BBFC: Being brilliant for cop

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/student-guide/bbfc-history/1970s
There is a whole section on the British Board of film certification (BBFC) site for students,including their history, information on how they classify the films and student FAQ's. IM IN HEAVEN

What I've learnt that can be useful:
(1912-1949)

1.When the first president was appointed in 1916 he made a list of 43 grounds for deletion. So scenes containing these things would be cut so that the movie could be classified and released, included in the list were:
Cruelty to animals
Cruelty to young infants and excessive cruelty and torture to adults, especially women
Unnecessary exhibition of under-clothing
The exhibition of profuse bleeding
Realistic horrors of warfare
Gruesome murders and strangulation scenes
Executions
Scenes suggestive of immorality
Themes and references relative to 'race suicide'

2.During this time they were most concerned with horror and gangster films. At this point there were two classifications; U and A. A meaning that an adult must be present with their child, but there was yet to be anything restricting children absolutely. 
When Frankenstein was released in 193, the BBFC certified it A. The london county council (LLC) and the Manchester city council (MCC) decided to bar children from the film altogether even though the scene, in which Frankenstein's monster drowns a young girl, had been cut. In response to this the H certificate was made to protect children from the horror genre.

3.Disney's 'Snow white and the seven dwarfs' was the first feature length cartoon was certificated A in 1938, suggesting it is more suitable for adults. It was certified a U with cuts in 1964, finally it was re-released in the 1980's where it was certified a U uncut.

(1950's)

1. 1951 the X certificate was brought in to action in uk, including the previous H category. This excluded children under the age of 16.

2.1956 A clockwork orange was released, it was cut for U and there was rioting in the cinema's. This caused increasing concern into teenage criminality although there was no solid evidence of a wave of teen crime.

3. 1958 Jack Clayton's 'Room at the top' had to cut the words 'lust' and 'bitch' and were required to soften the words referring to the death of a female character.

(1960's)

1. There was a new spirit of liberalisation, the secretary of the BBFC at the time stated: 'The British Board of Film Censors cannot assume responsibility for the guardianship of public morality. It cannot refuse for exhibition to adults films that show behaviour that contravenes the accepted moral code, and it does not demand that ‘the wicked’ should also be punished. It cannot legitimately refuse to pass films which criticise ‘the Establishment’ and films which express minority opinions'.

2. Michael Powell's 'Peeping Tom' provoked a remark from the secretary of BBFC about the films 'morbid concentration on fear'. The film was rated X in 1960, and remained an 18 until 2007 when it was re-rated a 15.

3. As public tolerance increased films became more explicit but the BBFC still requested cuts to verbal and visual 'indecencies' 

(1970's)

1. The AA (14+) certificate was made and the A certificate was raised from the minimum age of 16 to 18.

2. A new ratings system in the United States included an uncensored X category, left to the sole control of the criminal law. John Trevelyan, the BBFC Secretary at the time, was concerned by this: 'We are afraid that this will have the effect of giving certain film-makers the opportunity of going much further than they have done in scenes of sex and sexual perversion, since with the protection of an X rating, they can shed personal responsibility'. The 1970s did indeed see the release of a number of provocative films, in particular those that linked sex and violence, for example Straw Dogs (1971), and A Clockwork Orange (1971), both of which contained controversial rape scenes.

3. James Ferman became the BBFC secretary in 1971. One of the first films he looked at was the texas chainsaw massacre which his predecessor had recently rejected. Ferman agreed it was too explicit  but he stated that it was less the sexual nature he was worried about but in fact the sexual violence that was portrayed.

4. Ferman's views reflected the general shift of public concern during the 70's. It became less about what would be considered explicit and instead concentrated on whether something could be considered to have a corrupting influence.

(1980's)

1.the decade saw the establishment of the 'stalk and slash' genre with the Friday 13th series of films, with Parts I and II rated X uncut on film in 1980 and 1981 respectively. Part III was also rated X uncut on film in 1982, but with two cuts to violence/horror to obtain an 18 rating on video in 1987.

2. 1981 saw the second in the Halloween series rated X uncut on film, but a scene where a woman was scalded to death in a jacuzzi was reduced for an 18 video release in 1990.  The cuts have since been restored.

3.Legally videos didn't have to be classified to be released like films. So adult films were easily accessible for children.

4. the tabloid press led a campaign against so-called 'video nasties'. This term was not always clearly defined, but there were 70 titles that had either been prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) under the Obscene Publications Act (OPA), or were awaiting prosecution. Some of these were horror films that had never been submitted to the BBFC.

5. The Video Recordings Act 1984 makes it an offence for a video work to be supplied if it has not been rated, or to supply a rated work to a person under the age specified in the certificate. The BBFC was designated as the authority with responsibility for age ratings in 1985.

6. 1982 'The evil Dead' was submitted for certification and required 49 seconds cut due to scenes of violence and horror. The film cuts were increased for the video version in 1990 as a precautionary measure against possible future prosecution, but in 2000 the full uncut version was rated 18 on video.

7. 1982 A changed to was changed to PG, AA to 15 and X to 18. and a new rating R18 for more explicit scenes to be shown to club-members.

8. in 1989 the BBFC introduced the 12 rating on film, to bridge the huge gap between PG and 15. This was extended to video in 1994. The first film to be given a 12 rating was Batman.

(1990's)

1. "Despite the statutory regulation of video since 1984, public concern about the influence of videos continued and there were periodic calls for stricter standards, most notably following the Jamie Bulger case. The trial judge linked this murder of a two year old by two ten year old boys to the viewing of violent videos, with the media singling out the horror video Child's Play 3 (1991).
Though subsequent enquiries refuted this connection, public opinion rallied behind calls for stricter regulation. "

2. In 1997 BBFC President Lord Harewood stepped down after 12 years in the job.  His replacement Andreas Whittam Smith announced his intention to steer the BBFC towards a greater 'openness and accountability'.  This included the publication of the BBFC's first set of classification Guidelines in 1998, following a series of public 'roadshows' in which public views were canvassed and the launching of a BBFC website.

3. There was a surge in video games, not normally something the BBFC had to deal with but particularly explicit ones were rated. in 1997 the BBFC for the first time refused a game; carmageddon, because they believed it encouraged anti social behaviour.

4.In 1999, the BBFC re-examined the issues, in particular the perceived harm that under-age viewing might cause. It was decided that in view of changing public attitudes and the increased media sophistication of young viewers, the exorcist was unlikely to prove harmful to the majority of the likely audience and it was accordingly rated 18 uncut.

(2000-2009)

1. The last house on the left was resubmitted for consideration in 2000 after it was refused in 1974. The BBFC said there needed to be cuts but the distributor declined. It was released uncut on dvd/video in 2001 at an 18 rating.

2. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/2005%20Guidelines%20Research%20-%20Public%20opinion%20and%20the%20BBFC%20Guidelines%202005_0.pdf
Research results from 2005 on public opinion of BBFC (SUPER USEFUL!!!!)

3. 2009 new guidelines established: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/guidelines