The Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft (FSK, Voluntary Self Regulation of the Movie Industry) is a German motion picture rating system organisation run by the Spitzenorganisation der Filmwirtschaft (SPIO, Head Organisation of the Movie Industry) seated in Wiesbaden. Motion picture rating systems are issued to give moviegoers an idea of the suitability of a movie for children and/or adults in terms of issues such as sex, violence and bad language. ... Wiesbaden is a city in central Germany. ...

Assignment

The main work of the FSK is approving and rating movies and trailers, videos and DVDs, and commercials. For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of... Theatrical trailers are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown; they are commonly known as previews of coming attractions. ... Top view VHS cassette with US Quarter for scale Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed The Video Home System, better known by its acronym VHS, is a recording and playing standard for video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by JVC (ironically, with some of its critical technology under... // DVD is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for storing data, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... // Background From the earliest days of the medium, television has been used as a vehicle for advertising in some countries. ...

There is no legal obligation for approval by the FSK, however members of the SPIO commit themselves to only releasing productions passed by the FSK.

The legal basis for the actions of the FSK is the Jugendschutzgesetz (youth protection law) Sections 6 and 7, the holiday regulations and basic principles of the FSK. These principles are issued by the Basic Principles Commission, consisting of 20 representatives from the film and video industry, the public authorities and the state-funded broadcasting stations governed by public law.

The FSK is financially autonomous and funds its work through fees from every inspected media carrier. It is operated as an affiliate of the SPIO in the form of a private limited company; however, the SPIO does not influence its decisions.

Ratings

The FSK uses the Youth Protection Law when rating media, but also takes into account whether or not a film is shown on certain specially protected days mentioned in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. These are Good Friday, All Saints, Memorial Day, Buß- und Bettag (Penance Day) and also Totensonntag (the German Remembrance Sunday). Preamble of the Grundgesetz The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of modern Germany. ... Good Friday is a holy day celebrated by Christians on the Friday before Easter or Pascha. ... All Saints in Poland The festival of All Saints, also sometimes known as All Hallows, or Hallowmas, is a feast celebrated in their honour. ... Relatives and others traditionally place flags near veterans headstones on Memorial Day Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that takes place on the last Monday of May. ... In the United Kingdom Remembrance Sunday is the Sunday nearest to November 11 - Armistice Day in 1918 when hostilities in the First World War ended at 11 a. ...

The ratings are as follows:

1. Freigegeben ohne Altersbeschränkung (Universal)
2. Freigegeben ab sechs Jahren (Can be seen by children age 6 or older. Similar to Rated PG, but no parent is necessary).
3. Freigegeben ab zwölf Jahren (Can be seen without parents by children age 12 or older. Similar to PG-13).
4. Freigegeben ab sechzehn Jahren (Rated R, but age 16 instead of 17).
5. Keine Jugendfreigabe (formerly: nicht freigegeben unter 18 Jahren. Similar to "Rated NC-17", but instead of 17, no one under 18 is admitted.)

Films rated Freigegeben ab zwölf Jahren (for 12 years or older) may be seen by 6-year-olds, if they are accompanied by a parent.

If a movie does not comply with FSK basic principles (e.g. glorification of violence), a rating can be denied. The movie is then handled like a movie rated keine Jugendfreigabe. These movies may be indexed by the German Testing Centre for Youth-Endangering Media as well. This article has been translated, and needs attention from someone approaching dual fluency. ...

Structure and mode of operation of the FSK

Over 190 honorary inspectors work for the FSK. They are appointed by the movie and video industry and the public authorities for three years, and must have experience in dealing with children and minors or have similar factual knowledge of psychology or media studies. The inspectors may not be employed by the movie or video industry, to avoid biased decisions. Therefore when appointing inspectors, importance is attached to the fact that these inspectors should come from different occupational fields and social classes. Psychology (Classical Greek: psyche = soul or mind, logos = study of) is an academic and applied field involving the study of behaviour, mind and thought and the underlying neurological bases of behaviour. ... Media studies, a communication science, studies the nature and effects of mass media upon individuals and society. ...

The rating of movies is carried out by various committees. These are the Working Committee, which undertakes most of the inspections, the Main Committee, acting as a court of appeal, and the Appeals Committee, for appeals to the youth inspection. In practice, the three committees work in parallel. Court of Appeals is the title of certain appellate courts in various jurisdictions. ...

The committees act as first instance: every film brought to the FSK is inspected here first. Normally each consists of seven inspectors - three from the movie industry and four named by the public authorities as well as a representative of the country's youth authorities.

History

After World War II Ernst Pommer, the former UFA film producer and then Film Officer in the American occupation zone, was in charge of rebuilding and reorganizing the German movie industry. Together with film director Curt Oertel and Horst von Hartlieb, the director of the movie rental associaton in Wiesbaden, Pommer developed a voluntary self inspection system for the movie industry modelled on the Hays Code in the USA. The goal of this institution was to avoid governmental regulation of the movie industry and to replace the effective military censoring: And here was our first thought, because we had a bad experience in the Third Reich, to build a self-organized film inspection system, because a federal film inspection system is always in danger of starting to control political attitude.(Horst von Hartlieb) World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ... View of Ufa 100 years ago. ... Wiesbaden is a city in central Germany. ... The Production Code (also known as the Hays Code) was a set of guidelines governing the production of motion pictures. ...

Moreover, youth protection played no role in admission to movies of the occupying powers, so children and minors had unrestricted access to movies. Because of this, at the start of 1948 the German secretary of education of the western occupied zones set up a commission to answer the question of whether young people were endangered by movies. It was intended to develop suggestions for nationwide youth protection connected to films. The work of this agency began in the Hessian ministry for culture in Wiesbaden. As well as the representatives of the other countries' secretaries of education, representatives of the movie industry, the churches and the Katholische Jugend Bayern (Catholic Youth of Bavaria) were also invited to the hearing. 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... A less French form to anglicize the German word Hessen; while one hears of Hessian troops fighting as mercenaries on the side of George III in the American Revolution, and of the Hessian fly that came along on their boats, French dominance in the world of 19th century diplomacy made...

The result of the hearings was the FSK. The first film was handed over for inspection on July 18th 1949. On September 28th 1949 the allied military agencies officially transferred the inpection authority to the FSK. July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

The countries of the Soviet occupational zone did not take part in the FSK, since the film inspection there was taken on by the government of the GDR, formed in the same year. Disambiguation Page Global Depositary Receipt East Germany ...

When the German Youth Protection Law was amended in 1985, the mandatory rating was broadened to include new media (video films and comparable picture media). The German Association Video e.V. (e.V = membership corporation) followed the FSK, to inspect all released video films. In the same year, the rating "Freigabe ohne Altersbeschränkung" (Universal) was added. 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

During German unification the new federal states followed the FSK and sent their representatives to the board of inspectors. The unification of Germany can refer to: the 1871 formation of the German Empire under Otto von Bismarck. ...

Since 1995, any digital media containing film sequences, have been inspected for their rating, as well. 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The movie Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage was the 100,000th film inspected by the FSK on December 9th 2004. December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien
• Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Fernsehen
• MPAA film rating system
• Hays Code
• Censorship

This article has been translated, and needs attention from someone approaching dual fluency. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Production Code (also known as the Hays Code) was a set of guidelines governing the production of motion pictures. ... Censorship is the use of governmental power to control speech and other forms of human expression. ...

External links

• FSK home page (in German)