Film Classificaion (Activity 3.3; p142)

Have you watched films classified as 18 when you were below this age?

Yes, but never in the cinema, mainly because in the cinema its always gruesome or true horror films, which i never enjoy. Although at home when i was younger i watched 15's and nowadays i watch 18's, but i don't really think twice about it. Most people don't. Classification never seems to be a problem at home as you pick the film you think you'd enjoy watching, and no matter what classification it is, you know your own limits, so are able to watch whats suited to you, even if its not what the classification agrees with.

Does classification work for home viewing (DVD, TV broadcast, online, YouTube)?

Not always, but sometimes. On the internet especially, watching over your age classification's is easy. Usually a screen comes up, asking if you are 18 and above, which you can obviously lie about, however on youtube you need to sign in before you can watch something that a user has posted and classified, although that too is easy to get roundby creating a fake account with a different birth year. Watching films on the TV varies, as usually 15's and 18's are shown later on in the evening, when people who are younger than that have gone to bed, and sometimes on sky, it asks for the billpayers password (i.e your parents) who would be over 18, as a sort of proof of your age. It does this on Sky +, if you record a movie with a classification you must enter the password before you can veiw the film. Although with DVD's its mainly up to you or your parents, as your parents don't really mind what you watch (film-wise) as its just a film, and you yourself know your limits and what you'd like to see, and what you know you don't want to see. So classification doesn't really work beneficially in the home, however a different kind of classification, a personal one comes in, as you give the films your own classification on if you can watch them. For example, my 14 year old step-sister is constantly watching 18 horror movies such as Candyman, and has been since she was 13, and is never emotionally affected by them in a bad way.

Can parents/guardians/supervising adults be trusted to monitor what children/youths are viewing? Should they have this responsibility?

I think for younger children, who haven't become teenagers yet, parents can usually be trusted to monitor their film choices at home, and they should take on the responsibility of what they are watching, and make sure its a suitable film for them, even if its a higher certificate than their age. I remember when i was young, my parents didn't let me watch anything classified older than my age, but nowadays when teenagers have grown up, we pick our own choices, and know what we want. At our sort of age (GCSE and above), parents dont need to be trusted to monitor what films we watch, and shouldnt really take on that sort of responsibilty, as we know ourselves what we should and shouldn't watch, and are sensible/mature enough to know best.