1. Stefan Constantinou
Unit 8 Assignment 3C
The Law and Regulators
Race Relations Act 1976
The Race Relations Act places a legal obligation on public authorities to have to eliminate unlawful
discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between of different racial
groups. It was introduced to make relations between people of all racial groups mandatory and so
they don’t discriminate toward one another in a workplace. The act covers protection for people and
covers main categories of racial abuse: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and
victimisation. Before this was introduced it would cause great offence to the people involved and
reflect badly on the company and give it bad recognition. In 2004, film reviewers discussed whether
the act was relevant during discussions about The Passion of the Christ. It was accused of being AntiSemitic due to Jesus being killed for his actions and being Jewish, this resulted in the BBFC
concluding that it was neither Anti-Semitic nor blasphemous. This is related to the film/television
industry by some expectations being categorised as ‘occupational requirements’. For example, a
specific ethnicity may be required for a specific role in a BBC production/show. Recruiting for this
role would fall under an ‘occupational requirement’, and would therefore not be considered race
discrimination as it’s not necessarily a good nor bad thing. The act is also important because the BBC
must hire people dependent on their qualifications and abilities to give everyone equal
opportunities due to this law and not decline or hire anyone because of their ethnicity.
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/student-guide/legislation/other-legislation
http://www.totaljobs.com/careers-advice/money-and-legal/race-discrimination
Broadcasting Act 1990
The law contains a provision on the regulations of independent television, sound programs and
other services provided by TV and radio frequencies. The Broadcasting Act is a law that was passed
by UK parliament to form a legal framework on the electronic communication. This is relevant to
companies such as the BBC having/using a license fee for people to watch shows for an annual fee.
The license fee is a payment that must be paid if a household wants to watch television legally. The
typical price is £145.50 every year which helps pay for public broadcasting services (BBC). An
advantage of this is that BBC makes money from millions of people to help keep the channel
consistent. A disadvantage is they are missing out on larger money opportunities such as companies
asking to lace their product on the BBC channels.
http://uk.ask.com/question/what-is-the-broadcasting-act-1990
Obscene Publications Act 1959
The Obscene Publications Act 1959 applies to television and covers material, which is obscene,
whether it’s in a person’s possession or it is published or broadcasted. The offensive is more likely to
apply to research material than material actually transmitted because of the stricter tests relating to
harm and offence under the Communications Act 2003 and the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. Obscene,
meaning likely to corrupt and deprave an audience, the content that the act will take actions over is
mainly sexually explicit material, violence and drug taking. The BBC feels the need to add that the act
does no tolerate any sexual activities as well, such as bestiality, necrophilia, rape and torture. This

2. Stefan Constantinou
Unit 8 Assignment 3C
law relates to film and TV because the organisation works close with the BBFC which is responsible
for censoring and labelling all films released in the United Kingdom, regardless if they’re for regular
retail market. This is an important law/act because it censors what can and can’t be publicly viewed
in casual daytime or at all, it causes harmful scenes that shouldn’t be exposed. The law ensures this
doesn’t happen and works with the BBFC to ensure which pieces of material are available for whom.
http://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/media-law/other-laws-affectingbroadcasting/obscene-publications-act-1959
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7439740.stm
British Board of Film Classification
The BBFC is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and is responsible the
national classification and censorship of films within the UK. They gained power in 1913 when they
made their first important law, which requires cinemas to have licenses from local authorities.
Whereas, nowadays they’re making decisions about films and giving them certificates whilst
ensuring they are following the laws of the TV and Film industry. The Telegraph relate this to The
Human Centipede as it was banned in many countries due to the BBFC, many people thought this
was the right thing to does it was very explicit and excessively random. The BBFC imply that the
people who buy/watch this film are corrupt, but the result of buying it means you’re corrupt before
you watch the film. This was a controversial issue as banning the film just made it that much more
popular and made people feel the need to research it. The aims the BBFC want to achieve are
protecting the public, especially children, from content, which might raise harm risks. Another is
hoping to empower parents to make informed viewing choices. These are important as it’s basic but
they have a massive effect on the public as it leads to no arguments or complaints. All cinema
advertising must be submitted to the BBFC for age ratings of the film before they can be publicized
and shown in the cinema. The government is consulting on removing the current requirements of
the BBFC rating the age of cinema advertisements. They do this by ensuring that customers,
particularly children, do not see the advertisements containing material that would be inappropriate
to the age related film being screened. Ofcom enforce the law, take regards to what ASA report and
produce legal enforcement. The ASA can also refer problematic broadcast advertisers to Ofcom.
Broadcasters have ultimate responsibility for advertisements shown on their channels and are
therefore directly answerable to Ofcom, their licensing authority. Ofcom has powers to fine and/or
revoke licenses. For example, following more than 1,000 complaints to the ASA about the shopping
channel Auction World.tv, the ASA referred the matter to Ofcom, which found the company in
breach of its license and fined it. Auction World.tv ended up in administration and went out of
business. The ASA essentially report to Ofcom who actually have the power to make a change.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBFC
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc/our-mission
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/markmason/100053934/the-bbfc-should-let-the-humancentipede-creator-wallow-in-his-own-filth/
www.gov.uk/government/.../ia-cinemaadvertising-apr2012.rtf

3. Stefan Constantinou
Unit 8 Assignment 3C
Look Back Over 3A, 3B and 3C
Looking back over at 3A, 3B and 3C, I have learnt a lot about regulations, legislations and the do’s
and don’ts in the film and TV industry. The different types of employment were useful to learn as it
specified job roles in the industry. The codes of practise and the policies and procedures were useful
to learn as we found out how companies use them and how they can be used in effect. Researching
stories about how the BBC have spoke about a situation in a certain way, for example Muslims, was
interesting as they can show signs of misleading information or indirect labelling. Later, I looked at
the health and safety regulations in the BBC and how employees need to be informed of these for
the company to exist. We looked at how age is an important factor in the workplace as people up
until 2006 could be turned away due to their age, whereas now age discrimination is no longer valid
as people can work up till 65 now. Belonging to a union was interesting to learn about as it clears the
benefits and facts about how it can help you. Later on, we looked at different laws and acts that
changed the film and TV industry dramatically. Such as, the Race Relations Act enforces that it is
forbidden to commit discrimination toward a specific ethnicity intentionally. We then spoke about
the BBFC and how they give films certificates; this was useful to learn because it helped expand
knowledge on how it is relevant to the film industry and in cinemas.