Home Opinion Midweek Mouth-off: South African movie censorship

Midweek Mouth-off: South African movie censorship

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Here’s your chance to weigh in on the Durban Film Festival controversy that saw the opening night movie banned at the last minute by the Film and Publication Board – on the grounds that Of Good Report depicts “child pornography.” Here is The Movies’ post on the matter.

Meanwhile, more recently an actual porn industry-focused film, Look of Love has also been prevented from screening at the festival.

How do you feel about these decisions by the FPB? Do you think they were justified in their decisions, are they Nanny Stating, or do you put the lack of certification down to disorganisation on the part of all parties involved? Mouth off now…

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Critical Hit as an organisation.

Last Updated: July 24, 2013

4 Comments

  1. James Francis

    July 24, 2013 at 12:18

    It’s utter nonsense: the actress in question is aged 23, portraying a 16-year old. If that constitutes a crime, then they should ban anything that displays any crime on screen – murder, fraud, etc. No laws were broken and the FPB has overstepped its authority.

    Reply

  2. Kervyn Cloete

    July 24, 2013 at 13:24

    According to our laws, you’re not allowed to depict anybody as being under the age of 18 and having sex. According to our laws, its also ok to have sex at 16.

    It’s completely nonsensical.

    I didn’t see the last American Pie movie getting banned for showing high-schoolers engaging in sexual behaviour. So what does that mean? That as long as we’re not seriously discussing the matter of sex with a minor, its all good?

    Reply

    • Wtf101

      July 24, 2013 at 16:13

      But I think how they get away with films like American Pie is they never state the age of the characters involved. So if they were to try and ban that movie, the producers would just shrug and go: There is nowhere that we state they are NOT 18.
      As much as I hate censorship, the real doozie here is that the law states that depicting sexual acts with someone under the age of 18 is illegal. Yes, it is crap, but it is not like this law was bought in yesterday.
      I will say though that the FPB calling this child porn is a bit going too far. But then again, I have to ask what level of sex/nudity was involved here? You cannot expect to tell a story about a 16 year old girl, and then expect an audience to remember the actress is in her 20’s when the hanky panky starts.

      Reply

      • Kervyn Cloete

        July 24, 2013 at 17:15

        Oh don’t get me wrong. I agree fully that they technically broke the law with this. What I’m saying is that the law is retarded as it doesn’t allow for any context. And that’s the key here.

        And as for the explicit nature of the scene in question, while none of us have seen the film (clearly) reports say that there was no explicit nudity at all.

        Reply

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