Do Todays Films go too far with their Content

Today’s film and cinema are highly restricted medium (think of A Serbian Film and you may disagree!) Cinema itself falls into its own unique regulatory body (MPAA or the BBFC being classic examples) that ensure every film released for consumption for the general public has a viewing rating according to its content. This rating system or classification revolves around the age of the viewer and if they are accompanied by an adult, or if they are a teenager, or an adult in their own right. Without the granting of a classification a film can’t be released.

It is important to remember this fact.

Film today, in technological terms, has not really evolved any further in content than from its original conception as was thought. However the meaning and narrative of film can be argued reflects the views of its contemporary society, the place that spawns its creation.

When considering the statement of “too far” it is essential to understand what the definition is. It is automatic to think in terms of visual horror, but what about content other than the visual image, be it either suggested or implied. It is not possible to say what the definition of “too far” is, remembering that censors and film regulatory bodies control the film that is being presented to the film viewer.

As the Hollywood studio system is designed to compete within an economical framework it is understandable why each competing studio would try and better its opponent. However this can only be done through appeasement of the censoring body.

Society as it functions today faces so much information, a colossal overload of facts, figures, images, sounds, social networks, relevant content, and irrelevant content too. Films merely express the view of the world as it fits into the social norms of contemporary society.

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Visceral terror has always been an issue in cinema, but to move beyond the purely visual it is necessary to explore further the deeper narrative and structure of cinema.

Perhaps the experience is a free-for-all in terms of cinema representing themes that were impossible 10 years ago. Throughout cinemas history conflicting problems with censorship and controversial themes have always been present and today’s filmic representation is the same as it always has been, facing a continual struggle with the regulatory body.

Anti-heroes have always been and will always be just that, heroes beyond the norms of society. Film works from this point of view in that it has to evoke an emotional response from its audience, without emotional connection, film and more importantly cinema, fails to entertain.

It is questionable whether society looks at cinema and indeed Photography too deeply and considers it to be a reflection of humanity, failing to recognise it as pure entertainment, escapism at its most sincere. Often people in everyday life will try to draw comparisons between real-life catastrophic events and relate the action to movies. This is impossible as one is true the other fiction.

Films visual and narrative content is an objective viewpoint undertaken by the participant, and this is why reactions to films vary from person to person, and culture to culture. The regulators are in place to protect the viewer.