Practically perfect? You’re
BUNNY rabbits, Princess Leia and even Captain James T Kirk and his Star Trek crew have all come under the censors’ scrutiny when it comes to cinema ratings.
Mary Poppins is the latest movie to see its rating raised from U to PG because of “discriminatory language”.
Almost 60 years after the 1964 family film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke was first released, the British Board of Film Classification has upped the rating because the colonial term Hottentots – a derogatory word historically used by white Europeans to refer to the Khoikhoi people in South Africa – is used in the movie.
Mary Poppins might need more than a spoonful of sugar to solve the problem as actor Reginald Owen’s character, Admiral Boom, uses the term twice in the film.
The movie has now been classified as containing “some scenes (that) may be unsuitable for young children”.
The BBFC said: “We understand from our racism and discrimination research … that a key concern for … parents is the potential to expose children to discriminatory language or behaviour which they may find distressing or repeat without realising the potential offence.”
Mary Poppins is not the only movie to face ratings changes. Rocky, Flash Gordon and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back have all received tighter ratings classifications over the last few years.
The 1980 space opera film Flash Gordon was reclassified up to 12A for the movie’s 40th anniversary re-release due to the inclusion of “moderate violence, language, sex references and discriminatory stereotypes”. Flash Gordon’s main villain, Ming the Merciless, was of East Asian appearance but played by SwedishFrench actor Max von Sydow.
Also uprated was 1976 boxing classic Rocky, which was moved from a PG rating on video to a 12A for the 2020 theatrical re-release. It had been classed as an A for its original cinema release, a rating which meant it was not suitable for children aged under eight.
The BBFC said its reclassification was due to “moderate violence, mouthed strong language and domestic abuse”.
The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was moved up to a 12A for its “moderate fantasy violence and threat” and 1980 film The Elephant Man starring Sir John Hurt was made a 12A for “moderate threat, upsetting scenes and injury detail”.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was also re-released and was classified PG for “moderate violence and mild threat” after originally being a U film, meaning it was suitable for all ages.
Pixar’s Ratatouille was reclassified by the BBFC from a U to a PG rating due to instances of “comic violence” and “mild bad language” and 1985’s Santa Claus: The Movie was given a higher rating, to PG, for its mild violence and language.
The 1978 animated film Watership Down, adapted from the bestselling novel by Richard Adams, was given PG classification for “mild violence, threat, brief bloody images and bad language”.
The film is about a colony of rabbits who seek out a safe place to set up a new warren after human developers meet various challenges, some of which resulted in bloody bite and claw injuries caused by animals fighting. In one scene, a bird tells one of the rabbits to “p**s off’.”
Star Trek: The Motion Picture released in 1979 also went from a U to PG rating. The sci-fi hit was
originally rated universal (U) but the film, starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, was given the new rating for having “brief mild horror and sex references”.
The classifications are based on guidelines created after research and consultation with more than 10,000 people across the UK, including young people, child psychologists and charities and film ratings can also move downwards.
Brad Pitt’s Fight Club was downgraded from an 18 rating to 15 despite its portrayal of “sequences of graphic and brutal violence” and Enter the Dragon (1973) and Friday the 13th (1980) are now both labelled 15 after previously having higher ratings.
The Fast and the Furious, the first film in the blockbuster franchise, was rated 15 upon its release in 2001 but is now a 12A for “infrequent strong language, moderate violence and sex references”.
The age classification of Monty Python’s Life of Brian was downgraded to 12A in 2020. The religious satire, which tells the story of a man who is mistaken for the Messiah, sparked controversy when it was released in 1979.
The BBFC said that despite a public backlash at the time it was originally classified as being suitable for 14-year-olds, before being revised to those aged 15 when it was released on video in 1988.
Life of Brian is now rated as a 12A, meaning the material is not generally suitable for children aged under the age of 12 and they cannot see it in a cinema without the supervision of an adult. The film is said to contain “infrequent strong language, moderate sex references, nudity and comic violence”.
It was dubbed “‘the most blasphemous film ever made” when it was first released starring Python’s Graham Chapman as Brian Cohen who is born at the same time as Jesus and becomes a reluctant saviour for the masses.
The late Terry Jones as Brian’s mother famously protests: “He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!”
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