Censor gets zero rating for Batman classification

FILM censor John Kelleher — or classifier as he prefers to be known — disclaims all responsibility for the fact that parents brought young children to see the new Batman film and instead blames the parents themselves.

Yet he classified the film as 15A, a rating that allows children to attend if accompanied by adults. What part of his own classification does he not understand, I wonder? Has he forgotten that some previous Batman films were rated parental guidance (PG)?

His job is to attach an appropriate rating which will help serve as an unambiguous guideline for parents.

He believes it would be “ridiculous” to attach a 16 rating, but yet 15A (which includes children accompanied by an adult) is fine? Does he really think scenes of extreme, graphic violence might be suitable for 13 and 14-year-olds, not to mention younger children? He seems to believe that any film, regardless of content, is suitable for anyone over 18 since, in his years as a film censor, he has refused to censor a single film.

Michael O’Driscoll

Menloe House

Blackrock

Cork