
Unsuitable Film and Video Audiences
Underage Viewing Memories and Practices in 1980s United Kingdom
Peter Turner(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Will be published approx. on 28. February 2026
Book
Hardback
246 pages
978-1-3995-3359-1 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
In Unsuitable Film and Video Audiences, Peter Turner's extensive audience research opens a doorway to rich and evocative memories of illicit childhood film viewing. Rigorously researched and contextualised, Turner's examination of these memories explores, challenges and reframes our understanding of the pleasures and problems of childhood consumption of forbidden cinema. * Stacey Abbott - Professor of Film at Northumbria University and author of Undead Apocalypse (2016) *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
15 black and white images
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
513 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3995-3359-1 (9781399533591)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Peter Turner is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media Production at Oxford Brookes University. He is the author of Found Footage Horror Films: A Cognitive Approach (2019) and Devil's Advocates: The Blair Witch Project (2014).
Content
List of figures
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Part I. Spaces, Practices and Emotions of Forbidden Viewing
2. Video Shops, Playgrounds and Situated Memories
3. "It's Analogous to Christmas Eve": Remembering How Video Watching Felt
Part II. Genre Matters: Horror, Comedy and Taboo Content
4. "I Knew They Could Mess Me Up": Children Watching Horror and Sexual Violence
5. Silently Squirming: Sex, Swearing and Comedy
Part III. Gender, Identity and Video Watching
6. "You Are Allowed to Watch the Blood and Guts, but Not the Boobs": Gendered Parenting and Restricted Access
7. Underage Viewings and Masculine Identity, Bonding and Pressures
8. "The Artier Films I Watched Alone": Social vs Solo Viewing
9. Conclusion
Appendix 1 Questionnaire
Appendix 2 Interview Schedule
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Part I. Spaces, Practices and Emotions of Forbidden Viewing
2. Video Shops, Playgrounds and Situated Memories
3. "It's Analogous to Christmas Eve": Remembering How Video Watching Felt
Part II. Genre Matters: Horror, Comedy and Taboo Content
4. "I Knew They Could Mess Me Up": Children Watching Horror and Sexual Violence
5. Silently Squirming: Sex, Swearing and Comedy
Part III. Gender, Identity and Video Watching
6. "You Are Allowed to Watch the Blood and Guts, but Not the Boobs": Gendered Parenting and Restricted Access
7. Underage Viewings and Masculine Identity, Bonding and Pressures
8. "The Artier Films I Watched Alone": Social vs Solo Viewing
9. Conclusion
Appendix 1 Questionnaire
Appendix 2 Interview Schedule
Bibliography
Index