BFI places trigger warnings before James Bond movies

The British Film Institute (BFI) has provided multiple trigger warnings for audiences ahead of its upcoming season of classic film screenings in tribute to British film composer John Barry, including James Bond movies.

As media outlets The Guardian and The Daily Mail reported this week, the films shown at the upcoming “John Barry: Soundtracking Bond and Beyond” BFI season have been given a disclaimer warning that they “will cause offence [sic].” 

Among these screenings are the two Sean Connery-era Bond flicks which Barry provided music for: 1967’s “You Only Live Twice,” and 1964’s “Goldfinger.”

The disclaimer – which can be found on BFI’s website, says that “many of these films contain language, images or other content that reflect views prevalent in its time, but will cause offence [sic] today (as they did then). 

The website added, “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.”

The site featured descriptions of each film in the season, a lineup which also includes “Midnight Cowboy”, “The Ipcress File,” and “Petulia.”

Some of the films on this schedule received an extra disclaimer. In its description, “You Only Live Twice” received a specific warning which said, “Contains outdated racial stereotypes.”

“Midnight Cowboy” received one, which stated, “Contains use of homophobic language and sexual violence.” An extra disclaimer was also given to “Petulia,” which said, “Contains scenes of domestic violence.”

In addition to the warnings on the website, British outlet The Telegraph reported that one could also be found outside BFI’s cinema in London.

A BFI spokesperson provided Fox News Digital with more details about its disclaimers on Thursday.

They said, “Trigger warnings pop-up at point of sale when confirming tickets which is inside the venue, i.e. at the box office area, and appear in our printed guide and website copy related to the season… We do issue trigger warnings for other films and screen work that we show where appropriate.”

Justifying these warnings, the spokesperson cited a study, stating, “A 2021 survey conducted by the British Board of Film Classification found that almost two-thirds of teenagers polled supported trigger warnings on films which might negatively affect their mental health.”

They also pointed Fox to a statement from BFI’s Head of Strategic Communications, Tina McFarling, which said, “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.”

McFarling added, “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.”