Regulations Essay

How well does contemporary media regulation protect the public?

In this essay I will be comparing and analysing the BBFC, OFCOM and PEGI. I will be also looking to see if they do what they are meant to do, which is to protect the public from certain things that may be shown on TV, shown in film or content in games. I will also be using case studies in order to show how well they follow through on their claims. The BBFC regulates for films and they decide how each film is to rated. PEGI regulates games and they decide how the games should be rated. OFCOM regulates TV and Radio and they decide on the content that goes on TV and who sees it.

The BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification, they were originally known as British Board of Film Censors. They were set up in 1912 in order to protect the audience from any unsuitable content that may be available for young viewers to watch. They use a set of guidelines they have in order to determine how they should rate the film, they have at least two examiners who use published guidelines. They want to gain higher standards of customer service by promising that they will give films age ratings appropriate for the film. The BBFC make sure to make their ratings clear in order to make sure that the parent or guardian can know what their child is looking at and if needed for them to restrict or cut any unsuitable content that their child may be able to view, this means that it is mainly the parents who decide what they want their child to watch.

The Human Centipede – This film contains nudity, bad language, some very graphic violence and even torture therefore the BBFC decided to rate it an 18. In order for this film to be shown in the UK some scenes had to be cut, but it was banned at first, the BBFC allowed the cut version only to be shown however in other countries they were able to see the whole film.

When young children are involved it is important that the BBFC is very strict in their ratings and age certificates. The James Bulger case in 1993 was basically when James Bulger was abducted, tortured and murdered when he was only 2 years of age it was said that the two boys who tortured the little boy had been influenced by what they watched in Child Play 3. 

OFCOM stands for Office of Communications and they were founded on 23^rd December 2003. Ofcom is a government- approved regulator for TV and Radio. Their main duties are to ensure that people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material.

Hollyoaks – There was a scene in one of the episodes that aired in which a lead character was pushed under a train and got ran over by the train, this episode had been shown before the 9pm watershed on Channel 4 and so people had complained about this. Viewers were concerned that the theme of death through such violent means were inappropriate in a drama which appeals to children. Channel 4 would have been fined by worst.

PEGI stands for Pan European Game Information and they were founded in 2003 when they took over from the BBFC on rating games. They regulate video games and the whole company decides what is suitable for viewers. The viewers trust the company to make sure that they are rating the games correctly for the suitable ages and it won’t cause anyone any harm.

Grand Theft Auto 5 – This game has very realistic gameplay thus the reason it is an 18 and it is a very violent game with sexual content and children should not be playing it because they might copy what they see in the game and add it to real life so really it is the parents’ choice to decide if the game is suitable for their child to play it.

To conclude, I think that media regulations are very important and that they help to protect the public because they are still putting age ratings on games and giving films certificates for films. Although it is getting harder to protect children and vulnerable adults from certain things because now everyone has a technological device and anything that they may film they can upload it straight onto YouTube or Google, making it easier for children to find it.