Sex and Censorship in the Cinema

Breillat is good in parts. Sometimes I think she goes a little over the top. Y tu Mama Tambien was a really touching film.

can anyone please enlighten me as to how, why and when sex became taboo in human history ? how and why did it become something to be done in dark places in private and something to be ashamed of ????

http://chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00002326&channel=chaathouse&start=0&end=9&chapter=1&page=1


Tolerating Sexuality
Parthasarathy B
July 30, 2003

More tolerance of sex is needed

A homosexual lesbian girl, kills herself because she was caught out, doing pornography. This is a true story, and happened recently in India.

There is an important lesson to be learnt here.

Whether prostitution should be criminal, or whether lesbianism or pornography should be against nature, is not for society to choose, but for the individual to decide.

It is unfortunate that our society and government still considers it its right to force upon people, values that dont belong to them. To force a set of Victorian laws upon them - in this land of the Kama Sutra and erotic temple sculptors. And to follow blindly, archaic laws, made by a set of people who dont practice these laws in their own countries any more.

Prostitutes must enjoy the benefits of sexual diseases counselling, condoms, etc. by becoming registered. Why should internet pornography be illegal, when foreigners and NRIs compete among themselves for a larger piece of the internet pie - worth millions in foreign exchange?

The police regularly hauls off people to prison for prostitution, sodomy, pornography and what not, when they know perfectly well themselves, that these people are pretty much comfortable with themselves with what they do. And do not harm anybody else (unlike smoking, drinking or drugs). They also know, that for every one person they `catch`, there are probably a hundred more who believe in these very same values.

Why should these youths not be allowed to compete with their foreign colleagues, if they are unemployed, and their family does not object to pornography?

New Zealand has recently legalised prostitution. America has removed anti sodomy laws from the last of its states that had it still in place.

Why should a young girl die in India, or even be jailed, for an act no different from what several of her contemporaries do - on Indian films, MTV, FTV, blue films and the internet?

India has to make a first move now. At the very least what India can do, is to make these acts, a civil crime, or a crime of the conscience - and act only when criminal complaints are recieved. It must not continue to criminalise sex. Or humiliate those involved. And it should punish law officers who try to make money out of their misfortune.

If at all sex should remain illegal, we should consider punishing these `consented` crimes, such as prostitution, pornography and homosexuality, with a `rap on the knuckle`, and not by throwing them out of their family and their social life.

Every Indian citizen, should have a right to believe. Whatever that belief. And a freedom guaranteed to profess that belief.

we r a puritanical bunch & like 2 keep our smut under wraps & not flaunt it

What abt the now-classic Lover w/ jane march? Its a lovely film.

Re: # 8

Speaking of lucky SOBs - how about Billy Bob in monster ball.... :)

Did Mark Wahlberg really stick it to Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights? If he did than he is one lucky sob

I`m interested in finding out (a) how many desis have seen any of these -or other similar films and (b) what your views on censorship are.

Re: Miike Takeshi

I have seen his films and though they are very explicitly violent (eg Ichi the Killer), they are not sexually
explicit. i.e. no real sex takes place. This is because Japan has a law against
showing genitalia.

Re: # 2

no they aren`t! Thats why you have Unrated as one of the categories. That was the whole point of my article!

Raw Dust,

9 Songs was a good film. Their was another Pakistani (a girl) in the audience and she
was visibly cringing at the oral sex scenes.

Breillat is, imho, one of the bravest directors going.

Re: # 1

Because I haven`t seen it!

Yes I do (want to compare the liberal EU policies vis-a-vis sex on screen to draconian American ones).

All Hollywood movies are rated. And, thats the beauty of it. I don`t agree with you at all. It looks like you don`t watch Hollywood movies censorship rating.

man.. you are going to discuss Breillat`s films on chowk? LOL

``In the years that followed we have seen 9 Songs, Michael Winterbottom’s story of a love affair between an American student and a British rock fan, released uncut—which showed almost continuous sex for its running time (and an ejaculation); ``

it wasa pretty good film.. the idea of sex, drugs and rock n` roll superimposed on a guy`s memories.

``Fifty years is my guess for the Subcontinent (India), probably much earlier for China and Japan. ``

err.. Takeshi Miike had been at it for a while. i am sure there must be whole bunch of `em in japan following his lead.

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``After all, it is a question of freedom of expression``

I guess, you want to tie up somehow the question of freespeech with american censor policies. Pretty darn stupid. If you must look at films from free speech perspective then you should have mentioned Van Gogh`s brilliant work : Submission. I wonder why you didn`t.