‘The Dark Knight’ Receives Record Number Of Complaints Over 12A Rating

The Dark Knight has done brilliantly at the UK box office, as it has done in almost every country it has been released. But the film’s classification of 12A by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) has come in for criticism from some. The film was released in the first week of the school summer holidays and this has prompted 70 people to raise objections – a record number.

According to The Independent, some cinema-goers reported finding the gritty realism a surprise compared to the often cartoon nature of other films in the franchise. Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said:

“The BBFC should realise there are scenes of gratuitous violence in The Dark Knight to which I would certainly not take my 11-year-old daughter. It should be a 15 classification.”

The film certainly has some nasty moments, with Heath Ledger’s The Joker describing the pleasure he takes in killing people slowly, and the pencil scene. There is also the whole gory spectacle of Two-Face, which is certainly much more detailed than Tommy Lee-Jones portrayal which basically comprised of a rubber mask.

The BBFC has stated that the film was a borderline 15, but also confirmed that Warner Bros had asked for the 12A certificate in an effort to maximise the potential audience. This is reportedly common these days with the BBFC “coming under pressure to keep classifications low”.

This is a tricky one as I can see both sides of the argument. I certainly wouldn’t take a 12-year-old to see the film, but a lot of the violence is only suggested rather than being in your face. At the end of the day, only 70 people complained out of the millions who have seen it. I’d go with the majority.