Ben says: What makes a banned film become banned? In my research I've found out that it's never one specific thing. It can vary between genres, countries or the creative minds behind the films. I think the best way to start this is by discussing a banned film that stands out in your mind and try see why that film might have been banned. What's a banned film what comes to mind for you?
Chris says: I think the archetypal banned film for me is The Exorcist. All the furore surrounding it is still apparent today.
Ben says: That's the film that comes straight to my mind as well.
It has violence, religious connotations. And I think if I remember some disturbing connotations.
Chris says: I think our generation were always aware of it, our parents were young adults at the time of its release.
Ben says: I read (on wiki by the way, not reliable), that is was never actually banned.
It was just the uncut version which was banned
Chris says: It was shown for a bit and then pulled.
Ben says: The thing that surprised me most is that we look at those films now and we wonder what the big deal was.
Chris says: That's interesting because like you say, it's like the poster child for banned films.
Ben says: Even as kids when we watched them (which we all did), we, or I at least didn't see the big deal of them. I was never a normal child.
Chris says: Totally agree. Looking at gore films like Hostel and Saw I wonder what it'd take to get a film banned today.
Times have changed. We're not as sensitive as audiences as we used to be.
Ben says: We're so detached from gore now you could pull someone’s head off and put it on a plate and it'll only be a 15. Yet here's the big question: why has China banned time travel in films and tv?
There's no religious threats, no violence.
The quote they gave was:
"Myth, superstitions and reincarnations are questionable."
The loyalists say it stops abusements.
Chris says: I find this story funny. With the amount of human rights atrocities in China, I doubt the people care that they won't be able to watch The Time Traveller's Wife.
Ben says: Arguments for this say it's to protect cultural heritage and to honour the past.
Chris says: I think this can be explained by the following: China mucho loko.
Ben says: Think they've invented time travel and are getting paranoid other people might be on to them?
Chris says: Careful dude, they could be reading this.
Ben says: I for one, would very much like a time machine. There are too many famous people I'd like to go for a pint with. With my luck, I'll show up and they'll be t-total.
Chris says: I think Michael J Fox is going to stand in front of a tank in Tianaman Square to protest the ban.
Ben says: Can we borrow your time machine please China?
Bruce Cambell should go to. To support the case for accidental time travellers. First he was fighting zombies then he's in the future, the dude couldn't catch a break.
Chris says: I'm usually anti-censorship but with banned films it's not as clear cut. The Exorcist was ok but had some scenes that were obviously intended to shock and create notoriety. I.e. the crucifix dildo.
Ben says: Yeah and I understood Evil Dead being banned. i.e. the tree rape scene...
Chris says: Even in the context of the films they seem somewhat unnecessary.
Ben says: I guess there's a line to be drawn. Maybe ours (in the UK) isn't drawn near enough?
Chris says: They're intentionally pushing the boundary for the sake of it, not for the sake of entertainment. I think the BBFC are pretty much on the ball. Our 18 certificate is pretty broad so banned films are quite rare. The only banned films of recent times have all been never intended for major release anyway, so even if they weren't banned, people wouldn't have seen them.
Ben says: You say recent but we're not that far away from the 70's which brought us Straw Dogs (the rape scene what looked too pleasurable) or Caligula (check it out, mental).
Chris says: 70's is certainly not recent.
Ben says: Evil Dead was in the 80s
Chris says: I was born 1985.
Ben says: What I'm trying to say is that we had these around while we were growing up, it wasn't at all hush hush.
Chris says: I think the irony of these banned films like Evil Dead and Exorcist is that because they pushed the boundaries of good taste, filmmakers today can get away with a lot more.
Ben says: And further more even if films are banned now, would it not be easy enough to download them? Does banning a film doing any good other than giving it a 'bad boy' reputation?
Chris says: It definitely helps its future sales. The only reason people watch The Exorcist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre is because of the reputation that precedes them. And then you watch them and wonder what the fuss was about.
Ben says: Yeah, have you ever watched them recently? I get bored within 5 minutes. Forget suspence, they were just dull.
Chris says: Texas Chainsaw started the whole stupid teenagers in horror film plot device, so for that it should be deplored. One by one they went, like lambs to the slaughter. Oh where's Mary gone, I'll go and investigate alone. Oh where's Steve gone, I'll also go alone to investigate. People that stupid deserve everything coming to em.
Ben says: I'll be right back.... gasp, I'm dead.
I could say the same about my ex.
Chris says: I preferred the Texas Chainsaw remake.
Ben says: And I'm not even being sour, she was just stupid.
Chris says: Your ex got killed by Leatherface?
Ben says: She'd have been the first to go.
Actually, she wouldn't. She'd be left around for eye candy. Then people would get annoyed at her stupidity and cheer when she dies. Without the bitter remarks though....
And before we go too off topic: What makes a film banned?
Chris says: I think the main theme of most banned films is religion. Or rape.
Ben says: And violence, oh and time travel.
Chris says: In crazy China yes.
Ben says: Can't watch a time traveller. Doctor Who is a dangerous guy if you didn't know.
Chris says: Banned films certainly highlight the sensitivities of the society that bans them. And like I said mainstream society is a lot less sensitive to shocking imagery as it was say 30 years ago.
Ben says: What can really be banned in our society? Are we a society what has seen it all?
Chris says: I believe so. Religious people are different though, their sensitivities towards their beliefs are probably still the same. Hence films with strong blasphemous themes will always be controversial.
Ben says: Hell, if you put a religious symbol in anything there's always a religious nut to complain about it.
Mohammed, Jesus, Santa Claus....
Chris says: That's a triple threat. My money's on St Nick. Don't mess with a fat guy after a glass of brandy.
Ben says: I'm sure I saw him at my local last night.
Chris says: Nowadays I could watch a chicken peck a toddler to death and not even bat an eyelid if it was in a Eli Roth film.
Ben says: I don't even flinch when I see someone’s rib cage pulled open. In fact, I expect it.
Chris says: Gory effects nowadays are so OTT, they appear downright silly at times. So it's hard to be shocked by them.
Ben says: Personally, and I truly speak for myself here... CGI ruined so much I can't even descirbe how annoyed I am at it.
Chris says: I agree. It defies logic.
Ben says: CGI can be spotted like missing nipple.
Chris says: How is it that CGI blood is the norm? A bucket of fake blood is cheap but also realistic.
Ben says: Much more realistic. Even if I know it's fake at least I don't think when I watch it 'it's fake'.
Chris says: Is there any film you would personally ban?
Ben says: Jonas Brothers 3D. It offended me. Although I'm told the 3D was pretty good.
Chris says: You should write to the Daily Mail. Get a campaign going. How dare they promote chastity in today's teenage pregnancy rife culture.
Ben says: You know they won't be seen as cool in school if they don't have a bun in the oven.
Don't these people care!?
Did you know, must banned films are banned by people who have never seen them?
They just hear stuff and decide to campaign against it.
Chris says: Yeah like the Jerry Springer musical, which received 99 percent of its complaints pre broadcast. I would ban Passion of the Christ. Mel Gibson could teach the Saw production team a thing or two.
Ben says: I remember you saying you were scarred. It wasn't even the religious problems, maybe the racial ones, but it was ultimately the violence what putted you off it wasn't it? Mel Gibson is the ultimate religious nut. At least he preaches with film and violence and not with moaning like everyone else seems to do.
Chris says: Yeah, the level of realistic and sustained violence on screen was unprecedented. It made me physically nauseous in the cinema.
Ben says: Ironic. I think the way forward now is to push the boundaries again.
Chris says: I think the boundaries been reached already. I can't see where else we can go to shock people.
Ben says: I want to be shocked and appalled! I want to have something I can be disgusted at. I want something I can buy on DVD and watch over and over and scare myself shitless. Well there are some...
But it's usually snuff films.
Chris says: Just take a look at my internet history then.
Ben says: Or overly political films that are shocking to prove a point. I'm worried I might find something I like.
Chris says: I have a large collection of violent chicken pecking snuff films. It's finger breaking good.
Ben says: KPC? Kentucky Pecking Chicken? I think I've seen that one.
Chris says: I think that was Peking Chicken. You've been down the Chinese again.
Ben says: It was banned by chicken worshippers until the lizard people said they were being anti-semetic
Chris says: Nazi lizards. There's a b-movie in there somewhere. Unless Godzilla radically changes his political beliefs.
Ben says: Nazi Lizards Vs Godzilla on Ice?
Chris says: I'd certainly ban that.
Ben says: Unless it had Pikachu involved somehow. But that would be silly. Too fictional. Everyone knows Godzilla and the Nazi Lizards actually exist.
Chris says: It should be said that banning is a form of censorship though.
Ben says: Maybe it's the ice part that would be banned? It would be offending Hiations (people from Haiti). Isn't censorship impeding democracy though?
Chris says: It's certainly impeding freedom of expression. But should all forms of expression be allowed to be distributed? Sorry for playing Devil's advocate there.
Ben says: My view, my liberal view is that we should introduce these images, violent, political, sexual at a young an age as possible. Help people be excepting towards society rather than fear it.
Ben says: Well there's always the radical extremists out there. Violence to spur violence should be banned. I found that's what films like Green Street, the Business do. They just encourage chav culture.
Chris says: I dunno, I was a grown man. But after watching Passion of the Christ, I wanted to crawl back into the womb and hide.
Ben says: And who likes chavs other than chavs? If only we could...
Chris says: Maybe we should ban chavs then. It might have a domino effect and solve all of life's problems. We then would live in a Utopian society where the notion of banned films wouldn't exist.
Problem solved.
Ben says: Nah then neo chavs will spawn from underground chavs. It's a vicious cycle. We just have to hope the species dies on its own. I think the main key is toleration. Just because we don't like something it doesn't mean we can't tolerate it. Like I tolerate Godzilla. And Superman remakes. And so many other things. I don't want them banned though.
Chris says: So we can conclude that banning a film is usually a much ado about nothing but they do serve a purpose in highlighting the sensitivities of society. And of course banning a film often has an unintentional positive effect on the film's distribution as people try and watch it just to see why it was banned.
Ben says: Agreed. I would say that the banning of a film is through paranoia and the unknown. Ultimately. We could ban anything through fear. I suggest that if they ban anything they should ban the upcoming Justin Beiber film.
Chris says: Here, here.
Ben says: And I've been Ben Doran.
Saying quidditch is a dangerous sport, to be tried at home.
Chris says: And I've been Chris Curry. I'm off to delete my internet history before the Feds close in.
