1970s

Changes in the Category System

• During the sixties it was recognised that teenagers had specific concerns of their own which ought to be reflected in the category system.
• The introduction of the 'AA' was finally approved by local authorities and the industry in 1970.The old 'A' (advisory) category was split to create a new advisory 'A' which permitted the admission of children of five years or over whether accompanied or not, but which warned parents that a film in this category would contain some material that parents might prefer their children under fourteen not to see, and a new 'AA' certificate which allowed the admission of those over 14, but not under 14, whether accompanied or not.

Sexual Violence and Other Controversies

• A new ratings system in the United States included an uncensored 'X' category, left to the sole control of the criminal law.
• The seventies therefore saw the release of a number of provocative films, in particular those that linked sex and violence, for example A Clockwork Orange (1971), which contained controversial rape scenes. In the case of this film the decision of the BBFC to award an 'X' was overturned by a number of local authorities. 
• Stephen Murphy, who became Secretary of the Board in July 1971, resigned in 1975 and was succeeded by James Ferman. In an early interview, Ferman remarked that it wasn't sex that worried him but violence and, in particular sexual violence.  During his time at the BBFC, Ferman permitted increasingly explicit sexual material whilst clamping down on sadistic and sexual violence. One of the first films Ferman looked at was The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which his predecessor had already refused to classify shortly before his departure.  Ferman agreed with Murphy that the violence and terrorisation in the film (directed largely towards a woman over a sustained period) was unacceptable.
• Ferman's attitudes and policies reflected a more general shift of public concern during the 1970s, away from arguments about the explicitness of screen representations towards a consideration of any possible corrupting influence. 
• Prior to 1977 the Obscene Publications Act did not apply to cinema films and films were judged on the basis of whether any individual scene might be considered 'indecent', regardless of context. The extension of the OPA to films in 1977 gave the BBFC more latitude when considering depictions of sex in films since they now had to be considered 'as a whole'. 
• The OPA also required that the Board consider whether a scene might deprave and corrupt its likely audience.