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This helps people decide whether a movie is suitable for themselves and/or their children. Also, in some jurisdictions a rating may impose on Movie Theater s the legal obligation of refusing the entrance of children or minors to the movie. Furthermore, where movie theaters do not have this legal obligation, they may enforce restrictions on their own. Ratings are often given in lieu of Censorship . There is often debate as to the usefulness, strictness and enforcement of such systems. People may like content with a high rating. This includes children who may like to see content considered unsuitable for them ( Forbidden Fruit phenomenon). "Unrated", "uncut", "uncensored", etc. versions, released on DVD , may be attractive. In some countries (e.g. Australia), an official government body decides on ratings (i.e. '' De Jure ''); in other countries (e.g. the US), it is done by industry bodies with no official government status (i.e. '' De Facto ''). However, in most countries, movies that are considered morally offensive have been banned or restricted. Even if the film rating system has no legal consequences, and a film has not explicitly been banned or restricted, there are usually laws forbidding certain films, or forbidding to show them to minors. The influence of specific factors in deciding a rating varies from country to country. For example, in countries such as the United States, films with mild sexual content are often restricted to adult viewers, whereas in countries such as France and Germany, sexual content is viewed much more leniently in films. On the other hand, films with violent content are often subject in countries such as Germany and Finland to high ratings and even censorship, whereas countries such as the United States are generally viewed to offer more lenient ratings to violent movies. A film may be produced with an aimed-at rating in mind. It may be Re-edited if the desired rating is not obtained (in particular it may be cut to avoid a higher rating than intended), or for producing a different version for other countries. ARGENTINA The Institute Of Film And Audiovisual Arts (''Instituto de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales'', ''INCAA'') through the Advisory Commission of Cinematographic Exhibition (''Comisión Asesora de Exhibición Cinematográfica'') uses the following system:
AUSTRALIA See Also: Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia) All films for public exhibition or sale or hire in Australia must first be classified by The Office of Film and Literature Classification. The OFLC is funded by the federal government, however the individual states and territories have the power to reclassify or even ban movies if they wish to. In practice, this power is rarely exercised. All ratings have a given colour code and specific shape in order to be easily identifiable. In addition, all films higher than a G rating are accompanied by consumer advice which may include information on the type and impact of the content depicted throughout the film (e.g. "Moderate drug use", "Mild animated violence" etc.). OFLC ratings are legally enforceable and for this reason age restrictions are usually quite strictly upheld by cinemas and video stores. There are also laws requiring the display of a film's rating on packaging and advertising. It is possible to advertise a film before it is rated, however the OFLC must first approve the advertising. Only a limited number of films can be given "advertising approval" in a given year. The OFLC ratings are as follows:
All content broadcast on television, with the exception of news and live sports, are also given one of the above classifications up to and including MA15+, however TV ratings are not regulated by the OFLC. BELGIUM
BRAZIL Movies are rated in Brazil by the DJCTQ , or Department of Justice, Rating, Titles and Qualification (''Departamento de Justiça, Classificação, Títulos e Qualificação'' in Portuguese). No "parental guidance" ratings are used. The DJCTQ uses the following system:
People under the minimum age intended by the rating can watch the movie accompanied by their parents, except for porn films. The films are rated by trained raters and more recently, the DJCTQ makes surveys to see if the people agree or not with the rating intended for a specific film. BULGARIA The Bulgarian film rating system is defined in the ''Film Industry Law'' (or ''Act'') of 2003. The National Film Rating Committee examines every film that is going to be distributed in the country and gives it a rating. In practice, the ratings are rarely displayed on posters and in film advertisements, but almost all DVDs have them on the back cover. Before 2003 there was another rating system which was very similar to the current one (the same letter ratings were used, but the meaning of most letters was different; for example "B" stood for "not recommended for persons under the age of 12"). In practice, the rating B is given to most popular American films, even if they receive a more restrictive one in other countries. ''Note: the table above uses quotes from the English translation of the Bulgarian Film Industry Act published on the website of the Union of Bulgarian Film Makers . Parts of the law's official Bulgarian text may have changed since the translation was done.'' CANADA See Also: Canadian motion picture rating system Movie ratings in Canada are mostly a provincial responsibility, and each province will have its own legislation regarding exhibition and admission. Canadian ratings outside Quebec In the past there were a wide range of rating categories and practices in the various provinces. However, the five rating systems outside Quebec now all use categories and logos derived from the Canadian Home Video Rating System . In general, the categories are:
Quebec system In Quebec the '' Régie du Cinéma '' rates films and videos.
CHILE The Council of Cinematographic Classification (''Consejo de Calificación Cinematográfica'') uses the following system:
Subcategories
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA The first film rating system of the has not passed such a law. COLOMBIA As of June 22 , 2005 , the Ministry of Culture issued its new rating system. The classifications are:
CZECH REPUBLIC
DENMARK The Media Council for Children and Young People uses the following classifications.
Children who have turned 7 are allowed admission to all films if accompanied by an adult (a person turned 18). Consequently it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that their children do not watch violent and hard-core pornographic films. Films accessible to the public do not have to be classified by the Media Council but consequently must be labeled as 15 -Approval of the film for admittance of children from the age of 15 – no matter the harmfullness of the film. FINLAND The Finnish Board Of Film Classification has a film classification system under which films are classified into one of the following categories:
A person two years younger than the given rating is permitted to see a film in a movie theater when accompanied by an adult. This rule does not apply to the 18 rating. Only material intended to be accessible to minors (those below 18 years of age) is subject to mandatory inspection. A proper notification is sufficient for adult material. However, the board has the right to inspect material suspected of violating laws or material which was not properly notified. "KK" rating (''kokonaan kielletty'', totally banned) is the rating for films banned in Finland. FRANCE Prior to showing in theaters, a license (visa d'exploitation) must be obtained from the Ministry Of Culture . Upon the advice of the commission pertaining to cinema movies, the minister decides either not to grant the license (a very rare occurrence), or to grant a license among the 4 following:
Each rating can be accompanied by a special "warning". In practice, the ministry always follows the decision of the commission. In addition, the movie may be considered "pornographic or inciting to violence" (colloquially referred to as " X-rated "). In this case, it bears high taxation and may only be shown in specific theatres, which are now few in France. This classification is not used for merely violent movies, or movies containing mere erotic scenes. Classifications, as all administrative decisions, may be appealed before the courts ('' Conseil D'État '' at litigation). A highly publicized example of this is the movie '' Baise-moi '', containing scenes of graphic sex and violence; it was initially not rated "pornographic or inciting to violence", but associations sued and obtained the "X classification". ''Related link:'' {Link without Title} (in French) GERMANY The Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Der Filmwirtschaft (Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry, FSK) has a film classification system under which films are classified into one of the following categories:
All the above ratings also contain the phrase "gemäß §14 JuSchG" (in accordance with §14 of the Youth Protection Law), signifying that they are legally binding, rather than being mere recommendations.
Furthermore, while a rating by the FSK is not legally required for a film to be sold, "unrated" films may only be sold to adults, and since most retail chains and virtually all cinemas will only sell/show films with an FSK rating, all films are normally submitted to the FSK for classification, with the exception of films that will most likely be refused a certificate (pornography or films containing extremely strong violence, for example). After a title has received a rating for a cinematic release, the FSK must approve this rating again for a home entertainment release. Some titles therefore have different FSK certificates for the cinematic release and for the DVD release. House Of 1000 Corpses , for example, gained a ''Keine Jugendfreigabe'' certificate for the cinematic release, but was refused a certificate for the home entertainment release, forcing the publisher to release it on DVD with a ''SPIO/JK'' certificate. After 10 years, films may be resubmitted to the FSK for re-rating. Older films which have gained a ''FSK 18'' certificate during the '50s or '60s often gain a much lower certificate now, due to a more liberal approach the FSK now takes in issuing ratings. However, due to the cost involved in resubmitting a film, it is common practice to keep the old certificate for the cinematic release and omly submit bonus materials or extended scenes for classification. This leads to the seemingly paradoxical result of extended, and more violent versions of previously-rated films gaining a lower certificate than the "tamer" version. The 4 Disc Collector's Edition of The Frighteners , for example, contains the cinematic release with the old ''FSK 18'' certificate and the directors cut, which has new scenes but the same graphic violence as the cinematic release, which has gained a ''FSK 16'' certificate. Further to the above restrictions, it is also illegal to supply a film with an ''FSK 18'', ''Keine Jugendfreigabe'' or ''SPIO/JK'' certificate, including those not on the index, without definitive means to supply proof of age. This severely limits distribution of films with these certificates, and thus it is extremely common for distributors to supply a cut version with a lower certificate so that the film can be distributed by mail order or Internet. Almost all major online distributors have declined to distribute ''FSK 18'' or ''Keine Jugendfreigabe'' films due to the legal difficulties in the past. Shopping Centres, Malls and Amazon Germany have started selling films with this certificate since 2002. Amazon Germany started selling films with this certification in November 2006. Many smaller online retailers provide an FSK 18 section which can only be accessed by sending a scanned copy of the buyer's identification card or providing the ID card's number (which includes the date of birth encrypted). The legality of this practice, however, is as yet untested. In September 2006, Amazon.de became the first major retailer to provide FSK 18 rated films, by making use of a ID checking service offered by the German Postal Service . GREECE
HONG KONG See Also: Hong Kong motion picture rating system An official government agency issues ratings for any movie that will be shown in Hong Kong movie theatres, instead of a private institution. They are:
ICELAND Kvikmyndaeftirlit Ríkisins was started in 1932 and ran until 1997. That year the name changed into Kvikmyndaskoðun and ran until 2006. Since 1997 the board does not edit movies. The old rating system from Kvikmyndaeftirlit Ríkisins and Kvikmyndaskoðun is still valid and is as following:
From July 1st 2006 Kvikmyndaskoðun was shut down and SmáÍs {Link without Title} has taken over the responsibility of rating systems in Iceland. Simultaneously, a new rating system started and is as following:
Just like Kvikmyndaskoðun, SmáÍs doesn't ban movies or edit them. INDIA See Also: Indian film censor ratings In India , the Indian Film Censor Board classifies films into three categories:
INDONESIA Motion pictures shown in Indonesia must undergo reviewing by the Indonesian Film Censor Board (Lembaga Sensor Film). (Lembaga Sensor Film) . Other than issuing certificates, the LSF also reviews and issues permits for film-related advertising, such as movie trailers and posters. LSF has the authority to cut scenes from films. Certificates are issued based on the following categories:
IRELAND The Irish Film Censor's Office (IFCO) under which theatrical films are placed into one of the following categories:
Films without certification are not ''ipso facto'' banned and have been shown at Film Festival s and Arthouse clubs such as the Irish Film Institute . For video releases ( VHS and DVD ), categories G, '''PG''' and '''18''' share the same meanings as above, however, there is no '''16''', and categories '''12''' and '''15''' are mandatory, not advisory. JAPAN Eirin has a film classification system under which films are classified into one of the following categories:
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