Easily offended individuals can now breathe a sigh of relief as two classic James Bond films have been given a trigger warning. At least in the UK where the BFI recently added the following admonishing text at the beginning of Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice:
"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."
This is something we've also seen Disney do with several older cartoons. Perhaps not surprisingly, the BFI has received a lot of criticism for this, but defends the decision and a spokesperson for the institute wrote:
"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."
What do you think about trigger warnings being added to older films, good or bad?
Thanks, The Guardian.