Wednesday 7 February 2018

How far do changes to the regulation of media reflect broader social changes?

How far do changes to the regulation of media reflect broader social changes?

Regulation is an essential practice in the process of releasing any cinematic production, to allow audiences to identify the type of content and themes present in the product in order to self-regulate their media consumption and prevent impressionable audiences such as children and vulnerable adults from potential harm. The film rating system has changed drastically since the BBFC was founded back in 1912. The organization’s original intent was to censor, rather than classify, which is evident through the change of name from ‘British Board of Film censors’ to ‘British Board of Film Classification’ in 1984. As of today, the BBFC has 7 classifications labelled with suggested age restrictions designed to be easily recognisable by consumers. However, back when the organization began, only 4 classifications existed (U, H, A and X) with only U remaining to this day. It wasn’t until 1982 when we were first introduced to a variant the age-based system we are familiar with today; however it wasn’t until 1989 when a 12 category was introduced. The development of this system has undoubtedly been influenced by the constant progression of both films and audiences alike, as producers tackle more and more films tackle controversial subject matters or fall into a middle ground between ratings, the latter being what influenced the creation of the 12/12A Classifications. Many would argue that this category mainly benefits the producers, as it allows films which would have initially been rated 15 to be targeted to the young teen demographic: The hunger games and twilight trilogies are good examples of this. This is evidence that throughout the years Media regulation has become much more liberal. While once, one of the BBFC’s main concerns was the issues surrounding impressionable young audiences from copying actions they see in the media (copycat theory), now the BBFC allow films such as the ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy, which has a predominant focus on violence (child on child) to be targeted towards a young teen audience. This raises the question whether The BBFC are more lenient towards the inclusion of violence over sex, as films with high levels of violence such as ‘Deadpool’ received only a 15 rating, while abroad it has received an 18 certificate. Films which focus on sex, such as ‘Fifty shades of grey’ and ‘Blue is the warmest colour’ however have received an 18 rating. For the case of ‘Blue is the warmest colour’, it’s initial country of release (france) are much more liberal when it comes to representation of sex in the media, not to mention thefact that the UK are still stricter than most countries when it comes to the representation of LGBT relationships, with many progressive media texts being heavily censored in the UK.
Since the BBFC’s introduction in 1912, we have been exposed to a variety of different media platforms such as TV, Games and most recently, the internet. While for the most part, the same classifications can apply to these platforms, the ways in which they are regulated varies drastically, for one, while someone who’s underage cannot be legally permitted to view a film above their age rating, it is harder to prevent children from accessing content which is being broadcasted live. While the watershed hours were established in 1964, meaning that ‘mature’ content is only broadcasted after 9pm, nothing is ensuring that all children are in bed before this content is aired. As well as this, currently, little is preventing people of any age from accessing whatever content they desire 24/7 through the introduction of streaming services such as Netflix and user-generated content on sites such as YouTube. Neither of these platforms are controlled by a regulatory board, allowing these services to stream content which may not be suitable by OFCOM’s standards.
As for videogames, the constant upgrades allow for authentic simulations of real world scenarios. While violent and sometimes pornographic games have existed as far back as the late 1970s, the platforms were still very niche, it wasn’t until the early 1990s when controversy surrounding games such as Mortal kombat and doom sparked outrage, resulting in the BBFC regulating games until 2004, when PEGI was formed to exclusively focus on regulating game releases. PEGI appear to have a liberal take on regulation, such as their decision to allow hatred to be released, despite the game allowing simulation of murder of innocent civilians. However, Releases of games aimed at children such as the 1999 Pokémon games and New super Mario bros for the DS received a PEGI 12 rating  for their inclusion of gambling minigames, a minor aspect of these generally family friendly games which both initially received a 3 rating, which suggests that gambling is looked at with a more conservative view than back in the 90s, which is contradicted by the fact that forms of real-world gambling are present in games accessible by children, such as the FIFA Franchise. The fact that both ‘The Hunger games’ and these releases share a 12 rating suggests that the different regulators have widely varying standards surrounding what is suitable for each age demographic. The most controversial of these being the internet. The fact that individual sites self-regulate their own content has resulted in bias surrounding the target demographics of content. For example, YouTube have stated in e-mails to creators who have had their work demonetised that this is due to their content not being suitable for a 5-year-old, despite YouTube requiring the user to be 13 to make an account. Creators and content which successfully target children are typically safe from demonetisation due to their advertiser friendly nature, despite often containing themes and imagery which would not be deemed appropriate by regulatory bodies such as OFCOM. While it is important we have a wide range of regulators who are specialised to their focus area, I feel that it is important that the age classification system does not range too far between each individual regulator, as this will undoubtedly cause confusion amongst parents. 

Wednesday 31 January 2018

1. How effective is Film and TV regulation in the Netflix era? 2. Should society or the individual or an educated elite decide what is a appropriate level of sex and violence to expose children to

With the rise of the internet and streaming services, it has become practically impossible to regulate all of the content shared, alongside the fact that as there is no age rating system, allowing younger children to be able to access content they are not supposed to be able to view. There is nothing stopping an underage internet user from accessing pirated copies of 18 movies/tv shows. Platforms such as Netflix do not legally require regulation from a governing body, meaning that even if a film/show is deemed unacceptable after regulation, Netflix can still allow that content to be readily available. Video sharing sites such as Youtube have become a host for a range of child-oriented content containing themes which would not be accepted by a regulatory body such as the BBFC. Therefore, unless the internet loses it’s open-access capabilities, these issues cannot be resolved. It is important that parents pay close attention to what their kids are viewing.


I believe that both society and the indivual share responsibility for the decision over which media they or their children decide to access. It is important that the age classification system is put in place to educate consumers about the sort of content present in these films. However, in it’s current state, the system is heavily flawed due to how they do not consider the varying rates of development between individual consumers. This is why it is important that parents make a moral decision whether or not that their child is developed enough or not to consume a media product as they understand their child personally. Once a parent feels their child is responsible enough, they should be able to self-regulate their consumption of media products based on identifying what they do and don’t feel comfortable viewing. While this system would be ideal, it has become harder to achieve due to the ease of accessing content unrestricted through unofficial sources. As well as this, a majority of childrens content is accessed through youtube, which is not regulated in correlation with a governing board’s ratings due to the vast influx of content shared every minute.

Wednesday 24 January 2018

300 word summary - Regulation debate

I believe that as of today, Media regulation is more important than ever. However, I feel as though the system in its current state is heavily flawed. In an age where anyone can access whatever content they wish at the tip of their fingers, it has become almost impossible to regulate this material. Countless hours of footage are uploaded to sites like youtube every minute, making it virtually impossible to be manually monitored.

As well as this, material which is regulated (or even banned) is also accessible for free through pirate streaming services. I believe that there is little which the regulatory boards can do about this issue, leaving parents responsible. I believe parents should be educated about the type of content accepted for each age rating includes, and then form a moral decision whether or not their child would be comfortable viewing it, after all different individuals develop at different speeds, so whilst one 12 year old may feel comfortable watching 12 or higher films, another may react differently. Then once the individual and parent feels comfortable knowing what to expect in the product, they can be free to self-regulate the type of media they consume.

As for the internet, it is near impossible to regulate all content posted. A huge issue regarding that is the influx of kids-oriented content on youtube. While youtube’s kids app offers a filtered version of the site which only includes child-friendly content, many harmful videos targeting kids end up on the platform due to the app’s automatic regulation. It is important that parents closely examine the type of videos their kids are watching on the service, or better off, provide their child with a regulated app such as the cbeebies app.

Tuesday 2 January 2018

Regulation in the media

Regulation is the control/moderation over the content displayed in media products to determine whether the material is suitable for people of certain ages, and that the product does not project views against laws and morals. In the UK, it is legally required that every cinematic release is given an age rating by the BBFC, however in the 21st century, the general public are exposed to a wide range of media products including TV shows, Music videos, Videogames and advertising to name a few, which all must be regulated to ensure the safety of the consumer.
As for who regulates the media, it is important that a diverse range of regulators agree on the ways products are rated, to ensure that views towards specific areas are not determined in bias. It is also important to re-watch the content to make sure that certain themes and messages haven’t gone unnoticed.

Nowadays, I believe that regulation of the media is more important than ever, as we live in an age of user generated content through sites such as YouTube, where videos are uploaded way too frequently to be regulated by a human. Many videos which target young children contain disturbing/inappropriate content for young minds, yet are deemed suitable due to their innocent appearance. It is also apparent that many parents are uneducated about age ratings for films/games, as many children grow up playing games and watching films which are inappropriate for impressionable young minds, so it is important that parents pay close attention to the types of content their children are consuming.

Wednesday 6 December 2017

Digital technology essay

Digital Media Technology involves the use of technology to create digital content such as Images, video and audio. Utilising digital media technology can support creativity, as the internet can provide us with examples of real media texts, we are not restricted by materials, and we can implement interactive elements which were impossible through traditional media methods. Throughout my time as a media student I have gained a much wider range of skills in Digital media software such as photoshop, indesign and Final Cut Pro. For example, I am now able to add textures and filters to images, animate and develop fonts.

For my preliminary task, the influences of digital media on my work was limited as I was unfamiliar with the softwares. However, digital media technology allowed me to research examples of existing publications via the internet to help inspire my idea. I also used a camera to take my imagery. Unlike in my later tasks, there was a lack of adjustments to my Images, and instead chose to spend more time developing and formatting text/graphics.

Looking back on my preliminary task, my experimentation with fonts, imagery and colour scheme allowed me to evaluate what worked and what didn’t in preparation to the creation of my AS Magazine.

By the time I began work on my AS Magazine, I had gained a wider range of skills in digital media technology. For example, I now had a better understanding of camera angles/lighting which I put into consideration when shooting my imagery. I was then able to adjust this imagery on photoshop using a wide range of tools such as the spot removal, blending and blur tools.

My development in use of digital media technology allowed me to express my creativity better, as I was now more comfortable with the software, I am able to achieve my desired outcome more successfully (e.g. use of textures/fonts etc.) but my more in depth analyis of existing products found on the internet did narrow down my design choices, as my aim was still to create a conventional music magazine.

For my A2 trailer, I was able to further expand on the skills gained over the last year. For example, I have picked up new skills in photoshop such as the ability to produce animated graphics for my transitions and titles, a better understanding of cameras and lighting and the introduction to editing software (final cut pro) allowing for sound design, transitions and more.

Experimentation with basic video editing on IMovie allowed for my group to reflect on what worked successfully/unsuccessfully to improve on in our final trailers. The internet also helped us to find scripts which we adapted into our own trailers.

Wednesday 22 November 2017

RMT essay

In media texts, conventions play an important role in allowing the audience to be able to recognise the genre of the text. Conventions can also be broken as a response to the predictability of use of these elements in a genre, or to stand out from other products of the genre, potentially developing the genre further.

In AS, my brief was to create a music magazine focusing on a genre of our choice. To complete this successfully, I had to identify conventions in magazines related to the genre of my chosen genre (rock music) as well as the conventions of magazine design. This research was essential to the creation of my final outcome, as it allowed me to recognise the elements which are used to make my publication recognisable as part of it’s genre, and how conventions such as boosts/cover lines help to gain interest from an audience. For instance, looking at ‘Classic rock’ and ‘Rocksound’ Magazines helped me to identify the conventional colour schemes of rock magazines (both used gold, red, black and white.) as well as the type of shots used for the images and the sorts of costumes/props which are used. While my magazine took heavy influence from these publications, I did however break some conventions to add a personalised touch to my project. For example, rather than focusing on an established artist, my cover focused on an upcoming indie artist, as well as the use of diamond graphics (boosts, bullet points etc.) as a unique theme of my publication.

In my year 13 film promotion excercise, I made a horror movie trailer/poster/magazine. In order to do this I had to investigate conventions of horror and it’s many sub-genres, such as stock characters/situations, weapons and costumes and setting. I also investigated trailer structures and promotion methods.

For this trailer, we based the included elements of existing horror films to create a product that is instantly recognisable as part of that genre. However, our trailers carry our own personal representations of these concepts, and the settings reflect those of our everyday lives. A general audience have not necessarily explored London themselves, and our edgy unsettling representation of the area subverts the false reality which is often presented in existing films.

Through my research into the conventions of media texts, I have developed as a media producer, as I am now able to understand why these elements are conventions of their respective genres, and what the intended meanings/responses from the audience are. I am now a able to implement this knowledge into my own projects to create an identifiable or unique take on an existing genre.