17 Banned Films- and What They Tell Us About the Power of Cinema

[Warren DeMontague]

http://www.indiewire.com/article/17-banned-films-and-what-they-tell-us-about-the-power-of-cinema-20140728

Controversy is the best free publicity.

The mere idea of prohibiting a film from being seen speaks to the power of the medium to address subjects ranging from politics and social issues to religion. In many cases, governments and other authority figures find certain cinematic voices threatening to their beliefs and lifestyles. They would prefer to keep those images away from the public consciousness rather than encouraging debate or promoting tolerance. Recent examples of such practices are the cases of Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof -- whose latest courageous works, "Closed Curtain" and "Manuscripts Don’t Burn" -- have faced strong government sanctions. Exposing the extreme oppression under which artists must attempt to work, these films were seen as direct attack against the regime. Both films were defiantly created in secrecy after their directors were banned from making movies. Needless to say, while prohibited in their homeland, both films are currently having a theatrical run in the U.S.

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Lest anyone think "this can't happen here", in 1998 Oklahoma was arresting blockbuster customers

For renting "The Tin Drum"

[BrotherIvan]

4. For real????

What was the charge?

[Warren DeMontague]

8. Here's some background: Anti-porn group in OK wanted it declared obscene

police confiscated several tapes from blockbuster outlets, then forced the rental stores to turn over their records as to who had rented the film, leading to the arrest of someone who had rented it.

http://articles.latimes.com/1997/jul/10/local/me-11430

Police in Oklahoma City asked the judge to declare the movie obscene at the request of an anti-pornography group that was upset that the film was available at a public library.

The film was highly regarded when it was released 18 years ago. The year it won the Academy Award for best foreign film, it was the co-winner--with "Apocalypse Now"--of the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

The irony is, it's a film about fascism.

[BrotherIvan]

29. This shows prohibition groups using what I assume is small-town law enforcement

to get their way. Scary! And now the fundnuts are even more insane. As an aside, I don't think the film holds up well--except for the eel fishing scene which will stay with me forever--and the book is so much better. But I don't recall an actual sex scene other than the implication that the child/little person has sex with a woman. And I doubt that anyone but the most ardent film buffs is renting it. The anti-porn league probably did not watch it and put it on the list just coz.

[RiffRandell]

28. I saw a show about it when it happened.

I want to say 60 Minutes, but when I did a search nothing came up. I remember that and it was a long time ago.

When I was in college, the big deal was The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover as it received an NC-17 rating. I saw it and thought it was no big deal.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097108/


This was when the NEA/Mapplethorpe and 2 Live Crew stuff was happening.


Ah, the nineties.

I've seen 7 on that list...I want to see #1 (Franco) and Ken Park, but I guess I can't.

[melm00se]

34. This is driven by the Supreme Court which

implemented what is called "The Miller Test". This test included a "community standard" component (which has drawn a lot of criticism over the years).

Using the community standard allowed prosecutors to go to more socially conservative areas to obtain a judgment in their favor. Or, IOW, what is viewed as "racy" in city A could be viewed as absolutely obscene and repugnant in city B so if you want a win, you take your case to city B.

[leftstreet]

2. Al Pacino. Leather bars. Just puked in my mouth a bit

I didn't read the whole article, but were most of these films banned in countries outside the US?

[Warren DeMontague]

3. Yes. But the point isn't specific to the US, rather a discussion of censorship and its relationship

to authoritarian power structures.

Often we can tell much about folks by what they don't want other people to watch, read or see.

Beyond that-



You mean you'd never heard of the film "Cruising" until now?

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Gawd that was a horrible movie!

[Warren DeMontague]

6. I never actually saw it, but I'm aware of its existence.

Given the time and a whole lot of other factors, one imagines it must have been dreadful.

[Behind the Aegis]

9. It is one long stereotype.

It basically is a "comment" on the depravity and sickness that many thought homosexuality was. It has been years since I have seen it. It was one of the "gay movie nite" movies we showed for the GLBT group because there were so few GLBT movies in the 80's/early 90's.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. I don't remember Gay men getting much of a fair shake from Hollywood until the mid-90s, earliest

there was a shit-ton of homophobia in the movies in the 80s, I remember that.

[Behind the Aegis]

11. Most of the movies from that time followed four stereotypes:

1) depraved, pervert, child molester
2) AIDS victim suffering horribly; to be pitied
3) funny/sassy best friend who was one big, ole "faggot" (lesbians were rare)
4) hopelessly depressed/suicidal/pathetic whiner

There are very few movies from that time which portray gay men (sometimes lesbians) in a positive light. Of course, may movies from that time didn't even bother having gay characters but were steeped in homophobic comments/jokes/rhetoric. Is it any wonder so many gay kids felt we had NOTHING to look forward to?

[Warren DeMontague]

15. No, not at all.

The mid 80s in particular I remember were really homophobic. We had some gay kids in our HS class (obviously) but the idea of them coming out back then would have been unthinkable. Sad.

[Behind the Aegis]

17. I slit my wrists when I was 15.

But, I did it wrong. DAMN YOU MOVIES! I slit across, not down. My anxiety was so high, though no one knew why, other than me, I had to sleep with socks taped over my hands because I would claw my face and body in my sleep to the point of bleeding all over the sheets. I dealt with phone calls to the house calling me "faggot." Scrawled on my lockers. Even my dad was virulently homophobic and called me a "faggot" several times (he has since changed and is very supportive and loves my partner). The first words out of my mother's mouth upon finding out I was gay? "I wouldn't let anyone stick anything up MY ass!" Which was quite surprising since she had gay friends in HS (in the 60's), including a lesbian friend.

Although my wrist slitting didn't take, I thought about suicide since I was about 12, that I can remember. I even tried to drown myself.

Sometimes, I still fear for my own safety. I don't fear my partner's life when he is with me, because I kill a fucker in a minute if some tried shit against him, but when he isn't with me, it scares me. I don't live my life in fear, but I do have it. When I go to the doctor, when I met someone for the first time, when I am alone, I am always "on point."

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Jesus, man. I'm sorry.

Nothing else to say, just... sorry.

[Behind the Aegis]

19. Thank you, but ain't nothing but a thang!

Sadly, I am far from unique with some of the things I wrote. I wish I could remember where I read the poll about the number of GLBT people who have tried to commit suicide in comparison to the number of GLBT people who have considered it, I am in a majority; one of the few times. Things have certainly progressed, but it still isn't easy for GLBT youth, or even adults.

We can all be thankful there are people like you (and other true allies) who make our lives, not bearable, but enjoyable. Those who see us as individuals, but understand our concerns and support us in our quest for equality.

So... right back atcha!

[Sissyk]

20. .

I so wish I could help with your fear, but I know I can't. I would protect you, and fight for you, any day of the week.

[Behind the Aegis]

21. Thank you!

All I ask is you continue to be an ally to GLBT people, which I know you are. I can be a real viper when needed. But, I do like when real allies come forward, it lets others here know there are those who really do support us, not just in words but in action.

to you as well.

[Coventina]

24. I'm going to guess (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) that you, like me, came of age in the 80s

I think in many ways our generation suffered some unique problems in the course of LGBT history.

For one, we had the AIDS outbreak, which caused increased fear and loathing of the LGBT. Also, as the first generation post-Stonewall, the LGBT had a very contested space in society.

The existence of LGBT people was acknowledged (whereas, a generation earlier it was considered "polite" to ignore it) but it was still socially acceptable to perpetrate outright bigotry and violence toward them.

As a straight woman who has had gay friends since high school, I always considered myself to be an "enlightened" person when it came to matters of sex.

I can see now that there was so much more I should have done. I touted my "gay best friend" and thought that I was being progressive. I frequented gay clubs and thought that I was thumbing my nose at my fundy upbringing. I felt that I was being a good person when I graciously declined the advances of lesbians instead of "freaking out" about it.

There is so much more I could have done, rather than just posing. I am trying to make up for it now, but I will always regret not TRULY being there, when so many were suffering.

I can't change my past, but I hope to be part of building a better future for ALL of us.

[Behind the Aegis]

37. Mid-80's (1985, I was 16 and starting to get a clue).

Much of what you did in the past was actually helpful. Maybe it wasn't the role of activist, but in a time when we were routinely rejected, to have people who were actually our friends, says something about you.

We can't control our past, but we can damn sure make sure our past doesn't control us! To me, it is funny to see the changes in most of my family. Even my grandparents knew before they passed, and were very open about having a gay grandson. That's saying quite a bit for small town Southern folks.

[Coventina]

43. Yes, we're very close in age, then.

Very good message about not letting the past control us.
Something every person needs to take to heart.

It can be very amazing how a person can transform once they know someone they love is LGBT (or any other discriminated group).

Your story about your mother triggered something in me, actually.

I remember when my mother told me how babies were made I was horrified and immediately said, "I'd never let anybody do that to ME!"
My mother said, "You'll feel differently when you're older."

Actually, I didn't. Looking back on it now, I would have identified as asexual, or, as the "cool kids" are calling it now "ACE."
I had precisely ONE date while in high school, but never felt any sexual desire until I was in my mid-20s.
It was extremely puzzling, because I didn't know, or even heard of, any kind of "asexual" community. There was literally no one else like me that I knew of. The closest was Morrissey, who I knew was gay, but claimed to practice abstinence.
My parents worried that my lack of dating meant I was a lesbian, some of my friends thought the same.
I knew that wasn't it. I had no desire for ANYONE.
That might have been what partly drew me to the gay community. As someone without a sexual identity, I kind of knew the pain of what it was to not fit in with societal norms.

My nephew at 15 self-identified as pan-sexual and has been dating both boys and girls. He currently has a girlfriend. His mother (my sister) and I are fiercely protective of him, and fortunately his father is supportive as well. He is "out" with his identity (his choice) and has suffered from some bullying, but his friends all support him and it hasn't been too bad.

I look around me and rejoice in the progress that has been made. There is MUCH MUCH more to go, of course.
(I had a battle on my hands when a trans student wanted to participate in a school activity and some on the committee didn't want to allow him to participate. When I blew my stack, they backed down.).

So, the battle continues. But, I gauge the success by looking at my nephew who is free to be who he is. It's not easy, but I think the tide has turned enough that he is happier and better adjusted than those that feel the need to bully him. He is getting the more positive messages that THEY are the ones with the problem, not him.

[RiffRandell]

30. I would say Longtime Companion falls into #2

but I have to say I really liked that movie, as depressing as it was. Good cast, and it did bring the suffering of AIDS to light as it needed to....but certainly not enough.

I watched The Normal Heart a few months ago and thought that was good too (love Mark Ruffalo) but to this day it makes me so angry that Reagan did nothing.

Your last sentence struck me. I'm sorry what you went through. There were a couple open guys at my hs in CT, and they high-tailed it to NYC after graduation. There was nothing in our small town for the gay community, although one of them was a close friend I partied with a ton and after numerous attempts of trying to "cure" him, his parents opened the local PFLAG chapter, which we would all laugh about (including him) when we were under the influence. We all agreed it was a good thing, just funny.

[Behind the Aegis]

36. Yes, it was a #2, but it was a rare, good movie.

It was one of those movies that really shone a light in a direction which was sorely needed. There was another really good one, "Torch Song Trilogy," and it, in my mind, is one of the best gay movies ever!

Coming out during the AIDS crisis just made life that much more difficult. You are already uncertain as a gay person, and the added fear for your own health, and the fear from others just made things so much more complicated.

[eridani]

7. Indeed. Double vomit

[RiffRandell]

46. The review in Salon of Franco's new movie Child of God mentions that and says

the new film is too difficult to watch. Yikes!

If the medium-term arc of the performance art project that is James Franco’s career retains some elements of mystery, Franco as a filmmaker isn’t difficult to figure out at all. He’s immensely earnest and sincere, as distinct from at least some of the screen and/or celebrity personas of the Franco performance. He’s both literary-minded and literal-minded, devoted to a blood-and-dirt version of American authenticity. People have sometimes tried to decode Franco’s interest in homosexuality and sexual rebellion as keys to his own behavior; he has made films about the poet Hart Crane and the actor Sal Mineo, as well as an experimental gay-porn film jumping off from William Friedkin’s “Cruising.” At least in the work, it feels more like a thematic obsession, a search for some essential form of masculine artistic integrity.

It’s a powerful story about a man driven to do dreadful things by his isolation from a small-minded and morally pinched community, but … can you tell we’re getting to the bad news? The bad news is that almost nobody will want to sit through a movie this grueling, at least for the minimal returns this one can offer. Let me put it this way: The scene in which Lester finds a recently deceased young woman in the back seat of an abandoned Chevy and has sex with her is not anywhere near the worst thing in “Child of God.”

http://www.salon.com/2014/08/01/child_of_god_james_francos_necrophiliac_love_affair/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[BainsBane]

12. Under capitalism, we face far more pernicious censorship as a result of the marketplace

That limits film and broadcast media in ways far more powerful than the state.
Media and its output are commodities that serve the ultimate goal of profit. They circumscribe what we see, hear, and even how we conceive of freedom in ways that serve the interests of neoliberal economic and cultural production.

So while you worry about a potential of state censorship of a produced film, you don't think about how the censorship of the marketplace is currently exercising restrictions that are so comprehensive, they seem natural, even invisible.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. I don't?

you don't think about how the censorship of the marketplace is currently exercising restrictions that are so comprehensive, they seem natural, even invisible.

How do you know what's inside my head?

Unless by "you" you meant a general "you".

I actually think that the marketplace's influence on cinema, per se, right now is flat-out obvious to anyone with more than a cursory interest in the medium, art form, and business. That's why we have 6 Transformers movies and a rebooted Spider-Man every 8 years.

Hollywood knows it, too. That's why so many of the bright brains have moved into tv.

But it's facile to compare (not that "you" are doing any such thing, of course) the pressures of capitalism and the marketplace to actual governmental restrictions on free speech. Not having Universal willing to bankroll your script is not the same thing as having secret police take you to a cell and beat your feet with wooden sticks, because you made a movie criticizing government/religion.

It's actually offensive to imply that whatever nefarious brainwashing the poor befuddled sheeple are put under at the behest of their corporate programmers (and to which only those sounding the klaxon alarm over it are immune, apparently) is anything akin to actual, real censorship which people face in autocratic regimes. "More pernicious" is like the cartoon equating the bikini with the burqa. It's ridiculous to even compare the two. One can make that argument, of course- one is free to- and in the process declare themselves the bad analogy mayor of goofy false equivalence-ville.

Not that I would want to stop anyone from doing that, of course.

And these arguments are not new--- sit through all 6 hours or whatever of "Manufacturing Consent", you'll hear Chomsky say the same thing. It's funny that people (again, not "you&quot seem to think that others have never heard these arguments, that once presented with their self-evident wisdom, we will all go "ahhhh". No. Heard them, understood them, don't agree with them.

(It's probably because of our mommy issues, or something. )

Simple flat-out fact is, there are more opportunities now for people with something to say, to be heard, in our society, than at any time before. Anyone with an internet connection can have a youtube channel. Anyone with a phone camera, can be a filmmaker. Doesn't guarantee you an audience, but it does mean you have a voice.

[BainsBane]

14. The point is the "real censorship" is not of your porn

but of anything that doesn't serve the interests of capital. You are worrying about a possibility while claiming the actual censorship is "facile." Be offended all you like. I'm not talking about brainwashing the poor. I'm talking about a culture of commodity fetishism and profit, a system in which media, labor, and human reproduction all serve the interests of global capital. You clearly aren't interested, and as usual you prefer ridicule to actual discussion.

It's amazing you picked up on the Mommy issues comment. It is obviously the only part of anyone's argument you actually noticed.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. "my porn"?

Wow, didn't take long for your train to leave the track in this thread.

I'm not ridiculing. You came into this thread which was a straight up link to an article from a couple days ago-- (hmmm, maybe indiewire reads DU and they're deliberately messing with your message, too!), proceeding to read all sorts of odd inferences into it, looking for some silly continuation of ..something.

Mommy issues isn't an argument, it's a lame attempt at insulting the vast majority of people here who you simply can't convince to see things a certain way on censorship issues.

[hifiguy]

27. There is a profound difference between censorship and

Last edited Thu Jul 31, 2014, 12:18 PM - Edit history (1)

blatant pandering to the lowest common denominator in the name of making money. There are a lot of idiots with a taste for the idiotic in entertainment. Barnum's Law and Mencken's Law both operate with a vengeance in Hollywood.

[BrotherIvan]

35. You are absolutely correct

Your reference to Mencken's Law is rather genius and I shall think of it that way every time I have to read the "notes" from one of those assholes. There's also nepotism and Peter Principle and the Emanuel Complex (akin to a God Complex only less subtle). The system of Hollywood is as broken as politics in this country, leading one to suspect a widespread rot of our society.

[bobGandolf]

22. Interesting post....Thanks

for sharing. Definitely food for thought.

[Fix The Stupid]

23. The Da Vinci Code banned in China?? Wha??

That's a headscratcher.

Bruno is hilarious though...

[joeglow3]

25. Where is Faces of Death?

[Roy Serohz]

26. Or Maladolescenza?

[Warren DeMontague]

38. Ask indiewire.

"Salo: 120 Days of Sodom" isn't on there either, although I'm relatively sure that's been banned somewhere.

[Behind the Aegis]

39. Now THAT was a fucked up movie.

I think I sat through the majority of that movie with my mouth agape!

[Warren DeMontague]

40. no shit. I think i was double-vision drunk and even that didn't protect me.

I think Pasolini was pretty much insane by the time he made it, at least that's what I've heard.

[Behind the Aegis]

41. As discussed earlier, finding gay themed movies was difficult.

So, I thought, "this will be a delightful gay romp." Holy shit! I am pretty open to a number of things, but that was depraved!

[Warren DeMontague]

42. "Delightful"

Said no one about that thing, ever.

[RiffRandell]

44. I've seen some sick shit in my life, but never heard of that one.

Last edited Fri Aug 1, 2014, 03:28 PM - Edit history (1)

My friends and I would cut school and watch Faces of Death, Liquid Sky (trippy) but never heard of that one. Looked it up on Wiki and learned a new word that almost made me throw up my coffee. Leave it to you...thanks.

[Warren DeMontague]

47. Hey, I just call em like I see em.

BTA's deadpan comment about watching it expecting a "delightful gay romp" is the funniest thing I've seen on DU in months.

[opiate69]

48. One has to wonder.....

if a certain judiciously-named DUer's nom de plume is a reference to this film?

[FSogol]

31. "Persepolis" is my favorite movie from that list.

My advice: Go see it if you haven't.

[Warren DeMontague]

33. Yeah, I've heard that too.

It's been on my list for a while.

[RebelOne]

32. I remember back in the '50s,

"Never on Sunday" was considered obscene because it was about a prostitute in Greece.

[Johonny]

45. Twice banned "Rules of the Game" pretty much better than any other banned movie on that list

Banned by the French and then destroyed in WWII it is amazing that it exists to see today at all.

And given the rising divide in the social classes yet again the movie is surprisingly more relevant than ever.