Reflections on Current Film Classification

Current system of film classification 

• Protects children from watching "bad" stuff. 
• If films have been classified, parents can't complain as all the information will be stated on the site. 
• Gives guidelines for productions companies to follow.
• Society like following sets of rules. Gives an ordered system approach.
• Guidelines are constantly changed with the current society. 

CONS

• Stereotyping children into categories, assuming all children like and dislike the same thing.
• Giving children a false sense of the world, making them believe that the world is "perfect".
• Regulations are constantly changing, so parents shouldn't assume that a 12A now, is suitable for their children based on other 12A's that they've previously seen. 
• People don't really follow ratings. People of all ages watch films that are outside their age gap due to easier accessibility through the internet. 

Do you think the way films are regulated is sensible, useful to society and achieves its aim of protecting the vulnerable and upholding the law?

I believe that yes, films are regulated sensibly, as they have stopped children from watching films outside their age gap. However, going to the cinema isn't the only way for children to consume films. Currently, internet is such a huge part of an average person's lifestyle, meaning children can now easily download films without being concerned about the rating. Therefore, I believe that parents should take a greater role in protecting children from seeing such materials, and not blame production companies and the BBFC for wrongly classifying films. Parents need to be more aware of how the guidelines for ratings are changing as their society develops and therefore, should take full responsibility when allowing their child to watch a certain film, and not depend on the government or the BBFC to make decisions about what films the children can watch. 

Is there anything you think could be done to improve the system?

As I have previously mentioned above, I believe that it's important for parents to take more care of their own children, hence the BBFC should make parents more aware about the information that they currently provide on all films that have been released. This would reduce the number of potential complaints, and hopefully ensure that films are classified rightly.