Officials responsible for film classifications were told this year of children aged under 10 attending a movie featuring graphic violence that a clinical psychologist believed should have been rated for adults only.
The psychologist warned that scenes from the 15A-rated Joker: Folie à Deux – based on the character from the Batman comics series – “could cause significant levels of harm” to under 18s.
The submission was part of correspondence to the Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) this year, released following a Freedom of Information request, showing a variety of complaints about movie age ratings.
Barry Keoghan’s Saltburn and action thriller Civil War were among the most complained about films.
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While IFCO defended the ratings it gave movies this year, it acknowledged films made in previous decades may have ratings that are out of sync with new releases – due to a general increase in graphic violence on screen.
In October, a viewer who identified themselves as a clinical psychologist wrote to IFCO about the 15A rating of The Joker: Folie à Deux, saying: “I went to the cinema to see this last night and found myself sitting beside young children between the ages of eight and 10. Behind me was an even younger child.”
A 15A rating allows for anyone under 15 to attend as long as there is an adult with them.
“It is my professional opinion that this film is wholly inappropriate for any child under the age of 18, even with parental guidance. It is not developmentally appropriate by any standard and can possibly cause significant levels of harm, mental distress now and in the future,” the viewer wrote.
“Additionally, one of the main characters, Lady Gaga, who children look up to, demonstrates placing a gun to her head in a reference to suicide. The possible implications of this for young children seeing their idol demonstrating such behaviour increases risk of young people demonstrating copycat behaviour.
“That this is a character from a comic book series does not soften the impact whatsoever and indeed should warrant even greater responsibility to ensure the younger audience this might attract is cared for and not exposed to this material.”
One of IFCO’s assistant classifiers, David Power, replied that the film was deemed 15A with the accompanying advice: “Mental health theme with suicide references. Some violent scene with graphic injury detail.”
“While the film features challenging themes and scenes, our classifiers felt they were contained within the 15A category where violence may be realistic but not focus on graphic injury ... While we do sometimes get reports of very young children attending such screenings, our experience is that those occurrences are few and far between and parents take their responsibilities seriously,” Mr Power said.
Other films that attracted audience feedback varied from Alien Romulus to The Garfield Movie.
In October, a viewer deemed 18-rated horror Terrifier 3 “absolutely sadistic and unfit for cinema screens”. The supernatural slasher features a clown killer in a Santa costume.
Mr Power replied: “One of lFCO’s guiding principles is that we believe that adults should be free, within the law, to choose what they wish to view. While the film certainly isn’t for everyone, we felt that the title and the consumer advice should be sufficient warning to the general public as to its content.”
A 14-year-old “who loves watching the classics” got in touch to say they believed ratings of old films are out of date, saying teenagers these days would “earnestly laugh” at The Exorcist (rated 18). “I find it ridiculous that young people who love movies like me should not be able to watch these in the cinema, movies such as Nightmare on Elm Street (the guy falls down the stairs and we’re supposed to find that scary?!),” they said.
IFCO office manager Catherine Bowles replied that the point is valid and that a lot of older films would receive a lower rating if they were classified by today’s standards. But she said for a film to be reclassified it needs to be submitted by the film distributor and “unfortunately we don’t have the resources to delve into the back catalogue of films and start reclassifying them without a specific request”.
In February, one parent claimed three teenagers fainted “out of terror” at the violence of a Denzel Washington film classed as suitable for 16-year-olds.
They wrote about renting The Equalizer 3 for their son’s 16th birthday party and “approximately one hour 10 minutes into the film, I was called by my son into the sittingroom where [he and his friends] had retired to watch the film. I was aghast at the fact that a total of three out of five of his friends had FAINTED at the sheer violence, one out of sheer terror, and two out of sympathy terror.”
Another person in February complained seeking the reclassification of Saltburn starring Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick, asking: “Why would anyone think that the ‘sex’ scenes in this film are suitable for 16-year-olds? I can imagine that no one in the IFCO would let their child see this film.”
“I would have no problem watching Oliver dance naked at the end. I occasionally go to nudist beaches on holiday.”
Another viewer also referenced Saltburn’s “stomach-churning bathtub scene and the abomination in the graveyard” arguing IFCO’s 16 certification was “completely inappropriate”.
Mr Power responded: “Our classifiers felt that the film-makers had included many sequences that were designed to shock or provoke a reaction as part of an overall heightened tone of melodrama.”
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