It has been said that, “the primary objective of film censorship is to protect children from the damaging effects of horrific, sexual or violent images and ideas.” However, has the modern classification and censoring systems taken censorship further than children? Films classified for children are rarely censored unless images are believed to cause harm to a child.

Most films that are censored are aimed at an adult audience, thus the previous mentioned quote is untrue, for censorship is used to protect everyone from the damaging effects of horrific, sexual or violent images and idea. The images and ideas that are believed to need protecting from vary from classification system to classification system.

This variation is caused by cultural influences, governmental control and general public debate in conjunction with the classification board. Therefore every film will get a different classification and or different cuts pertaining to the country in which the classification is given. In the United States of America the classification of films is completed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

In Australia the Office of Film and literature Classification (OFLC) classifies and censors films and in the United Kingdom the classification board is The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Each of these organizations aims at classifying film into age ranges, pertaining to the films content and appropriateness. However, the three organizations do so differently and with different standards.

The MPAA classifies films using a parent method, which means that every movie is classified by a rating board who members can “put themselves in the role of most American parents so they can view a film and apply a rating that most parents would find suitable and helpful in aiding their decisions about their children and what movies they see” (How Movies Are Rated, 2005). Thus, the MPAA is aimed at classifying films into appropriate content for specific age groups with a large concern of what parents want their children to see.

If a film’s target audience is a G rated audience and gets a higher rating than expected. The film maker then has the option of re-editing the film for re-evaluation. The MPAA in its self will not censor a film due to the film maker’s constitutional first amendment of free speech, but will suggest certain areas for editing in order for the movie to get a specific rating.

Two films, A Clockwork Orange (1971) and 9 Song (2004), can be examined closer in connection with the MPAA classification system. The Film, A Clockwork Orange was originally given an X rating (now NC-17) by the MPAA. The NC-17 rating is given to movies that the board believes most parents would find inappropriate for their children under that age of 17. The content of an NC-17 movie can be pornographic or obscene in connection with sex, violence and or drug use (What do the Rating mean, 2007).

The creators of A Clockwork Orange re-edited and re-released the film in American theaters which received an R rating. With the R rating the movie was distributed in national theater but the original X rated film was later released on video/DVD. The film, 9 Song (2004), according to the MPAA is not rated (NR). This means that the film was not viewed by the MPAA and thus was not given a rating.

The fact that films can be nationally distributed without a classification is a key difference in the American film industry compared to other counties. However, most film are classified because it help with a films theatrical release, but video and DVD sales include many NR titles, usually sold as Director’s Cuts.

The OFLC is different than the MPAA, because the OFLC is organized by the Australian government and is run with specific legislation in mind. This legislation includes the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995, National Classification Code and Classification Guidelines (Relevant Legislation, 2007).

The classification board of the OFLC is an independent statutory organization whose soul purpose is to make classification decisions on a variety of public media and art. The OFLC states that it classifies films with four key points or codes in mind.

These codes are that, “(a) adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want, (b) minors should be protected from material likely to harm or disturb them, (c) everyone should be protected from exposure to unsolicited material that they find offensive and (d) the need to take account of community concerns about, depictions that condone or incite violence, particularly sexual violence and the portrayal of persons in a demeaning manner” (National classification Code, 2007). The codes followed by the OFLC, are further elaborated on in the guidelines of the organization.

The OFLC uses these codes to classify every film that is brought to the board. The film A Clockwork Orange was viewed by the board but was initially banned due to its highly violent content. The Film was banned for over 30 years until October 2007 when the film was re-reviewed and was given an R 18+ rating due to its highly violent content (Clockwork Orange, 2007).

The R 18+ rating means that the film is restricted to adult viewers but viewers should understand that the film may be offensive to sections of the adult community (R18+ – Restricted, 2007).

Another film supposedly reviewed by the OFLC is the film 9 Songs, the movie was given an X rating according to an unreliable website. However, the OFLC website gives no indication that the movie 9 Songs has been reviewed. There are many reasons that the film choice not to be reviewed by the OFLC.

In Australia every movie that wanted to be sold legally needs to be reviewed by the board and a fee from the film makers is required. The film makers of 9 Songs, could have chosen not to have their movie reviewed due to Australia’s strict restrictions on sexually explicit films. The restrictions are as followed, a film containing consensual sexually explicit activity will be given an X 18+ rating, with this rating the film is only available for sale or hire in the ACT and Northern Territory.

The film can also show no violence and does not have sexually assaulting language. The film can also use no fetishes, examples of which are bondage, fisting and candle wax. The rating also restricts the age of actors and the portrayal of actor’s ages (X18+ – Restricted, 2007). The film makers of 9 Songs could have deemed in unnecessary to advertise there movie in a country where such high restriction are place on content.

The BBFC, is the boldest of the three organizations in that it not only classifies films it also has the ability to censor them. When reviewing a film the BBFC, uses legislation to deem material as appropriate for a viewing audience, but unlike the OFLC the BBFC is not under direct government control. When classifying and censoring films the BBFC does so not with the governments control but with what they deems as appropriate for the audience in conjunction with legislation specific to film material.

Three key elements of a film are examined when a film is being reviewed, they are: (a) does the material conflict with the law? (b) is the material, at the age group concerned, likely to be harmful and (c) is the material, at the age group concerned, clearly unacceptable to the board’s public opinion (Introduction, 2007). In direct connection with children, a harm test is done to every film.

When a film goes through the harm test, it is viewed to see if the material in the movies could cause harm to a child. An example of the harm test being used is in the opening scene of the Disney movie Rocketman. The opening scene of the movie was cut because it portrayed a child using the Dryer as a rocket ship. This was viewed as harmful because if a child were to do the stunt it their own home they could die. This is a blatant form of censorship pertaining to children. However, every film has the ability to be censored even if it is advertised at an adult age group by the BBFC.

The idea for the film, A Clockwork Orange, was originally submitted for review in 1967, when the movies original screen play was reviewed. The Boards initial reaction to the screen play was that a film with vicious violence and hooliganism would be unacceptable by the BBFC, even though the film was advertised at an adult audience.

Surprisingly with little script changes the final movie was classified with an original X rating later changed to an 18 rating when released uncut by the BBFC (A Clockwork Orange – Case Study, 2000). Another movie classified by the BBFC was 9 Songs, the film was given an 18 rating and was uncut. It was a landmark move by the BBFC because the movie depicted real sex.

The classification had received mixed reviews with many individuals praising the classification and other finding it inappropriate (9 Songs, 2007). These two films were aimed at adults and were not cut, however that is not the case with every movie reviewed by the BBFC. Films that have been aimed at an adult audience and were cut by the BBFC are 1995s Showgirls, 1989s Child’s Play, and 1982s The Evil Dead. All three of these films were advertised for an adult audience but the BBFC still deemed that parts of the films needed to be censored.

A Clockwork Orange and 9 Songs are used as examples in connection with the MPAA, OFLC, and BBFC’s classification and censorship procedures, demonstrate that the organizations are censoring film for all age groups not just for children.

If the classification organizations were censoring films only for children then movies targeted at an adult audience would be free of censorship, which according to the OFLC and BBFC are not due to the organizations ability to censor and ban material. The MPAA does not have the ability to out right censor a film but it can determine the appropriate content available for specific age groups by classifying film into a higher or lower classification group.