Sex and Censorship in the Cinema

....the following is too good to leave out.......i had to print it somewhere........my apologies for using this thread, however, i feel the information to be of extreme biological interest........

``Condoms `too big` for Indian men
By Damian Grammaticus
BBC News, Delhi

A survey of more than 1,000 men in India has concluded that condoms made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men.

The study found that more than half of the men measured had penises that were shorter than international standards for condoms.

It has led to a call for condoms of mixed sizes to be made more widely available in India.

The two-year study was carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Over 1,200 volunteers from the length and breadth of the country had their penises measured precisely, down to the last millimetre.

The scientists even checked their sample was representative of India as a whole in terms of class, religion and urban and rural dwellers.

The conclusion of all this scientific endeavour is that about 60% of Indian men have penises which are between three and five centimetres shorter than international standards used in condom manufacture....``

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6161691.stm

.......i have always wondered why so many of our indian friend and colleagues show so much rage on this site........now i know :)

What are you saying Soy ji -- sex is next to godliness -- a well known mystic secret -- during orgasm one is closest to God -- so close you can almost touch HIS hands

ask God whatever you want -- not during Ramadan -- not on shabeqadar -- not on Christmas eve -- not on Yom-e Kippur -- not on Holi night -- BUT during the crescendo of a well deserved frenzied orgasm -- any day any night -- and all your wishes will come true...........:)

Sorry for misleading you guys with the `Seven Songs` of Merlin -- the movie is `Nine Songs`....:)

#14 warriorji - no need to breed (contraceptives are aplenty and keeping out the monthly event with harmones is starting to be popular among womenfolk), may be the contempt will offset the attempt, the major sex organ - the brain - deprived of the pleasures of imagination could be turned off by nakedness - this would be the 1st order correction to my zeroth order hypothesis.

#25 hasanji, gratuitous sex is boring except when it happens to us and in real life.

It is about time the adolscent America should be `allowed` to watch movies like ``Seven Songs` in movie theaters -- in day time.

``Is pornography the new Art`` -- or is the New Art pornography -- one can fight semantic battles till eternity -- there are a few considerations that must not be forgotten to differentiate art from pornography --

porn as art is not porn -- it is Art with a capital A -- porn without art is unadulterated porn --
secondly freedom of expression is paramount in any art form -- as well as even in artless form...

and lastly the freedom of choice -- to watch or not watch -- is no one elses business -- is the sacred unadultrated right of the individual.......jisko ho jaan-o dil aziz uski gully(movie house) meiN jai keoN...Period.

the lover is marguerite duras`?!.. wow. thanx for dropping that piece of info, TAFKAN.

also, i find it interesting that not many females have responded (judging by the usernames--though i could be wrong!)! how many people have seen any of the films I`ve mentioned? i think most chowkies are from the USA and so i guess most of these wouldn`t be available? which proves my point again!

The Lover is a beautifully shot film--the novel by marguerite duras on which it is based is also very beautifully written.

BUT although it is a very good film in terms of sexual explicitness it would be tame by today`s standards--i`d gather it would only be a 15 if released today!

what is interesting for me is how hung up so many desis still are about sex-- i mean so few replies! perhaps most of these films are too high brow for your typical desi?


maharana -- i agree

Abdul,
I think the issue of sex and it`s censorship in cinema is just one of the things that reflects our society`s hypocritical attitude towards many things. Extremes of violence can be passed off w/o censorship easily, but sex is a no no.
As far as the US being more puritanical society, you`re right on mark. The religious right has always and will continue to psyche people into behaving in the biblical fashion. Sex is bad but violence not a problem... as God used to himself commit violence most of the times. Europe, by virtue of its history of opposing the church has taken out the aspect of sex being taboo as well.
I think such freedom of expression inevitably leaves the onus of choice of deciding what to watch or imbibe on the individual human being. This is always in contradiction to all dictatorial ideologies which prohbit men from making up their own minds.
Excellent article on the history of sex in cinema.
Adios

Re: # 18

Come on soysauce, you are saying that ``instead of familarity breeding contempt``, ``familarity will breed attempt``. -)

In either case I suppose breeding will result. )

Interesting article. I second the recommendation on Lover. The cinematography there is fabulous.
#13 What distinguishes the human animal is that the human female is almost always in estrus and the human male is always ready to copulate. Can you imagine a modern office where there were no taboos. Would any work get done?
Seriously, i think humans getting clothed was a giant step in our cultural, sociological and technological evolution. Without sexual inhibitions we`d be doing nothing but (eating, sleeping and) fucking.

PS: ``Islam imposes death penalty through stonning to a fornicating couple``... Some accomplishment that is, huh??.... 1400 years down the drain - you guys are still holding up ``stone the fornicator`` as your best practice.... no wonder you guys are so m@tha-f*&^ed up... :)

Re: # 15

Would please shut up about islam for a second... islam this, islam that, blah blah.... every f***ing topic under the sun becomes a f***ing expedition into nether regions of islamic gobbledygook...

Jeez man - take a break, get out of the room for a while.... :)

Re: # 13

``can anyone please enlighten me as to how, why and when sex became taboo in human history ?``

I think it happened when man evolved from primates, women were given the status of human beings, and a concept of equality and equity were introduced in human societies by the Prophets sent by Alllah. It was time when human beings were given individual choices and tribe were no more required to abide by the whims of alpha male. In other words sexual modesty and discipline is the prime mover in the evolution of human societies and eventually establishment of greater civilizations.

That is the core reason, that almost every major religion in the world promotes sexual modesty and discipline and interestingly all those who promote sexual deviance are always anti-religion.

Sexual modesty cannot be achieved by having two conflicting objectives or modes of living. For example a society that frowns upon sexual deviance but permits all the stimuli that promote or enhance sexual feelings, like pornography, uncovered women, and uninhibited intermingling among sexes in the name of modernity is in fact promoting a lifestyle with divergent objectives.

Islam in this regard discourages these divergent behaviors. Pornography whether in the name of art or by any other name is a sexual stimulant and it can only lead to sexually divergent behavior-like oil on water will always aggravate the fire and not contain it or as the morally bankrupt argument goes ``help release it``. It does not help release it, it only builds up pressure in the already bursting pressure cooker. So now you have the motive and you only need opportunity - would it matter if opportunity presents itself in the form of neighbors wife, a vulnerable minor, prima nocta, nuth utarwai, or even an incestuous relationship? It all depends upon how much closer to bursting the pressure cooker is.

This is the very reason Islam imposes death penalty through stonning to a fornicating couple if the act could be witnessed by four people. In other words the public display of a sexual act, a la our primitive primate days, is strictly forbidden, so that the society do not revert back to being animals.