BURN IT ALL!

[andrewducker]

[Poll #1750855]

Comments

Reasoning

[andrewducker]

Daytime broadcast TV I can understand. Parents should be able to let their kids watch TV at 5pm with the expectation that they won't be exposed to adult-themes/unpleasantness.

Advertising is in public spaces.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Anything you might consume without really, really meaning to.

[fub.livejournal.com]

Considered obscene or unpleasant by who?

[andrewducker]

That's why I separated broadcast and subscriber tv.

[andrewducker]

The government, of course (or duly appointed body, as we currently have for movies and computer games)

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think that's the key matter for me. The old "I don't want it rammed down my throat!" distinction.

[accordingly.livejournal.com]

I find this really difficult.

I do accept that the BBCFC play an important role in film classification and I think that should stay. But I don't agree with banning things (the Human Centipede 2 will just end up on the Pirate Bay like everything else).

BASICALLY I disagree with censorship or banning of obscene/unpleasant material, but I do think it should be restricted. Such as is currently with the watershed on TV, or age ratings on films.

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

Human Centipede 2 hasn't been banned, though.

It *is* far more difficult to watch, but if you're willing to make the effort, you're welcome to, and it's not illegal to own it.

[andrewducker]

If a film cannot be sold or shown legally then it may not be quite literally banned, but it is effectively banned.

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

Is it not possible to order it, say, online? I mean, if you really want me to find you a copy I'll send it off to you.

[makyo.livejournal.com]

I went to a talk by a BBFC examiner a few years ago and it was pretty interesting. They work quite hard (typically watching several films a day and writing a detailed report on each of them) and have to put up with a lot of flak from (a) people who think they're interfering busybodies and the worst kind of state-appointed censors, and (b) people (or Daily Mail journalists) who think they're too lax.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

I've not answered because 'obscene' and 'unpleasant' are such different concepts that to me the question is so wide as not to admit of a meaningful answer.

[andrewducker]

Order it from other countries would be possible - because they're outside the control of the UK government. Of course then you'd either be hacking your DVD player to be multiregion, or having it in a foreign language, or both.

And I never, ever, ever want to see it. Or the first one.

[andrewducker]

Picking two definitions of "obscene" from handy dictionaries:
1. (of the portrayal or description of sexual matters) Offensive or disgusting by accepted standards of morality and decency.
2. Offensive to moral principles; repugnant

There seems to be a lot of crossover there between obscene and unpleasant.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

Margaret Thatcher, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

There was a BBC series I wanted. It wasn't available in region 1 format. I ordered it in region 2 format, then took it down to a local shop and had them convert it for me.

Are such things just not readily available where you are?

[andrewducker]

The fact that it is possible to work around a ban does not prevent it from being a ban.

It'll be on Pirate Bay as well - but I don't see how that stops it being banned.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

If you ordered it from France it would be in your region code and would have English on it, because when a film is in the language of an EU member country they always leave the original language as an option you can select from the main menu.

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

You're using the word "ban" in a way I just don't understand. It's legally available, just through unusual (and, I concede, PITA) channels. But it's not illegal in any sense.

Marijuana's banned. I'm not arguing that it's not banned just because I can get it. But I don't see that this movie is banned any more than the series I wanted was; I just had to work a little harder to get it.

(In retrospect, I shouldn't have spent the money. It wasn't nearly as funny as I remembered it being.)

[andrewducker]

It's not illegal - but it's been made impossible to sell or show in this country. That's what banned means for movies.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

[Engage lawyer mode]

What the two of you are arguing over is the difference between a de jure ban (item or activity X is proscribed by law) and a de facto ban (item or activity X is not itself proscribed but the means of obtaining or undertaking it are.)

As for DVDs, it's certainly not illegal in the UK to own a multi-region player (I've never bought one that wasn't!) and it's very easy to order out-of-region DVDs.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

...walk into a bar.

Do carry on, I'm waiting for the punchline :-)

[feorag.livejournal.com]

The question is a little vague for my tastes, especially the choice of the word "unpleasant". As for my one choice, advertising, it also depends on where the ad is. For example, I don't think the ban on tobacco advertising should extend to genuine (i.e. not a marketing vehicle by tobacco companies) specialist publications. There are magazines aimed at cigar connoisseurs, for example, and I really think there are no health benefits to be had from not letting them carry advertising for cigars.

The "legal, decent, honest, truthful" thing is reasonable and should be extended to cover religious ads which currently have an exception on the matter of "truth", but I suspect this is not what the question is about.

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

Wait, does this include private settings? Are you telling me it's illegal to watch in your house, or that if you ordered it, you wouldn't be legally allowed to sell your copy to a friend?

That would be much closer to a definition of "banned" that I would understand, and if that's the case then I retract everything. Other than that it's just not available at your local theater or video store--much like the series I wanted, which was not banned, wasn't available without extra energy.

[lizzie-and-ari.livejournal.com]

I selected 'adverts' but in fact in depends on the placement of the adverts to a certain extent - eg adverts on daytime tv, yes, adverts on a porn website, maybe not.

And I took 'censor/ban' to not include classifying - I think things like 18 certificates are a good idea, but don't consider that censorship.

Lx