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My mind was blown. I was well aware of the BBFC's color-coded age rating system, which had been seared into my mind by a series of stern, early-90s advisory ads, but it had never occurred to me that the board might be able to restrict movies altogether. After all, censorship was something I learned about in history lessons: a relic from the past, the preserve of dictators and despots. In a society that balked at the very suggestion of censoring literature, music, visual art, or theater, why were movies fair game?The answer is: They weren't always. When film first came to the UK at the end of the 19th century, it was largely unrestricted, but as it evolved from sideshow gimmick to legitimate art form, it came under increasing scrutiny. The Cinematograph Act 1909 required cinemas—for the first time—to secure licenses from local councils. Initially, this was an attempt to curb the growing number of nitrate fires in Britain's movie theaters by ensuring safety standards, but the following year, a court ruled that councils could also take the content of films into account when issuing licenses. Shortly afterwards, the British Board of Film Censors was born, and its authority over UK film culture has remained in place ever since, even if it did rebrand as the British Board of Film Classification in 1985.
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