Banned!

[wjp666]

i've just read that PS2 video game 'Manhunt 2' has been banned by the bbfc in this country. this is the first game/movie to be banned outright in a long time. the bbfc, in case you didn't know, are also responsible for cutting movies to pieces and banning films in the past including classics like Clockwork Orange, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Straw Dogs.

 

i'm an adult. yet we live in a country where other adults can decide what is acceptable for me to see/play. isn't there something horribly wrong here?

 

just wondering if anyone on this siten is pro-censorship?

wjp6662007-06-19 19:39:42

[Valor]

I left the nanny state to live in Spain, this was one of the reasons

[oldspice]

Unfortunately, some adults are not responsible enough to keep films with an adult content such as Staw Dogs etc away from their children. I know a boy of 11 who has watched horrifically violent films such as Pulp Fiction with the blessing of his parents.  Until idiots like this do not protect children from such exposure, there will be a need for censorship.

 

There is also the issue of irresponsible shops selling games passed as 18+ only to much younger children. Some years ago, when my daughter was 15 and looked much younger, a high street store sold her a copy of the violent PS game Grand Theft Auto. She was not even accompanied by an adult.

Pulp Fiction is not horrifically violent, in fact there's very little violence in it at all.  A lot of swearing and a lot of implied violence but not that much violence.

 

However, some censorship is both necessary and reasonable if the content is likely to be corrupting.

[Forth Bridges]

[Valor]

I think censorship is a good thing it's just ridiculous stuff like, not allowing kids to play conkers because it's too dangerous. Alot of the things I enjoyed as a child you just can't do now.

[wjp666]

but this still leaves the issue of this:

 

i am a responsible adult. surely i should be allowed to watch/play/listen to what i want (within the boundries of the law)? how can we possibly say that it is okay for another adult to rule that something is too violent/etc. for me to experience?

 

i owned straw dogs, reservoir dogs, clockwork orange, texas chainsaw (1,2,3,4), evil dead (uncut), snuff, the exorcist, driller killer and i spit on your grave (and many others - all which were banned at one time) on video as a young adult and it never did me any harm.

 

why should joe public suffer because of the few idiots that let their kids watch adult films etc. it's just not right.

 

I think censorship is a good thing it's just ridiculous stuff like, not allowing kids to play conkers because it's too dangerous. Alot of the things I enjoyed as a child you just can't do now.

"I must say that whilst reporting of health and safety issues in the media is often very good, some myths are perpetuated that can only add to the perception of a compensation culture. The Health and Safety Executive has been accused of: requiring railings on mountains to protect climbers, banning children playing conkers and requiring trapeze artists to wear hard hats. All these are untrue. I can assure you that we do not want our inspectors conducting searches at the school gates for any contraband chestnuts! We want them to monitor the safety of nuclear power plants and offshore drilling platforms, to focus on occupational asthma or tackle real risk on construction sites."

Speech by Timothy Walker, Director General of HSE
Difficult decisions  HSEs approach
http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/timothywalker.pdf

I am sorry but I had to make an exception and comment on this non choc topic as I hate people to think it is anything but some misguided people in positions of relative power (newspaper editors) who like to keep this sort of crap going.

Censorship?
Well if you wallow in the glory of violence, each to their own, but some people do need protected from themselves (and others).
Rant over. (honest)

[Valor]

That just shows you that you shouldn't believe everything you read in the papers

[chocadmin]

ah i remember i spit on your grave, definitely a quality film that one 
I agree about adults should have the right to choose etc. etc. , but unfortunately too many parents these days are irresponsible when it comes to allowing kids to watch inappropriate films/games etc. I wouldn't be too worried if we were talking 14+ year olds, but I know an 8 yr old who is allowed to play 18 rated PS2 games (GTA, playboy mansion...). Now I know for the most part this still wouldn't do much harm, but I don't think it would do our society much good in the long run (we're not Japan ).
In the case of manhunt 2 the BBFC know this game would get in the hands of young kids and they just don't think it's worth the risk. Maybe the sensible ones among us can import it (if it's any good I still think it'd be a worthy addition to my Wii, although the wife will definitely disapprove).

[smurfboy]

In a sense, I agree with WJP - the actions of a few shouldn't stop responsible adults from making their own choices. However, no censorship whatsoever would be dangerous. Where would we draw the line? Would snuff movies suddenly become okay?

[wjp666]

I Spit On Your Grave is a great little film... and the uncut version is still banned in this country to this day. (i had to import the R1 version.)

 

snuff, child porn etc are all illegal... that's the way it should be. but anything else should be available to any consenting adult.

 

and for those of you who want to play the "but if it gets into the hands of kids it's wrong" card, i have this for you to think about... ALCOHOL is legal. cigarettes are legal. thick bleach is legal (and very deadly.) so if that's the case, what shouldn't we ban? 

[smurfboy]

It's a fair point - too many parents would rather scream for a ban than take responsibility for the behaviour of their kids. My pet hate is these parents blaming McDonalds, school dinners, the government and anyone else going for their kids being obese. I suppose it's nothing to do with them buying McDonalds for them or feeding them endless chocolate and crisps?

[oldspice]

I think this discussion could run and run! I could think of loads more things to say but will quit now because i haven't got the will power!

[goldencup]

I think this discussion could run and run! I could think of loads more things to say but will quit now because i haven't got the will power!

 

  Sometimes, life is definitely too short.