History

Background

The Theatres and Amusements Act in Nova Scotia was one, if not the first, of its kind in Canada. It was passed in 1915 when silent movies were already popular. Jurisdiction over these films was given to what was known as a Censor who had at his call a "citizen's advisory board" when he required additional support. Principal concern in these early years, which were during World War I, was the political influence of films. In fact, what limited records there are indicate that the Censor's role, with respect to permitting or not permitting films disrespectful of other countries, was an active one, especially on one or two specific occasions. "Talking" pictures changed the censorship role considerably in the late 1920's, and with the joining of visuals with the spoken word, the Censor found himself in a new dimension.

The 1930's and 1940's

With increasing technological change, and peacetime attitudes, the Censor and his Boards began "editing" films and removing segments as opposed to forbidding the film altogether. This approach progressed, particularly through the years after World War II.

The 1950's and 1960's

Drifting away from the "Rally around the Flag" and patriotic films of the 1940's, the film industry turned to entertainment, enhanced by the use of colour techniques and by the surge of television into the consumer market.

The 1970's and 1980's

"Entertainment" films soon reflected more an "open" society and the influence of pornography and violence in the industry became more pronounced.

It was in the 1970's that Nova Scotia amended its approach to films through the adoption of a "classification" system rather than "censorship", only those films which offered no story line and were produced only for the sake of "pornography" or "excessive violence", for example, were completely rejected.

Through the system of classification and use of captions, the public are now "advised" of the nature of the film (or cassette) as a product for sale, rent or viewing as an entertainment product.

The 1990's

With increasing levels of violence and shifting public tastes, Nova Scotia redefined its classification service to a more consumer advise and consumer protection role by creating a five-level classification system. The Provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have come to rely on and utilize all film and video classifications supplied by Nova Scotia.

2000 to 2004

During this time Maritime Film Classification consisted of 7 classifications:

General (G)

Parental Guidance (PG)

Adult Accompaniment (14)

Restricted (18)

Explicit Material (XXX)

Exempt (E)

Not Approved (NA)

Films not approved for display, exhibition, sale, lease, rental, exchange or distribution

2000 to 2004 Classification Descriptions

General (G)

Considered to be suitable for all ages. No restrictions on viewing.

Parental Guidance (PG)

All ages may attend. However, parents should know that the theme or content of the film may be more mature than in general films. It may be appropriate for those 12 years of age and over.

Some titles may carry an additional information caption:

• Frightening Scenes
• Language Warning
• Mature Theme

Adult Accompaniment (14)

Considered to be suitable for those 14 years of age and older. Those under 14 must be escorted by an adult.

A film with this rating may contain:

• Scenes of limited violence
• The use of weapons without excessive blood-letting
• Restrained portrayal of accident or disaster
• Scenes of casual or brief nudity, romantic involvement that is not sexually explicit, where participants are at least partially clothed
• Some coarse or vulgar language

Captions for Adult Accompaniment (14):

• Violent Scenes
• Nude Scenes
• Blood Letting
• Sexual Content
• Controversial Subject Matter
• Mature Subject Matter
• Gory Scenes
• Coarse Language

Restricted (18)

Considered to be suitable for those 18 years of age or older. Those under 18 must be escorted by a parent or legal guardian.

Films with this rating may contain:

• Excessive use of foul or offensive language
• Depictions of extreme violence and horror
• Graphic sexual activity

Captions for Restricted (18):

• Offensive Language Throughout
• Extreme Violence
• Explicit Nudity
• Graphic Sexual Content
• Controversial Subject Matter

Explicit Material (XXX)

Films with this rating may contain:

• Sexually explicit scenes
• Graphically or excessively violent scenes

Captions for Explicit Material (XXX):

• Explicit Sex
• Excessive Violence

Exempt (E)

Some types of videos are exempt from classification and will carry an E label. These videos have not been viewed by the Division. They may include children's cartoons, travelogues, instructional videos, athletic events and cultural, industrial, religious or political material.

Not Approved (NA)

The Division may prohibit the display, exhibition, sale, lease, rental, exchange or distribution of a film where the film contains:

• a graphic or prolonged scene of violence, torture, crime, cruelty, horror or human degradation;
• the depiction of the physical abuse or humiliation of human beings for the purposes of sexual gratification or as pleasing to the victim;
• a scene where a person who is or is intended to represent a person under the age of sixteen years appears in a scene of explicit and exploitative sexual activity;
• a scene depicting indignities to the human body or an animal in an explicit manner.