Shiroi Hane
Dragon Knight
I just saw that film for the first time thanks to Netflix andBuzz201 said:
the dog was chewing on her foot
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UK Anime Distributor Anime Limited Discussion Thread
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Smeelia
Thousand Master
I pretty much agree with what Rui has been saying on this one.
The BBFC makes things more difficult for small businesses and it also restricts freedom of choice for individuals, it's basically doing things that our society supposedly strongly opposes.
I think it'd be better to encourage people to do their own research and take responsibility for their choices. The BBFC or similar rating bodies could still serve as a source of information but there's really no reason for them to limit what people have access to. We let people choose to do things that have a proven significant risk of causing harm but, for some reason, selection of viewing material is still restricted.
The BBFC makes things more difficult for small businesses and it also restricts freedom of choice for individuals, it's basically doing things that our society supposedly strongly opposes.
I think it'd be better to encourage people to do their own research and take responsibility for their choices. The BBFC or similar rating bodies could still serve as a source of information but there's really no reason for them to limit what people have access to. We let people choose to do things that have a proven significant risk of causing harm but, for some reason, selection of viewing material is still restricted.
Buzz201
Mad Scientist
Smeelia said:
Which is almost exactly what I said. I'm not a fan of the cutting and banning, but I think having a single "somewhat more objective than the internet" source of information makes sense. Think about the "pencil trick" scene from the Dark Knight. On paper it sounds truly horrifying, it's not even that bad in the film. The internet and written word have a habit of making things sound different to they actually are, so telling parents to perform their own research and then just guess wouldn't really work.
Smeelia
Thousand Master
Watching something before showing it to your children would also be a valid form of research. Even with a BBFC rating, you can't be sure exactly what you'll see in a show/film.Buzz201 said:
Given the choice between the BBFC as it is now or no rating body at all, I'd still prefer to get rid of the BBFC. The problematic aspects of it are unnecessary and don't do any good at all, while it's other functions are potentially useful but not necessary. I'd agree that the BBFC could be changed into something worthwhile but it's current form doesn't justify it's existence.
An ability to do some degree of research is extremely useful and I see no harm in encouraging people to give it some practice. If people were forced to rely on their own judgement it'd also encourage more people to provide information they feel would have been useful to them and support sources they feel provide information in ways that they find helpful. I'm sure some people would also still want to blame someone else for their poor choices but it's not like the BBFC prevents that either.
People also tend to have different views of what is acceptable to them and what they're okay with showing their children, so relying on one source of information isn't ideal in the first place.
qaiz
Pokémon Master
I've never even thought of or heard about any objections to the BBFC until I came to this very forum. Single instances where a film or show gets a strange rating? (The famous HIGH IMPACT SEX from the Australian Classification Board for example), sure that's always humorous but I've never really thought about their (the BBFC's) demise. I'm with Buzz on this one through and through, always have been and always will be even if it means some classics don't get released here.
IncendiaryLemon
Captain Karen
I can agree with the BBFC in that I think it's good to have a guideline for parents for giving stuff to their kids or even just letting you know what kind of content you're getting yourself in for, but when they start deeming stuff obscene and cutting up stuff, that's when I think they cross the line. People should be allowed to watch whatever they want, not what a board of people think you should be able to watch.
qaiz said:
Genuinely surprised by that; I've heard complaints ever since the VHS days, though the empowerment of the digital age at least means that viewing any cut or banned material is trivially easy to the point of ridiculousness (the infamous cut frame of obscenity in Code Geass would probably have gone virtually unnoticed in the days before it was broadcast all over social media within moments of its excision). Some of the smaller indie film distributors in the UK organised a campaign a couple of years ago to try to get the BBFC fees reconfigured to be more practical by basing the cost on the actual profile of the material, but it fell on dead ears. It was definitely floating around on social media for some time, though.
It's even harming shows which are most definitely not classics (in either sense of the word!) when it's blocking the release of Samurai Flamenco, and as print runs shrink it's only hurting us more and more. Back in the day we only got movies and OAVs, and part of the reason was the higher risk of BBFCing a longer series even if it was just 13-26 episodes long - I remember thinking it was amazing when Pioneer started putting some actual television shows out in the UK for the first time instead of us only getting small tastes with aborted releases like Urusei Yatsura.
Kids don't even watch discs as much as VOD these days. It's silly.
R
Zin5ki
Railgun
It would appear there is quite a substantial amount of extra content that was not included in the old ADV release I purchased way back when.Yami said:It feels like I've been looking forward to this for most of this decade
I'm still looking forward to it though; they're two utterly sublime films. A bit disappointed that a super duper edition with 5cm/sec couldn't be worked out + I would have liked to have seen a booklet and his first short. Other Worlds (which is *really* short and can be seen on YouTube, but I would like to see it in better quality) but it still is my favourite AL release so far, on paper!
KingJimmeh
Magical Girl
As was just said, kids and adults watching more and more stuff online which only has voluntary labelling and simple ease of access is showing that the BBFC is becoming more and more outdated. If the argument is "what about the children? Who will protect them?" then that should be the parents, end of.
I know BBFC and some people in power would love to control what people watch online but despite what 52% of the voting populace believe, you can't just build big ass walls to keep the boogeymen out, especially when it comes to the internet.
When payments to an arbitrary board is preventing the release of creative endeavours that are available online and in other countries without any problem, then it is a problem.
I understand wanting to prevent obscene material being released, but there are laws already that prevent that without it having to be tied to a film board. I know video games from 15 onwards go through the BBFC as well (though I'm not sure if they are forced to or not), but a voluntary PEGI style system with clear "this contains A/B/X/Y and we recommend no-one below age Z consumes this media" should be enough. I wouldn't even mind if you kept the BBFC for classification of items shown in cinemas and on TV. But when any munchkin with a debit or electron card can order any DVD from Amazon, Ebay, wherever and no-one is able to view ID, then whats the point?
I know BBFC and some people in power would love to control what people watch online but despite what 52% of the voting populace believe, you can't just build big ass walls to keep the boogeymen out, especially when it comes to the internet.
When payments to an arbitrary board is preventing the release of creative endeavours that are available online and in other countries without any problem, then it is a problem.
I understand wanting to prevent obscene material being released, but there are laws already that prevent that without it having to be tied to a film board. I know video games from 15 onwards go through the BBFC as well (though I'm not sure if they are forced to or not), but a voluntary PEGI style system with clear "this contains A/B/X/Y and we recommend no-one below age Z consumes this media" should be enough. I wouldn't even mind if you kept the BBFC for classification of items shown in cinemas and on TV. But when any munchkin with a debit or electron card can order any DVD from Amazon, Ebay, wherever and no-one is able to view ID, then whats the point?
sniper_samurai
Railgun
Yup. No legal age ratings for games in Ireland, though the Irish Film Censors Office does have the right to ban a game if deemed inappropriate. This has only happened with two games, Manhunt 2 and Criminal Girls: Invite Only. The PEGI ratings are enforced voluntarily by retailers but are not legally binding.Buzz201 said:
Smeelia
Thousand Master
Maybe this isn't quite the same as what you're talking about, but I'd argue that not thinking about it is part of the problem. People are used to the BBFC ratings, most have no idea what negative effects they're having and probably haven't thought twice about whether there'd be anything wrong with them. It's just the sort of thing that most people don't think about and are unlikely to consider important. It probably doesn't really affect all that many (and even when it does they may not realise) so they'd feel no compulsion to complain.qaiz said:
None of that changes the fact that the BBFC is a flawed and outdated institution. That the issues it has may not affect many people and that most don't really care is irrelevant, there are problems and there's really no need for there to be. Improving and modernising the BBFC so that it's suitable for today's society wouldn't harm any of the people who already don't care and it'd make things better for those who do. I don't believe there's a reasonable argument in favour of the BBFC's legally enforced authority, which isn't a statement I make lightly. There may well be benefits of ratings systems in general but that shouldn't mean we have to put up with the flawed one we have now.
I do think complacency can be something of a problem in cases like this. Just because people are used to a thing/situation, they tend to assume that it's inevitable and that's a dangerous attitude. I really don't see why we shouldn't solve problems when we can, even simple and minor ones.
Yami
Thousand Master
The debate over age ratings is one that's never going to be settled, and I don't think they're ever going to go away. However, the debate that's probably more worth having is whether BBFC fees should be, in a sense, means tested so that smaller distributors like Second Run or Anime Ltd aren't charged the same as Warner Bros or Universal.
