You are the censor
Giving the students some hands-on experience of what the BBFC does is a good way of getting pupils talking about this issue, as well as highlighting how subjective some of these judgements are.
Teacher's preparation
Duration
1-2 hours
Age range
Secondary
You will need
Internet access, DVD player, DVDs, BBFC guidelines
How to do this activity
Put the students into groups and show them a selection of clips from a range of different genres. Ask them what age they think they are suitable for. Some interesting choices might be violence in cartoons/family blockbusters, also shocking images in documentary and the news.
Good starting point films
- The footage depicting the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq in Fahrenheit 911
- The 'torture' in The Incredibles
- The Sandman could spark interesting discussions about classification in secondary schools.
And to finish
Repeat the exercise, giving the students copies of the BBFC Guidelines for each certificate - ask them to use the BBFC guidelines to judge what certificate the film 'should' receive. You can then reveal how close they are to the original certificate.