Keep trigger warnings out of the cinema
Forget sex and violence, film censors now want to protect us from mental distress.
Few thrills come close to that of watching an 18-rated film when you’re still only 12. Tantalising glimpses of an illicit adult world await: sex, violence, bad language – hopefully all three.
But today’s adolescents seem less inclined to rebel against the ratings. If a recent survey is to be believed, they worry that on-screen portrayals of ill-health, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, bullying and depression might harm their mental health. The research, carried out by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), suggests that close to two-thirds of teenagers want film ratings to flag up scenes that might cause them distress.