R or RP16? Clarifying the classification of Kingdom of Heaven
Article by the Chief Censor, Bill Hastings
11.05.05
Many newspapers and cinemas have been advertising Kingdom of Heaven as RP16. This is incorrect. That classification has not existed since 1994. A simple R replaced all RP classifications in 1994.
RP16 used to have a particular and narrow meaning. Regulation 10(2)(e) of the now repealed Films Regulations 1984 defined “RP (followed by such age as the Chief Censor may specify)” as “Approved for exhibition only to persons . . . years of age and over and to any person under that age when accompanied by that person’s parent or guardian”.
The current regulations do not define RP at all. Instead, under Regulation 17(3) of the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Regulations 1994, a label simply saying R must be applied to any classification that limits exhibition to specified persons, classes of persons, for one or more specified purposes, or to any combination of age, persons, or purposes. Neither the Act nor the Regulations currently makes any reference to the term “guardian”.
One advantage of the old RP16 label was that it conveyed in a direct and graphic manner the precise nature of a film’s restriction to consumers. The R label on the other hand conveys nothing more than a message that a film has been restricted in one of an almost infinite variety of ways. The actual restriction is supposed to be printed to the right of the R in fine print, above the descriptive note which is also in fine print.
In the “Censor’s Classification” column on the movie listings page, most newspapers define R as “Restricted to persons 16 years and over unless accompanied by a Parent/Guardian”. This is merely one of many things an R classification could mean. It is incorrect to state that this is the only restriction an R classification is meant to convey.
Kingdom of Heaven was classified “Objectionable except if the availability of the publication is restricted to persons who have attained the age of 16 years or who are accompanied by a parent or guardian”. Under current law, this classification must be conveyed with an R label. It is up to the Classification Office to specify the persons or classes of persons allowed to see the film. The Office has not defined “guardian”, so cinemas are entitled to give the word an interpretation consistent with the freedom of expression, which in this case is a very wide interpretation that allows persons under the age of 16 to view the film if they are accompanied by a person acting in the role of a parent at the time the film is viewed.
The classification of Kingdom of Heaven allows a teacher to accompany a class of under 16 year olds, an adult to accompany her teenage son and her teenage nephew, a sister over the age of 16 to accompany her younger brother, and a babysitter to take his under 16 year old charges, to view the film. Proof of guardianship under the Guardianship Act 1968 is not required.