1. Censorship

2. What is censorship?
• Examining media texts such as books, films
and TV shows and suppressing or removing
the unacceptable parts.

3. The history of censorship
• In 1909 ‘The New York Board of Motion
Picture Censorship’ was made.
• This board quickly began to influence not only
New York but other film productions world
wide.
• Eventually, all major picture producers agreed
to submit their films to the board and would
not release a film unless it had been
approved.

4. The history of censorship
• The board then created a ‘seal of approval’ which
was the first formal attempt to stop illegal
censorship through self regulation.
• In 1922, the major Hollywood studios and
distributors formed a trade association called
‘The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of
America’ (MPPDA)
• In 1927 ‘The Studio Relations Committee’ (SRC),
part of the MPPDA produced a list of ‘Dont’s and
be carefuls’ to govern production.

5. The history of censorship
• On March 31 1930, a code called ‘The Motion
Picture Production Code’ (The Hays Code) was
published. This was a set of guidelines as to
what was seen as appropriate for films,
especially since ‘talking pictures’ had been
introduced.

6. The history of censorship
• In June 1934 the SRC was renamed ‘The
Production Code Administration’ (PCA).
• The members of the MPPDA agreed that each
film passed by the OCA would recieve a
certificate number. This number would have
the MPPDA seal of approval.
• Even short films and cartoons had to be
monitored

7. The history of censorship

8. The history of censorship – A story
• In 1943, Howard Hughes produced his
movie ‘The outlaw’ starring Jane
Russell. Howard Hughes was
instructed to reshoot or eliminate 37
specific shots of Jane Russell as they
were said to be too revealing of her
breasts. Hughes refused to comply and
appealed the OCA’s decision to the
MPPDA’s board of directors. They then
agreed to grant the seal if he made a
few minor cuts. Hughes made the cuts
but decided to cut the movie anyway.
• However in 1946, Hughes decided to
defy the PCA and other censorship
boards by distributing the movie as it
was originally filmed. The movie
violated the PCA’s advertising code
and the PCA revoked the movie’s seal
of approval. Several theatres also
refused to show the movie. Despite
this, the movie was still a box office
success wherever it was shown.

9. Who are the BBFC?
• B – British
• B – Board
• Of
• F – Film
• C - Classification

10. The BBFC
• The BBFC, originally British Board of Film
Censors, is a non-governmental organisation,
funded by the film industry and responsible
for the national classification and censorship
of films within the United Kingdom. It
classifies videos, DVDs and some video games
under the Video Recordings Act 2010.

11. The BBFC
• The BBFC was established in 1912 and is the
British version of the MPPDA.
• It creates the ratings on all films, games and
TV shows.
• The ratings are put in place to protect people
and children from seeing content
that is not appropriate for their age.

13. The BBFC - Ratings

14. My Film
• I think that my film would be a certificate 15. The content of my film
includes violence and threat which would not be appropriate for
younger audiences. My film also has reference to gang/thug culture
which is not a theme that children should be witnessing as it
encourages violence and gangs.
• The certificate is important to the success of my film because it will
appeal to the right people and they can appreciate and enjoy the
film. It is important that no one under the age of the certificate
sees the film as it could disturb them and then therefore make the
film unpopular and therefore unsuccessful. It is important for the
right audience to see the film so that they can evaluate and then
tell others their opinion on the film and them hopefully recommend
it too.