Congress endorses DVD censorship

THE US CONGRESS is finally taking a step forward and speaking out against lewd, unnecessary smut in DVDs. Children will no longer be scarred by sex scenes, extreme violence and swear words in movies their parents shouldn't let them be watching anyway.

Well, that's what some seem to think. Congress is endorsing a legislation that would allow DVDs to be "sanitised" - or "boringised" - removing scenes parents don't want their kids to see. The editing of movies wouldn't require the consent of studios or directors.

For movie studios and the large majority of the sane public, this is a horrible idea.

According to the LA Times, the bill was spurred by Janet Jackson's slightly fleshy appearance at the Super Bowl. Thanks to a crackdown on indecency, the Senate attached a decency provision to its annual defence bill. This measure increases penalties for broadcasters who break indecency rules tenfold, and was approved 99 to 1, just one of the few steps against "indecency".

The sanitising bill would enable filters that could remove any material considered offensive, be it nudity or violence, or the end scene from Titanic.

Quite rightly, movie aficionados are arguing that removing certain scenes can potentially ruin films. An example was "Austin Powers in Goldmember," that had 22 minutes of the 94 minute film cut by the filtering, rendering the story incoherent and un-watchable. Another example would be a movie like Schindler's List - with all the "offensive" and horrific scenes in that, of course based on real life, removed, a kid might be convinced that the Nazis were in fact a bunch of Happy Chappies providing free hotel accommodation.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch told the LA Times that a fast and easier way to resolve the situation would be through some sort of compromise. Easier said than done, though. µ