BBFC announces new guidelines

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has published its latest guidelines for movie ratings following its recent public consultation.

The board is said to have noted a slight softening in the attitude to the depiction of contextualised sex in 18-rated films such as 9 Songs, but a strengthening of opinion regarding offensive language at lower age ratings.

The BBFC has consequently introduced discrimination as a major classification issue with regards to race, gender, religion, disability and sexuality.

A repackaged DVD boxset of Friends has had its classification increased from a PG to a 12 rating because Jennifer Aniston's character Rachel Green uses the phrase "laundry spaz" in one scene, The Times reports.

Head of policy Peter Johnson said: "What the research told us was that for the public this is now as important as drugs or horror or sex.

"Where you have got people using terms like 'spaz' or 'mong', which is quite common in American works, we have found that UK audiences are quite offended."

The board has tightened the 12/12A categories with regards to horror and crude sexual references, while solvent abuse has been specified as a classification issue and films including it are unlikely to be passed at a 15 rating.

The new guidelines will also be based on a clearer definition of "harm" following the High Court ruling on controversial console game Manhunt 2

BBFC director David Cooke added: "You would not expect there to be a massive shift in attitudes since the 2005 Guidelines, and there is sometimes an assumption that public attitudes are becoming more relaxed as time goes on, but that is not always the case."