Key Areas of Film Censorship

Censorship has tended to operate around the following key kinds of examples:

SEXUAL CONTENT: Cinema has always had a problem with this area. Damaged Goods (1919) was not given a certificate because of its frank discussion of venereal disease. Likewise, more recent (ish) films like Emanuelle (1974), Last Tango in Paris (1972) and Ai No Corrida (1976) have also caused controversy.

VIOLENCE.  Reservoir Dogs (1991) and Natural Born Killers (1994) both fell foul of the censor at video release stage. Entertainment Weekly even rated Natural Born Killers as the 8th most controversial film ever. Some films like A Clockwork Orange (1973) were removed from distribution at the behest of the director - in this case Stanley Kubrick - when he was concerned over copy-cat acts of violence and threats to his family.

HORROR. Horror in itself isn't so much the controversial area as the subject matter portrayed. Sometimes horror can involve violence or blasphemy or poor taste and this is the controversial part. Sometimes films like The Exorcist (1973) can involve all of them as well as having a child actor in a key role to add weight to the concerns.

DRUGS. The portrayal of drug taking in film has often led to accusations that this will incite young and vulnerable people to experiment with hard drugs. Films like Pulp Fiction (1994)and Trainspotting (1996)are often cited as examples.

TASTE. A hard category to define. Many films have been cut for this reason e.g. Night and Fog (1959), contained unacceptable documentary footage of corpses in Nazi concentration camps.

POLITICS. A controversial area. Films were refused certification on fears that political content could lead to public unrest. Fear of revolution led to banning of Battleship Potemkin (1926) because of its pro-communist slant. More recently films like JFK (1991) caused controversy when some people said the film was implying a truth that wasn't there. The film was not cut in any way however.

BLASPHEMY. Local councils used powers to ban Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)because of its comical treatment of the story of Jesus. Again the more recent Passion of the Christ (2004) was denounced in many quarters rather than being cut.

MORAL PANIC. This term describes the hysterical reaction that mainstream society sometimes has to groups of people who challenge conventions and behave in ways that threaten the status quo. Films that offer an insight into such subcultures are often banned or edited lest they serve to encourage people to participate. Example The Wild One (1954) starring Marlon Brando as a Hell’s Angel. It was banned as a bad example to the young.

The examiner suggests you look for three examples of every type, including current examples where you can.