Edinburgh University Press Unsuitable Film and Video Audiences: Underage Viewing Memories and Practices in 1980s United Kingdom

Investigates the memories of the first children of the video generation about watching films that the BBFC deemed unsuitable for them Based on primary sources, including over 300 questionnaires and 30 video interviews Discusses a range of films from popular North American examples including the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Alien and Aliens, Robocop and Evil Dead, to films from Italy, the UK and Australia Brings together film scholarship on audience studies, screen violence and censorship, the horror genre, gender, nostalgia and culture as well as considering film distribution and exhibition practices Focuses on a decade (1980s) and genre (horror) of particular interest to many film scholars and an intersection of old and new technologies (cinema and video) Film classification and censorship in the UK has been extensively researched by scholars. What requires further analysis is audiences’ experiences of watching films that had been subject to BBFC interventions. The classification system attempted to ensure that only viewers of or above specific ages (15 or 18) would be able to watch certain films. However, significant numbers of child viewers saw films deemed inappropriate for their age group, whether at the cinema or more commonly by watching videos. This book investigates how these audiences managed to see age-inappropriate films, exploring the memories of over 300 questionnaire and 30 interview respondents. The responses detail what the children of the 1980s remember watching, viewer memories of the how, when and where they were watched, how genre affected the experience and what the post-viewing experience was like for these viewers, including the effects of these viewings on social dynamics, identity formation and later cinephilia.