Mock Exam 2

 “Film censorship is motivated by fears about audiences and technologies.” Discuss this statement in reference to the concerns expressed about uncensored and unregulated video content in Britain in the early 1980s. [30 marks]

Film censorship was invented to "protect" audiences from explicit and inappropriate content that was shown in films and to also limit the probability of illegal downloading and piracy. The increase of VHS and home videos was becoming more popular which resulted in a decrease of cinema's economy.

Home video became the new and popular craze in which audiences could enjoy their films. This meant all films, and their content, could be accessible to people of any age. This meant that young children under the age of 18 could be watching inappropriate films that contain gore, violence and sexual scenes. This caused many people to buy home videos so they could watch said explicit content in the comfort of their own homes and not have to go to the cinema. The popularity among VHS and home video led to an economical damage in the film industry in the early 80's because people were not paying to go to the cinema anymore. The most explicit of films to be available on VHS contained copious amounts of gore, horror, blood, violence and sexual scenes were referred to as "Video Nasties". These Video Nasties were independent films and were not allowed to be shown in public cinemas due to their explicit content. These Video Nasties were popular because they were restricted. The BBFC created censorship so that audiences would not be exposed to such obscenities which could result in psychological damage - government and pressure groups decided what audiences should see. An example of a Video Nasty is Driller Killer.

These explicit Video Nasties created what was called a "moral panic". The conservative parties who were in power in the early 1980's (Margaret Thatcher being the leader) scapegoated the video nasties for the destructive behaviour that was going on among the people (which was actually because of the recession and economic hardship). These conservative parties also believed that the Video Nasties were seen as a threat to their current political views and promoted rebellion. Mary Whitehouse worked closely with Margaret Thatcher to try and put an end to the explicit content shown in Video Nasties and other media that was exposed on television in the early 80's. Video Nasties were influential which is what the government feared.