which in the past would never be considered ethical nor
acceptable in films for any ages of audience. This reflects the leniency in Hollywood
film certification, and due to commercial pressures and more acceptability
towards exposing children to violence and profanity, large media institutions
are permitted to show increasing amounts of violence and profanity in films to
younger audiences.
In 2001 the introduction of
blockbuster franchise The Fast and Furious, had created evidence for the case
of how the age certification has changed over the years since the very first
film. Due to this it has provided evidence for this issue whilst researching on
this topic. Over the years the BBFC have given the film a reduced rating from
the first film in the franchise being a 15 to the most recent being a 12A. In
one scene from ‘Fast and Furious 6’[6],
a military tank drives over several cars during a chase scene as the
antagonists try and escape from the proposed protagonists in the film, most
likely killing anyone inside. Although the scene was extremely violent and dangerous,
there is no blood and no injured occupants seen in these smashed vehicles,
however the audience can see that the people/person in the car was killed. The
use of slow motion had made the accidents more dramatic and violent and while
the villain was shooting civilian cars in the air. Also, a tracking shot was
also shown from the side of the tank to follow its devastating destruction and
to make it look worse. Point of view shots were used to show how close the car
drivers are to having a dangerous accident. During the scene high intensity
music is also playing to build up the suspension in the audience, along with
the sound of the cars and the crashes, which adds to the realism of the event
in the movie. However, in ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’[7],
the second film of the successful franchise, there is a very similar scene where
a red car tries to squeeze under the truck and in-between its wheels during an
illegal street race. The car is bounced back and forth between the wheels as
the driver loses control. Then the front of the car gets trapped under the
trucks wheels momentarily. Eventually the trucks wheels roll over the car
brutally crushing and killing the driver inside. Although the scenes are
similar as they both are shocking scenes of people being killed in a vicious
way, they were both noted in the certification of the movie, but the film
ratings that were given were both different, The Fast and The Furious received
an age certification of 15, whereas Fast and Furious 6 received an age
certification of 12A. This shows that over time certification has changed as
younger audiences are being exposed more and more to violence and profanity. A
study by Easterbrook shows that ‘the average American boy or girl will observe
40000 dramatizations of killing by age 18’[8].
Also, over the course of the franchise the crew that are seen to be the
protagonists and the hero’s are in fact carrying out illegal activities such as
street racing, and they also fight and murder but regardless are seen as the
hero’s; therefore in essence this romanticises their behaviour to the audience,
who are becoming younger and younger. It was found by the Daily News that ‘135
people died in accidents related to street racing in 2001, the year the current
film's predecessor "The Fast and the Furious" was released’[9],
this was double the amount of incidents compared to the year prior to the film,
which suggests that the exposure of the Fast and Furious Franchise has caused
its audience to replicate the acts of the film and lifestyle of the characters
in real life. Also, when the film 2 Fast 2 Furious was released in 2003, it was
reported that ‘two deaths have been linked to the film, including a 15-year-old
boy run down by a 13-year-old driver’[10].
This shows that while the second instalment of The Fast and Furious franchise
was given a lowered age certification, it has caused young audiences to perform
the illegal activities shown in films. This links with Blumler and Katz uses
and gratifications theory as the young audiences may possibly want to feel a
sense of personal identity with the characters therefore depicting the illegal
activities in the film in real life with negative consequences.
The ‘Dark Knight’[11]
and ‘The Hunger Games’[12]
are both examples of blockbuster films which were thought to have been given
too much of a lenient certificate for it to be shown to the younger audiences,
with complaints from celebrities to the general public. In 2012, the year which
both of these films were released a study had found that ‘there was more gun
violence in PG-13 films than in the R-rated ones out that year.’[13]
Duncan Smith on the film, Dark Knight,
said that ‘he enjoyed the film and
thought it was well-made. But he thought the BBFC had "caved in to
commercial pressures"’[14]
in terms of the certification of the
film as the violence and the profanity in the film were thought to have been
overlooked by the BBFC. Also, the Dark Knight had become the ‘most complained
about movie of the last decade in Britain, with 364 complaints.’[15]
This in turn links to Stanley Cohen’s theory of ‘moral panics’[16]
as ‘the repetitive reporting of incidents in the media creates a (possibly
inflated) fear.’[17] This
in turn may have lead to the Dark Knight becoming the most complained about
movie due to the outrage by the media of the violence in the film. Furthermore,
the BBFC ‘really is not recommending that under-12s go’[18];
so this again reinstates the inconsistency of the BBFC and that although the
12A rating was issued so that parents could decide whether their child is
suitable and mature enough to watch the film, why rate a film lower than what
they would recommend themselves. ‘The Media Effects theory has achieved
widespread acceptance by society. This theory suggests that those who are
exposed to violence in the media are influenced to behave in a violent manner.’[19]
A study by the American Academy of Pedriatrics used a sample of 77 PG-13 rated
films of which ‘a total of 2251 violent actions were observed with roughly half
(47%) of lethal magnitude.’[20]
This shows that young people may be too exposed to violence in films which could
lead to people follow. In 2012 a young man had performed a massacre during a
screening for the film Dark Knight and had then ‘reportedly told police he dyed
his hair red to look like Batman's nemesis The Joker’[21]
One of the original films that
sparked a debate into the age certification was Terminator starring Arnold
Schwarzenegger; upon the first film of the franchise’s release, Terminator was
given an age certification of 15 in 1984. In one of the scenes Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
character is shown picking up a scalpel and cutting his forearm, you can then
see a large hole in his forearm with his skin peeled to the sides with a lot of
blood visible. The lighting used in this scene is low key lighting which makes
the scene look much more dramatic and intense; the sound that was used had
matched the scene as it was slow paced, and while he moved his hand a robotic
whirring sound was playing. This scene was seen as shocking and was thought to
be very gruesome and gory. However, the 3rd Terminator which was
released in 2003 called the Terminator 3: Rise of the machines, was given a
different age certification of 12A; this caused much disagreement with the
audience as it ‘sailed close to the shores of a 15 was ‘Terminator 3: Rise of
the Machines’[22] -
which got the most complaints in 2003 (54).’[23]
In a scene in Terminator 3 while Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character is driving,
he is shown to have burn marks on his chest, which he then takes a blade to and
cuts out large section of his chest and the audience can see blood; he then
rips the flesh off his body and throws it out of the window. To show this the
use of close-up shots and medium shots made it more gruesome. These two scenes
were very similar and were both acknowledged when providing the certification,
and surely would be shocking to the audience. ‘The amount of shootings in PG-13
movies has more than tripled since 1985’[24]
this shows that since the time of the very first Terminator, there is more
violence and shooting scenes portrayed in movies aimed at younger audiences
even though the film certification has decreased for an even younger audience
to watch the films.
So, what does this all mean for the
future of certification? With the evident inconsistency in the BBFC’s film
ratings this may mean that the future of certification lies within other
bodies; these could be film institutions themselves as they all have their own
rating system in order to avoid external regulation. On the CBBFC website it states that ‘if the
filmmakers decide the likely rating is too high, they may decide to change the
film, e.g. by removing scenes or changing the special effects, so they are more
likely to get the lower rating they want. This is called a ‘cut for category’
and is the most common sort of cut made to films in the UK.’[25]
Another governing body could be local councils themselves as they have ‘the
power to ignore any decision made by the BBFC and can give them their own age
ratings.’[26] ‘We
have access to so much information and we are skilled consumers of the media.
Most of us are not passive, unthinking consumers of film or other media.’[27]
As, in the past where the BBFC may have watched hours and hours of films in
order to protect the younger audiences from profanity or violence by creating
age certificates, is redundant. This is due to kids being able to ‘watch these
films (or far worse) online anyway.’ [28]
The digital age that we live in has provided the technology savvy children the
knowledge to watch movies online illegally or legally which bypasses any
authority and control over what they could watch as there is much choice. ‘Research
has shown that many copyright criminals go to illegal sites simply because they
are easy to use, allowing films to be downloaded in high-quality formats and
watched in widescreen on domestic television sets.’[29]
This shows that not only are there many illegal sites for young children to
download films from that can be for mature audiences, but they are able to
watch the films in high quality. In order to combat this, the government are
orchestrating ways of filtering content that is displayed on the internet ‘to
“protect consumers from offensive and unlawful content" which will include
new proposals for internet filtering to protect children.’[30]
The filtering system could either work by filtering routers or ISP’s. One way
in which it has been successful to combat the unfiltered illegal downloading
sites occurred in 2011, when ’Netflix surpassed BitTorrent in terms of
bandwidth use, prompting Wired magazine to write that "for perhaps the
first time in the internet's history, the largest percentage of the net's
traffic is content that is paid for."’[31]
While Netflix allows people to watch a large number of films and TV which the
audience pays a substantial fee for deviates the audience from carrying out
criminal activities such as downloading off torrent sites. Also, this would
enable parents to monitor and filter what their child can watch so that they
are less exposed to the violence and profanity in films targeted at them due to
the leniency of the film certification.
Age certification in recent years
has become more and more lenient; as evidence continues to suggest that the
BBFC are in fact falling under commercial pressure and are actively assisting
large media film institutions in their bid to create blockbuster films. They
have helped by allowing the films the certification that they want in order to
aim their film at their target audience. As a result the age certification
slowly is becoming irrelevant with the addition to more new/digital media
institutions allowing audiences more access and younger audiences the ability
to watch content that may not be suitable for them. Also, with continued
research into the effects of exposure of violence to young audiences being
positively correlated with acts of violence in real life it is a threat to
young children as the leniency of the material being shown to them is
continuing to grow. Therefore age certification has drastically become more lenient
to the extent where it could be pointless in today’s society.
Bibliography
Aluja-Fabregat.
(1999). Personality and individual differences. Personality and curiousity
about TV and films violence in adolescents, 379-392.
Bagshaw, C.
(2009, August 27). Understanding Regulation and Censorship. Retrieved
November 1, 2014, from MediaEdu:
http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-regulation-and-censorship/
Barile, L. A.
(2003, 06 27). '2 Fast' Blamed in Street-Racing Deaths. Retrieved from
People: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,626285,00.html
Basuroy, S.
(2004). (Journal of Business. Managerial Objectives, the R-Rating Puzzle,
and the Production of Violent Films*, 156.
BBFC launch 12A
cinema advert. (2014, July 29). Retrieved October 2014, 28, from BBFC:
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc/media-centre/bbfc-launch-12a-cinema-advert
Bovingdon, E.
(2012, March 27). The most controversial 12A films. Retrieved October
30, 2014, from Yahoo! Movies :
https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/the-most-controversial-12a-films.html
Brew, S. (2014,
December 18). Taken 3 cut to get a 12A rating in the UK. Retrieved
January 12, 2015, from Den Of Geek:
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/taken/33421/taken-3-cut-to-get-a-12a-rating-in-the-uk
British Board of
Film Classification. (2015, January 15). Retrieved January 15, 2015, from
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Board_of_Film_Classification
Bushman, B. J.
(2003). Implications for Policymakers and Parents. Media Ratings for
Violence and Sex.
Child, B. (2012,
March 28). The Hunger Games' 12A classification not to the taste of
concerned parents. Retrieved November 04, 2014, from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/mar/28/hunger-games-12a-classification-concerned-parents
Chrisafis, A.
(2002, August 30). Spider-Man seizes the under-12s. Retrieved October
30, 2014, from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/aug/30/filmnews.filmcensorship
Cultivation
Theory. (2014, November 12). Retrieved January 01, 2015, from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivation_theory
Ewins, M. (2010).
The BBFC in Modern Britain . Media Magazine 34: The Change Issue,
14-17.
History of
British film certificates. (2014, December 17). Retrieved December 20, 2014,
from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_British_film_certificates
Internet censorship
and child protection. (2012, June 29). Retrieved from Open Rights Group:
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/ourwork/reports/internet-censorship-and-child-protection
KUHN, A. (1999).
Crash and film censorship in the UK. The Crash Controversy: Censorship
Campaigns and Film Reception.
Lawson, M. (2008,
July 31). Is The Dark Knight suitable for children? Retrieved October
31, 2014, from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/jul/31/isthedarkknightsuitablefo
Leone, R. (2002).
Contemplating Ratings: An Examination of What the MPAA Considers "Too
Far for R" and Why. Journal of Communication, 938-954.
Lin, J.
(Director). (2013). Fast & Furious 6 [Motion Picture].
Mayer, A. (2014,
December 13). Pirate Bay: Why illegal downloading will continue with or
without it. Retrieved from CBC News:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/pirate-bay-why-illegal-downloading-will-continue-with-or-without-it-1.2871641
Meadows, S.
(2007, April 23). An 18 for This is England? This is an outrage.
Retrieved October 29, 2014, from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2007/apr/23/an18forthisisenglandthis
Miranda, M.
(2014). Wolf of Wall Street: A Case Study in Censorship and Controversy. Media
Magazine 49, 46-51.
Mitchell, V. C.
(2014, January 19). Film ratings: a little advice for the BBFC.
Retrieved November 3, 2014, from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/19/bbfc-change-film-certs-here-are-mine
Mostow, J.
(Director). (2003). Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines [Motion Picture].
Neish, S. (2011,
March 29). Is The 12A Certificate Still Valid? Retrieved October 31,
2014, from HeyUGuys:
http://www.heyuguys.com/is-the-12a-certificate-still-valid/
Nikkhah, R.
(2009, June 21). To cut or not to cut – a censor's dilemma. Retrieved
from The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/5586314/To-cut-or-not-to-cut-a-censors-dilemma.html
Nolan, C.
(Director). (2008). The Dark Knight [Motion Picture].
PG-13 movies are
now more violent than R-rated '80s flicks -study. (2013, November 11).
Retrieved from WRCBTV:
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/23931738/pg-13-movies-are-now-more-violent-than-r-rated-80s-flicks-study
Rojas, H. (1996).
FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS: CENSORSHIP AND THE THIRD-PERSON EFFECT. International
Journal of Public Opinion Research, 163-186.
Ross, G.
(Director). (2012). The Hunger Games [Motion Picture].
Sacks, E. (2013,
November 11). Gun violence in PG-13 movies has more than tripled since
1985. Retrieved from NY Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/gun-violence-pg-13-movies-tripled-1985-study-article-1.1513252
Seiden, J.
(2001). SCREAM-ING FOR A SOLUTION: REGULATING HOLLYWOOD VIOLENCE; AN ANALYSIS
OF LEGAL AND LEGISLATIVE REMEDIES. JOURNAL OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW,
1013.
Singleton, J.
(Director). (2003). 2 Fast 2 Furious [Motion Picture].
Sparrow, A.
(2008, August 5). Dark Knight: MPs criticise 12A certificate.
Retrieved November 2, 2014, from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/aug/05/politicsandthearts
THOMAS, L., &
BOSHOFF, A. (2012, March 27). Shocked youngsters 'are walking out of The
Hunger Games' as experts demand film's certificate is raised to 15.
Retrieved November 2, 2014, from Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2121303/The-Hunger-Games-rating-Shocked-youngsers-walking-movie.html#ixzz3GrKomYtx
Thorpe, V. (2011,
March 13). Illegal movie downloads 'threaten the future of British film
market'. Retrieved from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/mar/13/illegal-downloads-threaten-british-film
Today's PG-13
Movies More Violent Than 1980s "R" Films: Study. (2013, November
12). Retrieved from NBC New York:
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/PG-13-Movies-Ratings-R-Study-Violence-231394731.html
Warren, L. (2012,
July 23). Eyes rolling, head swaying and that bright red Joker hair:
Colorado killer faces victims' families in bizarre first appearance in court.
Retrieved from Mail Online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2177736/James-Holmes-Dark-Knight-massacre-gunman-appears-court-prosecutors-seek-death-penalty.html
Warren, N.
(2008). Teen Film Censorship Considerations and a Diatribe Against Violence. The
Teen Film Issue No.82, 43.
Webb, T. (2007).
PEDIATRICS. Violent Entertainment Pitched to Adolescents: An Analysis of
PG-13 Films, 2.
Why we age rate
films. (n.d.). Retrieved November 01, 2014, from cbbfc:
http://www.cbbfc.co.uk/film-ratings/why-we-age-rate-films
[1] (Why we age rate films)
[2] (Mitchell, 2014)
[3] (Meadows, 2007)
[4] (Bagshaw, 2009)
[5] (Bagshaw, 2009)
[6] (Lin, 2013)
[7] (Singleton, 2003)
[8] (Warren N. , 2008)
[9] (Barile, 2003)
[10] (Barile, 2003)
[11] (Nolan, 2008)
[12] (Ross, 2012)
[13] (PG-13 movies are now more violent than R-rated '80s
flicks -study, 2013)
[14] (Sparrow, 2008)
[15] (Sparrow, 2008)
[16] (Bagshaw, 2009)
[17] (Bagshaw, 2009)
[18] (Lawson, 2008)
[19] (Bagshaw, 2009)
[20] (Webb, 2007)
[21] (Warren L. , 2012)
[22] (Mostow, 2003)
[23] (Bovingdon, 2012)
[24] (Sacks, 2013)
[25] (Why we age rate films)
[26] (Why we age rate films)
[27] (Miranda, 2014)
[28] (Mitchell, 2014)
[29] (Thorpe, 2011)
[30] (Internet censorship and child protection, 2012)
[31] (Mayer, 2014)
