By The British Film Institute have placed a “blanket trigger warning” across all the movies being presented at a tribute to the work of legendary British film composer John Barry according to The Guardian.
The new season at BFI Southbank is titled “John Barry: Soundtracking Bond and Beyond” and will present the first of a two-part slate of films featuring some of Barry’s most iconic work.
This includes several James Bond films like “Goldfinger” and “You Only Live Twice” along with other films like “The Ipcress File,” “Midnight Cowboy,” “Four in the Morning,” “The Whisperers,” “Never Let Go,” “Boom” and more. “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and “Walkabout” are among the second batch of films which will screen in March.
On the page announcing the slate is the disclaimer:
“Please note that many of these films contain language, images or other content that reflect views prevalent in its time, but will cause offence today (as they did then). The titles are included here for historical, cultural or aesthetic reasons and these views are in no way endorsed by the BFI or its partners.”
An additional warning has also been added to the individual page for “You Only Live Twice” with the film said to contain outdated racial stereotypes. The movie famously features scenes in which Connery tries to pass as Japanese.
Other films have scored warnings including “Never Let Go” for “racist attitudes and language,” “Midnight Cowboy” for “homophobic language and sexual violence,” and “Petulia” for “scenes of domestic violence”.
A BFI spokesperson explained the disclaimers to the paper:
“Whilst we have a responsibility to preserve films as close to their contemporaneous accuracy as possible, even where they contain language or depiction which we categorically reject, we also have a responsibility in how we present them to our audiences.
The trigger warnings/content warnings that we provide in all of our exhibition spaces and online platforms act as guidance that a film or work reflects views of the time in which they were made and which may cause offence.”
The outlet also cites a 2021 survey conducted by the British Board of Film Classification found almost two-thirds of teenagers polled supported trigger warnings on films that might negatively impact their mental health.
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