Censor Karo

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DonnaHarvey

@DonnaHarvey

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 12 years ago

How much censorship is too much censorship? Is the censorship criteria in place today curbing creativity or maintaining peace?

Does the Indian television/ movie rating system need a revision?

Is it the fear of riots or political benefit that causes Indian officials to push for bans?

Some of most critically acclaimed books that have even a hint of controversy get banned eg. Da Vinci Code, pretty much anything Rushdie writes. I am surprised people can still view his twitter. Then the movie on 1984 atrocities against Sikhs and the other movie by South Indian actor Kamal Hassan. And what is the latest trending ban? Comedy Central. That is right. Let me repeat for those of you still in shock: Comedy Central was banned for ten days due obscene jokes and gestures. There is a reason the show is named what it is. I want to hear what others think of the current level of policing in the entertainment sector.

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McNinja

@McNinja

Inactive

+ 3

Posted: 12 years ago

Censorship is another one of those things that is a slippery slope. How much is too much censorship? Where do we draw the line? And who is anyone else to decide for me what may be offensive or obscene to me?

What a person reads, watches, speaks should be left to their discretion. There are a few rare instances where censorship may be required, but on the whole, most countries censor way too much.

I'm not sure how it is in India, but its ridiculous in the States with the way FCC dishes out new rules and fines everytime there is even a small ripple of outcry.

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DonnaHarvey

@DonnaHarvey

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 12 years ago

Originally posted by: McNinja
Censorship is another one of those things that is a slippery slope. How much is too much censorship? Where do we draw the line? And who is anyone else to decide for me what may be offensive or obscene to me?

What a person reads, watches, speaks should be left to their discretion. There are a few rare instances where censorship may be required, but on the whole, most countries censor way too much.

I'm not sure how it is in India, but its ridiculous in the States with the way FCC dishes out new rules and fines everytime there is even a small ripple of outcry.

I agree. I live in Canada. Considering I am not a regular TV viewer, I have not seen much censorship. However, India is a whole other story.

We have our own problems with the politically biased channels though. So, not denying the wrongs but atleast the censor board has some sense here.

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Krani

@Krani

Dazzler

+ 9

Posted: 12 years ago

I don't know about you, but personally speaking, most of the jokes on these comedy reality shows were not funny - they were taking sexual innuendo jokes to a whole new, disgusting level. I mean there is a subtle sexual joke that everybody cracks up on, and then there is one that makes people cringe. I felt that these comedy shows bordered on the cringe-worthy ones more and so honestly speaking, I am not surprised it's been scrapped.

Also creativity does not need to be expressed through nudity, sex or any other things that are banned by the censorship. However there are certain things that are banned by the censor board which doesn't make sense to me.

Also the corruption in India, and the fact that everything can be "passed" by spending a bit of money really takes away from the credibility of this censor board so I don't actually know whether the censorship that's happening is occurring because of certain offensive themes, or is it because somebody has been given shit loads of money to sing somebody else's tunes.

Having said all that, I would also like to say that the Indian society and audience is very different to the Western audience. A lot of families go to watch movies together, and there are a lot of values and morals still present in this society which is probably why the censor board is more careful with what's broadcasted in India.

But like I've stated, they censor some things, and then they don't censor other things.

It's not a bad thing to have a censor board because if you are creative enough, you'll find a way to show that creativity within the restrictions placed.

But i find this censorship to be inconsistent. I also feel that the Indian society is changing and becoming more modernised, and therefore there is that thin line now as to what is a reflection of the society in media, what is accepted and what is not.

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MaebyFunke

@MaebyFunke

Rocker

+ 3

Posted: 12 years ago

Censor ship looks inane to me, pretty much everything banned by Indian govt. The banning of yo yo honey singh's songs was the worse I feel, when compared to some Indian item songs which are mixed with swear words, disgusting sexual intended lines, his songs sounded decent to me 😛. But with the hot-shot releases of the year like dirty picture, heroine, I feel censor board should revise a new policy for Indian cinemas. The baby has gone out of the cradle, now its time for the walk 😛.

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McNinja

@McNinja

Inactive

+ 3

Posted: 12 years ago

Originally posted by: DonnaHarvey

I agree. I live in Canada. Considering I am not a regular TV viewer, I have not seen much censorship. However, India is a whole other story.
We have our own problems with the politically biased channels though. So, not denying the wrongs but atleast the censor board has some sense here.

Well, Americans have a very sensitive morality chip.😆 A few years ago, Fox was fined over a million dollars for a show because 100+ some people wrote letters complaining about pixalated nudity. Later news reports revealed there were only 23 people actually sending the letters, and out of those 23 only 3 had actually written a letter. The rest were sending copies of the same letters. So essentially, 3 people managed to cause an uproar and influence the FCC. The fines were eventually dropped but I fail to understand how censorship supposedly helps the masses when all it takes is 23 people being upset and consistent pain in the asses 😆

It would make sense if the censoring rules were based on legit reasoning but the FCC is just so outdated. And nothing more than another ploy of extreme conservative groups trying to pass their morals onto others. It's surprising how many conservatives would back up censoring, when their traditional outlook should be less government regulation.

Edited by McNinja - 12 years ago

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DonnaHarvey

@DonnaHarvey

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 12 years ago

Originally posted by: McNinja

Well, Americans have a very sensitive morality chip.😆 A few years ago, Fox was fined over a million dollars for a show because 100+ some people wrote letters complaining about pixalated nudity. Later news reports revealed there were only 23 people actually sending the letters, and out of those 23 only 3 had actually written a letter. The rest were sending copies of the same letters. So essentially, 3 people managed to cause an uproar and influence the FCC. The fines were eventually dropped but I fail to understand how censorship supposedly helps the masses when all it takes is 23 people being upset and consistent pain in the asses 😆

It would make sense if the censoring rules were based on legit reasoning but the FCC is just so outdated. And nothing more than another ploy of extreme conservative groups trying to pass their morals onto others. It's surprising how many conservatives would back up censoring, when their traditional outlook should be less government regulation.

Let me begin by saying no one likes fox news. Their "opinions" are cringe worthy. But, they have every right to say what they say it. I didn't know about this.

I see the bias.
If you remember back to a few years ago when Cenk Ugar was pulled off MSNBC for saying things that did not agree with the channel's political agenda? The conservative news media seems stuck on "pro-life" and painting every viewer in the Christian light whereas the liberals are focused on the opposite side of the same issues. In that hosh posh, if any newsitem seems to astray from their political views: it is banned. Free speech is conditional.

I am not sure if this is found in other places but with my TV at home, it can read the ratings (PG, 18+ and so on) and lock shows with mature ratings. The person with the password can then review whether or not they want to allow their child to watch the show and life goes on. Granted kids can hack their way around it, that the most authorities can do really. The rest is up to the adults at home. But we really need to do something about the news people.

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DonnaHarvey

@DonnaHarvey

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 12 years ago

Originally posted by: ITrustMyHeart

Censor ship looks inane to me, pretty much everything banned by Indian govt. The banning of yo yo honey singh's songs was the worse I feel, when compared to some Indian item songs which are mixed with swear words, disgusting sexual intended lines, his songs sounded decent to me 😛. But with the hot-shot releases of the year like dirty picture, heroine, I feel censor board should revise a new policy for Indian cinemas. The baby has gone out of the cradle, now its time for the walk 😛.

There is nothing wrong with movies like the dirty picture and heroine other than the horrific sexism stirred with the price the female protagonist had to pay for her desired sexual freedom. And yes and a shit ton of objectification and cast typing men as savages who are out to prey. Okay, may be there is a lot wrong with those movies but I am okay with watching them because they do have a good story only wrapped up with candy floss to please the "masses" (never understood what masses meant; only that it is an invisible force claimed by popular filmmakers as their audience. sensibility can go to hell as long these "masses" are happy).🤢

Yes, the rating and controlled release of content is the issue. I don't if there is a way of effective control given the internet but atleast they can try and pretend they are doing their job.

I don't give a hoot about the singer you mentioned but I still feel bad the dude got banned.

Apologies for the ramble, I hope I make sense.

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Krani

@Krani

Dazzler

+ 9

Posted: 12 years ago

Originally posted by: DonnaHarvey

Sorry I am not going to be addressing the separate points, but as a whole, this is my reply:

I think what needs to be kept in mind here is that while India is becoming modernised the audience in India is very different to the Western audience. You cannot expect everyone to be as liberal about sex and nudity as they are in the western culture.

Heck we still get awkward as a family if a heated kiss is shown on television.

It gets awkward if too many romantic scenes are shown on TV.

So the audience is different and the media is going to cater to those.

Now on a whole other level - the thing with India is that while it is getting modernised, I also feel that there is this whole other aspect of the audience that vehemently opposes the change.

They believe that the negatives in the society - such as the drug abuse, rapes, blah blah - is caused and aggravated by the content in the media.

While I do not agree with this point, this is a belief that is harboured by a lot of people (even some politicians, I believe), in India.

I agree that sexuality is part of every day life and sweeping it under the rug is not going to do any good, in fact it will make it more of a taboo. I do feel that our movies have advanced a fair bit than what they used to be a few years ago.

The change may come later, however it's going to be gradual if it does happen.

Personally, I feel what differs Bollywood from Hollywood (apart from the quality of the films and script) is the actual content of the movie.

I love the fact that Bollywood does not need to rely on kisses, sex etc to show the chemistry between two characters - rather there seems to be an underlying chemistry which is reflected on-screen, and that is what has always been a hit.

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Krani

@Krani

Dazzler

+ 9

Posted: 12 years ago

#10

Originally posted by: DonnaHarvey

I don't think the censor board bans everything in a panic. If that was the case then half the movies that were being shown right now would get banned as well. We don't exactly know the system behind it, hence I find it hard to comment on the procedure gone behind marking something as inappropriate, and something that's fine to show.

As for the rating system, that can come into play, and I think to an extent it would work however the process that goes behind that change I am not too sure about. Surely this idea would have been brought up to them before, and I am sure the entertainment industry would have considered it but if it hasn't been implemented, then I guess there must be a reason for that.

With TV shows, it'll be harder to place the rating system. That's because most of the audience watches TV shows as a family, and late-night viewing is only done by a few. The comedy shows that come on (at least of what I am aware of) are not necessarily too late in the night, hence the chances of children being exposed to sexual innuendos is still there.

If you put the rating system, put all the Parental Guidance, or Kids stuff at the peak hours of 7-9 (or even 10) and then the adult stuff 10 PM onwards then there is a higher chance of the shows missing out on their TRPs.

Considering that TV shows run on TRPs, I am sure even that small loss is going to be a significant one.

Also the replays that will be broadcasted will have to be done at a specific time so as to not expose children to such stuff.

With movies you can still get away as some movies are given the "Adult" rating, and hence it can be monitored who watches and who doesn't. The time, dates etc do not come into play.

with TV shows, the daily soaps etc, they are competing against one another on a daily basis for TRPs. If putting an Adult sticker on a TV show makes their show come at an inappropriately late time, then that's going to result in a lot of viewership being lost or TRPs not being recorded.

They will need to re-assess the entire TRP system of the TV shows for the rating system to be implemented.

It will be a good system overall, but I don't think that the Indian audience (in terms of TV) will be happy about "adult themes" being shown on their TV show. There was a huge controversy about the BALH love scene.

However for movies, it could work...but lets see..

When you say about prostitution, homosexuality, disability becoming mainstream, I am not sure what's the message you are trying to tell me.

These movies are not just made for entertainment purposes, they are made for educational purposes as well.

I guess one or two movies do fall out of the "educational purposes" criteria, but most of the ones that I have watched have been made to educate our audiences for some message.

However the making of these movies does not necessarily mean that the audience is open to a lot more sexual themes etc. There are still controversies etc created for movies that have sex scenes, etc...

Yup, I agree. The olden...well...classic times are pretty much gone. Except for the occasional few that surface every now and then - and I think that's one thing a lot of Indians still mourn about.

I like that India is becoming modernised, their pictures are improving in quality etc, but I still miss those old movies where a heated kiss was not needed to show the chemistry between two leads.

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