Classic films are slapped with stricter ratings to appease woke audiences 

Viewers have been warned about an 'outright offensive' character in the iconic movie Flash Gordon. 

The British Board of Film Classification has added a warning about Ming the Merciless, advising the audience that the character played by the late Swedish actor Max von Sydow is a 'discriminatory stereotype'. 

The 1980 movie was reclassified as a 12A, and the BBFC said Ming is 'coded as an east Asian character' and would now be considered, 'dubious if not outright offensive'. 

Last year, Gone With The Wind was temporarily removed from HBO Max over concerns about its depiction of slavery. 

On its website, the BBFC warns: 'An alien character is coded as 'Asian' due to his hair and make-up, although he is portrayed by a Caucasian actor. 

'The character derives from the film's dated source material, but some viewers may find the depiction offensive.' 

In a podcast released a few days ago, BBFC senior policy officer Matt Tindall said the film was originally classified A, or advisory - the equivalent of a PG. 

He added: 'Things we have moved on since 1980 and we had to look at Flash Gordon with fresh eyes. In doing so, we came to the conclusion that for modern audiences its much more appropriately rated 12A than PG. 

'Flash's arch-nemesis, Ming the Merciless, is coded as an east Asian character due to his hair and make-up, but he's played by the Swedish actor Max von Sydow, which I don't think is something that would happen if this were a modern production and is something we're also

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