Your Handy Home Censorship Kit

[Amy SF]

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/22027/


Your Handy Home Censorship Kit
By Zack Pelta-Heller, AlterNet. Posted May 26, 2005.

A new device allows consumers to cleanse their DVDs of sex, profanity and violence. Directors and copyright holders call foul -- and the battle between moralists and filmmakers is on.

Imagine watching When Harry Met Sally without Meg Ryan's orgasmic deli scene, or The Shining without Jack Nicholson uncovering the horrors of Room 237. Imagine watching The Godfather, only Jack Woltz never wakes to a bloody horse head.

To true cinephiles, the absence of such iconic moments might ruin these films completely. To directors and Hollywood studios, such modifications are gross violations of copyright laws and artistic visions. Yet to Bill Aho, CEO of ClearPlay, these classic scenes epitomize the kind of degenerate sex, violence and foul language of Hollywood entertainment that consumers should have the power to purge from their movies.

[Vicky]

i need one of those



:rolleyes:


not

[Marie]

It'd be kind of fun to use one of those.. just to see how much shorter the movies are.

[IamJen]

Didn't these folks ever watch Pleasantville? :)

[Vicky]

It'd be kind of fun to use one of those.. just to see how much shorter the movies are.

Anything by Tarantino would shrink down to half hour .... and something like Friday the 13 would turn into 15 minutes of boring "supence"

[Marie]

Didn't these folks ever watch Pleasantville? :)

Yes. They used the handy home censorship kit. :p

[Marie]

(I never saw it btw so I have no idea what I'm talking about)

[MollyGoat]

I've seen it. That bath scene...GONE.

[MrsKey]

While I personally wouldn't use one I don't have a problem with others choosing to.

As long as the censorship is censorship of one's self (or one's children) and not a forced censorship of what other consenting adults can view ... who cares.

Of course I have a very handy 'home censorship device' of my own. It is really simple to use. Doesn't step on any copyright laws. And is very non-controversial. They're cheap, readily available and best of all they are completely customizeable to each individual circumstance.

It is called, are y'all ready for this? A remote control.

[Lelena]

I think that would be great. I already have TV Guardians on all my tv's which filters out all profanity from tv, vhs and dvds, but their are still several movies which are unwatchable for me due to sex and violence.

[MollyGoat]

Honestly, I don't get it. If you don't want to see a movie how it was made--with all the sex and violence or whatever--why see it at all? Either the sex/violence is an integral part of the film, in which case you're sort of messing up another person's art by removing it, or else the sex/violence is gratuitous and the movie is just a blockbuster meant to sell tickets on the basis of the sex/violence, in which case why watch it at all if that stuff bothers you?

I really don't get blocking out profanity. I mean, it's not as if you don't know what they're saying.

But you're right, MrsKey, people should do what they like in their own homes. Someone, but I don't remember who, said: "Like charity, censorship should begin at home--but unlike charity, it should end there." Yeah!

[MrsKey]

But you're right, MrsKey, people should do what they like in their own homes. Someone, but I don't remember who, said: "Like charity, censorship should begin at home--but unlike charity, it should end there." Yeah!

I love that! Too funny! Of course the funniest things are often those things that are most true.

I don't understand why someone would want to watch an altered version of a film either - if it contains things you find objectionable ... don't watch it. Problem solved.

But if for some odd reason someone wants to use one and isn't trying to make me use one ... I don't have a problem with it.

[Lelena]

I don't watch movies that contain these things, that's why I think these would be good. Sometimes I hear about a movie I would be interested in but when I check it out there will be a sex scene, making it unwatchable or I have to wait until it comes on tv. The censorship kit would give me more options.

Actually, TV Guardians cut out whole phrases and sentences and replace the profanity with other words. So I don't know what they are saying. As I do not use profanity and think it is wrong, why would I want to listen to it? The more you hear something, the more you repeat it. TV Guardians make life easier for me.

I don't care what the rest of the world does, this is a personal issue.

[MrsKey]

I don't watch movies that contain these things, that's why I think these would be good. Sometimes I hear about a movie I would be interested in but when I check it out there will be a sex scene, making it unwatchable or I have to wait until it comes on tv. The censorship kit would give me more options.

Lelena,

The thing I don't understand is if the movie has something objectionable in it - why do you want to watch it at all?

I'm not being flippant as there are many movies, books, televisions shows and music cds that I do not watch, read or listen to because I find something in the content personally objectionable. Though the difference is that I don't really have any desire to watch, read or hear the altered versions.

I liken it to putting a fig leaf on Michaelangelo's "David" or covering the breasts of the "Venus de Milo". I won't even watch movies broadcast on network TV that have been edited for content - it's silly, in my opinion, to try to take an "R" rated movie and clean it up for general viewing audiences.

So I'm just curious - why, if you know that there are elements so objectionable that you won't watch them at all, do you still want to watch the movie anyway?


I don't care what the rest of the world does, this is a personal issue.

Which is, I believe, what MollyGoat and I have already said. We don't understand it, but we don't object to it so long as no one tries to force its use on others.

[Lelena]

I thought my post was self explantory. I wouldn't watch a movie which was nothing but sex and violence even edited. But sometimes there is like one sex scene which would make the whole movie unwatchable. And you cannot go by ratings because there are G movies I will not watch. For example, I would not watch Boogie Nights edited or not because it is basically about sex and the porn industry. But Titanic had a sex scene and a nude scene so I had to watch an edited version. I loved the movie and if it had not been edited I would never have seen it. I am not waiting to watch anything. I just read the article and thought it would be a good idea. I'm probably too cheap to ever buy the kit just to watch more movies. But I know of several people who would be interested in it. That's all.

I know you guys already stated that you don't object as long as no one tries to force you. That's why I said what I did, so you know I feel the same and don't critize others who do watch these things. It's everyone's choice.