Let me make no bones about it: my childhood was spent in an atmosphere ofviolence. Not literally, of course, except for the few “floats” with whichfather sometimes corrected me. He also threatened with “a blow to my swan’sneck”, but that was it. The violence came in through stories in which murder,martyrdom, fights, animal torture and even cannibalism were commonplace.Television was only found in the villas of the rich. The walk to the cinemawas a rare treat. We had to have storytelling. This was amply present at(grand)parents, masters and teachers. They told about Gretel who burned thewitch alive in the oven, about the giant who – deceived by little Thumbling –ate his own daughters, the hunter who cut open the wolf – a protected species– to take out Little Red Riding Hood and grandmother. Often enough, the heroesof these stories not only had blood on their hands, they also turned out to bethieves who were not punished but lived “happily ever after” with the loot andthe princess.
The Kijkwijzer would know what to do with this. The ‘classification forms’that producers of such stories have had to fill out for almost twenty yearslead to only one judgment: suitable for sixteen years and older. Youngeryouths may become frightened by the violence or, worse, begin to think thatthis kind of behavior is normal. They could imitate it in practice. At least,that’s what the Kijkwijzer explains on its website. The questionnaires arecompiled on the basis of scientific insights by researchers in the field ofchildren’s soul and the media. In addition, the spirit of the times is alsotaken into account when interpreting the information on the classificationform.
What this leads to became clear in the days leading up to Christmas. A newassessment of the classic teen movie Pete Bell led to the qualification”twelve years and older”: instead of “all ages”. The cause was the complaintof one frightened citizen. As a result, the NPO had to remove the plannedscreening of the film from the daily programming. Films for 12 years and oldermay only be shown after 8 pm. The necessary protest followed and therefore theclassification was converted again, this time to nine years and older. Thensuch a film may just be shown in daylight. Everyone happy.
Horror stories have been part of European youth culture since time immemorial.That has not changed in the twenty-first century, despite all the complaintsabout the snowflakes of today. That’s as much of a myth as woke. There is agreat interest in horror in the upper years of primary education. It is notfor nothing that the Dutch children so en masse the American _Halloween_embraced tradition. They love scary things.
In that context, it is very strange if a classification form results in PietjeBell being less suitable for this target group. Then you have to ask questionsabout the scientific content of all this. After all, the tree is known by itsfruits.
The trophies of the baby boom generation include the scalps of the CentralCommittee for Film Inspection (CCFK) and the Katholieke Film Centrale (KFC),which labeled cinema films as “All ages”, “Fourteen years and older” and”Eighteen years old”. and older”. The judges pay particular attention to sexand nudity. Much less was acceptable to the Catholics than to the generals.The KFC saw itself dismantled in 1970 due to superfluousness. The CCFK wasclosed in 1977 by the Den Uyl cabinet. The general opinion was that parentswere man enough to decide for themselves what their children could handle.However, Dries van Agt, Minister of Justice, set up a new body, the Dutch FilmInspection, which later evolved into the Kijkwijzer.
This is part of the Netherlands Institute for the Classification ofAudiovisual Media (NICAM), which was founded in 2002. It doesn’t work withjudges. It has developed rating systems that allow media to rate themselvesand their products. As long as they correctly fill out the many”scientifically established” forms. They tie the bow themselves and then hangthemselves.
The Kijkwijzer has developed a large number of symbols to characterize a mediaproduct: sex, violence, rough language, horror et cetera. Then there are theages. For example, the public has been caught in the rain. The audiovisualproduction is strung in a tighter straitjacket than in the days of the old-fashioned film approval. Manufacturers should be careful: too many wrong iconscan jeopardize the return on investment of your investment. Pietje Bell showswhat can happen. In general, producers submit to the compulsion of theclassification forms. Dave Schram, the producer of Pietje Bell, was evenwilling to delete certain scenes from the film after initial anger if it couldonly be shown on television on Saturday. You are only safe if you present thegreatest common denominator of stupidity.
These are sad times.
The Dutch audiovisual industry is hampered by a body that comes up withannoying qualifications if the creativity of the makers does not shy away fromsharp edges. Maybe it’s time to inform Kijkwijzer and Nicam that they can putthose forms in a place where the sun doesn’t shine. Then you might be betteroff having a stern Jesuit father from a hundred years ago as censor. At leasthe had a cultural background and a tremendous development. Bunch ofcharlatans. With their “scientific question”. Let’s protect the soul ofchildren from these pastors, these black slytherins, these limiters, thesedecency rascals of our time.