Film Ratings: Sensible or Censorship?

If you live in the United States, it is likely that your television set contains a V-chip, used in accordance with the 2008 Child Safe Viewing Act. These chips, mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), allow TV users to voluntarily censor their household from television and movies that earned certain ratings.

Because of an influx of technology plus an increase of violence among children (citing the Desensitizing Theory), film and television ratings have gotten more attention.

This post will compare the United States' rating system (regulated by the Motion Picture Association of America - MPAA) and that of Britain (regulated by the British Board of Film Classification - BBFC). The BBFC and MPAA function as gatekeepers.

Both systems are very similar. And both focus on protecting children, an idea not uncommon in the media industry.

For the sake of brevity, this post will compare BBFC's "18" rating with MPAA's "R" rating.

BBFC's "18"

BBFC ratings breakdown. 

• No children under 18 can see the film in theaters or buy/rent a copy.
• "Adults are free to pick their entertainment under the law."
• These films may contain:
• Very strong and detailed violence
• Frequent strong language
• Strong portrayals of sexual activity
• Strong horror
• However, these may be cut from the film:
• Material that breaches criminal law
• Material that harms individual morals

MPAA ratings breakdown.

  
  MPAA's "R(estricted)"

  - Children under 17 require an accompanying    parent or guardian.
  - It is "not appropriate for parents to bring their    children to an R-  rated movie."
  - These films may contain:
     - Intense or persistent violence
     - Hard language
     - Sexually-oriented nudity

It appears that Britain is more lenient once a child reaches 18, marking them as adults. In the United States, however, R-rated movies are available to 17 year-olds so these films may be less graphic.

It is also interesting to note that the BBFC and MPAA are private media businesses. This injects economics directly into the ratings system and begs the question of objectivity. 

Ultimately, ratings lose to the uses and gratification approach. Media users are attracted to the types of content that meet their psychological and social needs, no matter the film rating.

At a basic level, ratings are censorship. Organizations like the BBFC and MPAA examine material and remove parts that are harmful, or rate it "higher" to limit access. However, even in two countries that value freedom of expression, the ratings system provide the benefit of protection, something worth the regulation.

Check out the full sources for more info.

• Sources used in this article:
• "Comfortably Numb" by Brad Bushman and Craig Anderson
• "The V-Chip" by FCC
• U.S. Constitution - Amendment 1
• "Uses and Gratifications Theory in the 21st Century" by Thomas Ruggiero
• Sources for extra information:
• BBFC website
• "Censor" by Merriam-Webster Dictionary
• FCC website
• "MPAA defends its ratings system" by Entertainment Weekly
• MPAA website

A Larger Than Life Experience: Sports in America and Europe

Over the past couple of decades, sports have increased dramatically in popularity and have become an astoundingly strong revenue source for media conglomerates. Specifically, in the United States, ESPN (owned by Disney) has capitalized on the popularity of football. By gaining the rights to most college football games, they are earning themselves millions of dollars per contest. Comparatively, media stations in Great Britain have done the same with the sport of soccer. Much of this success comes from heavy and strategic advertising, often depicting the games as more than just sporting events.


Yet, as popular as both sports are in their respective nations, demassification has occurred. Instead of focusing on sports enthusiasts as a whole, the media has chosen to target a somewhat niche audience that can understand and gravitate to the importance of the sporting event. In Hegemonic Masculinity and Globalization:‘Transnational Business Masculinities’ and Beyond, Juanita Elias and Christine Beasley examine the impact of globalization from transnational businesses on men and women around the world. They note that businesses, including the media, have demassified, focusing on hegemonic masculine audiences.This seems to be congruent with the tactics employed by ESPN when advertising their college football games.

In this case, ESPN has demassified, utilizing “College GameDay” to target a niche football audience. The commercial glorifies the event in a gladiator type manner. It conveys the sense that only the strong, who are mentally and physically prepared to begin the season along with the two football teams, should watch the event.

The demassification is also vivid in this commercial for the Barclays Premier League. 

The league encompasses teams throughout Great Britain, and the advertisement targets the niche audience of those who follow one of those select teams. Specifically, the advertisement is thanking it’s already acquired fans, and although the commercial seems to focus on those who attend the game, it is assumed that they are communicating to all of their customers (television viewers, merchandise consumers, etc.).

Although both advertisements are for entertainment purposes, they also convey persuasion. Both are persuading the viewer to take part in something bigger than them by making a life decision to “become part of the team and the experience.”


For More, Go To The Following Sources
Demassification
Hegemony and Masculinity
NY Times ESPN College Football Revenue