Thursday, 25 November 2010

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Clip analysis

Based on the clip from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, we decided we thought the film would be a PG rating. The scene of horror is not very long or intense, only lasting 2minutes 41seconds. It does not have a reassuring conclusion to the horror scene, meaning that it cannot be a U rating. The blood depicted in the scene is silvery and unrealistic, meaning it is not disturbing to a PG audience - but the act of the man drinking the blood would be unacceptable in a U rated.




As it is a fantasy setting, the unrealistic violence is permitted. No easily accessible weapons are depicted, and the main focus of 'horror' within the scene is cloaked, leaving the level of 'evil' and image of the character to the imagination of the viewer. Some of the content may be slightly worrying for a younger audience, such as the slaughtering and drinking of the blood of a creature - but it is made less realistic by the fact that it is a fantasy creature. This slightly disturbing element is why we believe the film should be suited for PG - Parental Guidance, as it is too worrying for very young children but those older children can be reassured. 

It is not a U rating, because of the more complex themes depicted. The horror sequence is considered to be genuinely scary, and so this would not be allowed for a film of a lower rating, as it is likely to cause some amount of anxiety for some children. The treatment of these themes are not presented particularly 'gently' but the rescue of the main character does help the rating stay as a PG. There is some violence within the clip - the threat of Voldemort, the act of killing the unicorn and the confrontation between Voldemort and Firenze are all quite violent and not suitable for the 'mild threat or menace' considered suitable for a U rated film. The violence is, however, moderate and without much detail. It is also justified by the fantasy setting. 


Our initial analysis was correct; Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was a PG rated film. 

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