The Young Lawyer and blog promiscuity

I have been a bit quiet on the Dispatches front recently. Lots of reasons for this, not least my increasing fascination with twitter and a number of other work issues. Also, I have been commissioned to contribute a monthly blog for the Solicitors Journal/Young Lawyer, and I have written a number of pieces for them so far on issues such as the social significance of sport and the regulation of ticket sales, and most recently, film classification. As noted in the blog, one of the outputs of this was a chapter Alex Sinclair and I contributed to a book to celebrate the BBFC centenary, which is, of course, available at all good stockists and well worth a read! If you don't believe me,if the link still works around 10 minutes in, see the review on BBC Two's The Book Review Show

The entry below is reproduced from Young Lawyers Blog January 2013 with links added for your delectation. Please follow developments on the young lawyers blog

Despite enjoying a more positive perception than in some of the previous years running up to its centenary celebrations in November 2012, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) faces a number of challenges for the future. Not least among them, how they respond to the changing nature of both consumption of film and production, with new modes of delivery and creation introducing a host of new challenges. As such, 2013 – and indeed the next century – promises to be just as eventful as the last.

Towards the end of 2011 the BBFC was asked to classify the film The Human Centipede 2. This was initially rejected, but following a resubmission of an edited version that had 32 separate cuts, removing two minutes and 37 seconds from the original submission, the film was finally classified as an 18. This was well publicised across the popular press, but was only the latest in a long line of celebrated cases, many of which were highlighted in Uncut, the British Film Institute’s exhibition and film series, held to mark the BBFC centenary. During Uncut some classic examples were shown, for example the rare complete version of John Waters’ Pink Flamingos was shown, as was the original uncut version of Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

All of the films illustrate the combination of elements that dictate how the BBFC go about their business, and frame their approach to classifying film. The BBFC has always been cognisant of the legal framework within which it operates. Indeed, the BBFC is a curious bi-product of the Cinematograph Act 1909 that dictated that premises needed to be licensed to show films, but since then a number of key statutes have further impacted upon how films are classified including the Obscene Publications Act 1959, Public Order Act 1986 and the Video Recordings Act 1984. It is instructive that until recently they were known as censors, only becoming the British Board of Film Classification in 1984.

The portrayal of children in film has become increasingly contentious, and the Protection of Children Act 1978 has had a significant impact on the way that films are classified. The law, however, as often is the case, is only half the story. While there is a broader legal framework within which they operate, the BBFC adopt their own guidelines that further inform the approach their classifiers take to film. Their approach today is an interesting one as while all the examiners will be aware of the legal framework, and will not allow anything to be granted a certificate if it potentially falls foul of this, the BBFC’s own guidelines will dictate the film’s location on the core spectrum of U, PG, 12, 12A, 15 and 18 and these guidelines are regularly reviewed and updated. The film critic Mark Kermode has talked of a sea change in their approach in recent years, with the BBFC cast as protector of film rather than the enemy that many saw them as years ago.

A number of events took place to celebrate the BBFC’s centenary in November last year. A book, entitled Behind the Scenes at the BBFC: Film Classification from the Silver Screen to the Digital Age, to which my colleague, Alex Sinclair, and I contributed, develops some of the themes I have touched on here.

New Seminar Series: Entertainment Law

Here is the poster for our latest series of seminars at our Centre for the Study of Law Society and Popular Culture at the University of Westminster. If anyone is interested in attending any of these, and you are NOT a member of staff or a student at the University of Westminster, you are welcome to attend but will need to RSVP me to arrange access to the building.

Is it a kind of dream?

 With the Easter weekend coming up, I started to think about possible trips to the cinema with my family. The Hunger Games looms large for my 10 year old, and although I have heard reports of children being scared of its dystopian vision, I figured he got enough of this at home and should be OK. That said, it reminded me of the useful guidance the BBFC produce and in particular the 7 seconds of cuts that were made to the film in order to obtain  a 12A certificate. I will report back on the film once I have seen it, but it made me think that I should publicise some of the excellent work the BBFC do. I met a colleague from the BBFC recently, Jen Evans, with whom I am working on an exhibition project that hopefully will take place in June of this year, to mark in part the centenary of the BBFC. She reminded me of their excellent on line 'From the Archives' series which gives a number of valuable insights into the history of the Board. Last month focused on some fantastic background to the film 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'. Especially interesting is the BBFC Exception Form, below and via this link, detailing some key cuts that needed to be made in order for the film to be given an X certificate, and including one in particular that Warner Brothers baulked at, the removal from one scene of a dead rat being served. 

In the letter from Warner Brothers to John Trevelyan, then Director of the BBFC, they successfully plead for the rat's reinstatement! Fantastic archive material, and mirrored in this month's topical offering of Watership Down, hence the image to kick off this blog entry. Now I remember this from my first year at secondary school, wondering which of the class would be lucky enough to say 'piss off' as we read it out loud in class. I saw the film around the same time, aged 10 or 11, and was not unduly perturbed by it. However, I was very interested to discover that the film is still contentious to this day, and that the BBFC still gets letters complaining about its certification as a U. The BBFC have helpfully made available the original examiners' report of how they came to their decision, noted in this month's 'From the Archives'. Brilliant stuff, and testament to all the work the BBFC do in terms of education, outside of their role as classifiers of material. I will post about this again soon as the exhibition draws near.

Censors Working Overtime

It may not be common knowledge, but the British Board of Film Classification celebrates its centenary in 2012, see this useful piece by Andrew Pulver in the Guardian recently.   Recently, along with my colleague Alexander Sinclair, I have been working with the BBFC on a book project that celebrates this centenary. Our chapter broadly covers the years 1975 to 1982. These were exciting years, and our chapter covers the extension to the Obscene Publications Act and the passing of the Protection of Children Act, along with the release of important films such as Salo, The Life of Brian, Taxi Driver and Pretty Baby.
The book is due out in November 2012, but those of you who have read the blog previously will have seen a series of pieces about the history of our own Cinema at the University and the campaign to revive the birthplace of British cinema, see earlier posts such as this.  Drawing upon these links, we are hoping to run some joint events between the University of Westminster and the BBFC in 2012. More details to follow as I have them.

Finally, apologies for the pun in title, but it does give me a chance to make reference to my beloved XTC, and happy new year to all.

The Art of the Olympics and the Cultural Olympiad: Bell ringers of the world, unite and take over

Whilst technically spread over four years, and starting with the end of one edition of the Games and finishing at the closing ceremony of the next, this week has seen something of a relaunch of the  Cultural Olympiad for London 2012 and the London 2012 Festival programme. Perhaps the most eye catching, or ear splitting, highlight of which is Martin Creed's Work No 1197 which has campanologists of the world polishing their bells in excited expectation.

As part of this, a number of high profile artists have designed posters in celebration of the event, the seemingly omnipresent Martin Creed amongst them, and his effort is reproduced above. A slide show of them all, including efforts from Gary Hume, Rachel Whiteread, Bridget Riley and Howard Hodgkin, can be viewed here. Its fair to say that these have come in for some criticism, some of the Daily Mail ultra reactionary variety (see Louise Eccles' A splodge of blue paint and coffee cup rings...Infant school art? No, posters for the London Olympics)  but a lot of the criticism seems to have picked up on the lack of an overt  identity linking it with the place the event is taking place. Certainly there are a number of previous examples that have made this link more explicit, see for example one of the posters for the 1948 Games that plays on some, frankly pretty obvious, London iconography.

Perhaps some of the Daily Mail readers were a bit perturbed that there weren't enough bowler hats, London taxis and red telephone boxes on the posters, but I liked them. At least they were not safe and cliched, and did celebrate some great contemporary British artists. It did however get me thinking about art and sport more generally, and also about cultural aspects of the Olympics. First anyone who has been on a tour at Camp Nou will have seen the art gallery, much of it inspired by a competition that is run by FC Barcelona (mes que un club) and the famous Miro poster. 

This is a famous example, but I am sure there are others. In the meantime, all of the posters for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics are not only available as poster prints at the reasonable price of £7 (all good stockists etc - but can only be bought with a VISA card on London 2012 site, but that's another story)  but also high end signed art prints of these have been made available from the admirable (I have bought some work from them in the past, but not London 2012 work) countereditions although these will be beyond many people's price range with the box set currently set at £11,000 but unavailable and Bridget Riley's piece already sold out.

Now on twitter

Now on twitter! Am working out way to embed this in site too. 

Follow @kippernoggin

It was thirty years ago today...

The papers this morning were full of reports of Bob Dylan's 70th birthday, but in terms of anniversaries today has a much more personal resonance for me. 30 years ago today I went to my first ever proper concert, XTC and The Members (purveyors of The Sound of the Suburbs, lest anyone forget) at Birmingham Odeon along with my good friend Tim Worth, now one half of the dynamic wine duo that is the Worth Brothers. It was in fact one of XTC's last ever gigs as shortly afterwards Andy Partridge felt unable to tour anymore and retired from live performance. Pictured above is my only memento of that day, still lovingly preserved. Plans were originally afoot to recreate that day in some form, perhaps by persuading Mr Partridge out of retirement, or a nostalgic trip to another gig to commemorate this event. However, Mr Worth is at his own sold out event whilst I, somewhat more surprisingly, am also involved in a food related event with my good friend the spice monkey at the Star in Highgate.