Society calls for Chief Censor and CEO of BSA to be replaced

Media Release 5 December 2008

The Society is calling on the new government to dismiss Chief Censor, Bill Hastings and the Chief Executive of the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), Dominic Sheehan, for their role in commissioning a market researcher, Colmar Brunton, to pay “children as young as 14 [to be] subjected to footage of rape, sadism and domestic violence as part of research directed by [these] two broadcasting watchdogs”, as reported in the Dominion Post (4/12/08).  Hastings in a feeble and misguided attempt to justify his appalling judgment, when confronted by the Dominion Post, admitted that the teens had indeed viewed attempted rape and graphic violence, but that much of it “went over their head” as they practiced “a type of self-censor”.

Society President John Mills responds “Yeah right Bill!” and asks: So if children are so skilled at self-censorship and are so oblivious of objectionable content and so unaffected by it, then why are you paid from the public purse over $220,000 per year to censor such material and demand that no adult allow it to be screened to kids, when these same kids can self-censor effectively – so you claim? 

In a self-congratulatory farcical ‘analysis’, Hastings told the Dominion Post that he believed the research on child viewing of rape etc. had proved that parents paid attention to film classifications and were “trusting us [the Office of Film and Literature Classification and the BSA] to make a sound call.”

Society President John Mills responds again “Yeah right Bill!” and asks: How can it be a “sound call” for the Chief Censor and CEO of the BSA to offer monetary inducements to children as young as 14 and their parents, in order to get the former to watch rape and graphic violence content and thereby break the law? (The kids were paid $60 to watch material and have their attitudes to it assessed, when screening it to them is illegal). Furthermore, most parents who care about their children would never put them within an arm’s reach of a censor who subjects them to such objectionable content under the pretence of research.

Those under 18 were shown scenes of attempted rape, graphic assaults and domestic violence in the movies Sin City (R18) and 8 Mile (R13), as well as television show Heroes. Violent scenes from episodes of R16-rated Mafia Show “The Sopranos”, the Adults Only TV Programme “Crime Scene Investigation” and the R18 Brad Pitt film “Fight Club” were also shown to the 14 year olds.

The Society is outraged that Mr Hastings has defended his breaking of the law by claiming that because “the younger participants gained parental permission before they took part in the research, then that was OK. However, he is duty-bound to uphold the law – the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 – that defines it to be an offence to show any portion of a restricted publication to an underage person.

The Ministers of Internal Affairs and Broadcasting should insist that the warrants to hold statutory office be immediately withdrawn from Bill Hastings and Dominic Sheehan and they be replaced with persons who uphold the highest standards of integrity in their respective roles as censorship watchdogs.

Reference:

Dominion Post Report

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4781424a1860.html

Film “End of the Spear” R16 rating downgraded to R13 following Society’s successful appeal

Press Release 4 July 2008

The film “End of the Spear” has had its classification downgraded from R16 to R13 following a successful appeal by the Society against the classification decision issued by the Chief Censor’s Office. The Society contended in its written and oral submisssion to the Board that the nature of the depiction of violence in the film – medium level violence – could not possibly justify an R16 classification. The nine member Film and Literature Board of Review agreed and in a unanimous decision, issued to the Society on Wednesday this week, took the view that 13, 14 and 15 year old children would not be harmed by exposure to the violence which formed only a small part of a compelling Christian message of forgiveness and redemption that is told based on the “true story” of the missionary outreach in the 1950s, to the violent South American Waodani Indian tribe. A revised censor’s note from the Board, alerts viewers to the medium level violence involving tribal warfare that some might find “disturbing”.

This is the second successful appeal by the Society in recent years involving a major Christian film that has led to its classification rating – issued by the Chief Censor’s Office – being downgraded by the Board. The Society made both oral and written submissions to the Board to overturn the R16 classification of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster film “The Passion”, and this led it to being reclassified R15. The applicant in this case was the film’s distributor and the Society opted to take a role as an interested party.

The Society has as one of its six objectives: the promotion of freedom of expression, within the boundaries of good law that safeguards the public good from injury.

Submission to Secretary re film “End of the Spear”

Urgent Attention
Secretary of Internal Affairs
and copy for Mr Owen Davie
Secretary, Film & Lierature Board of Review

Additional Comments Relevant to Society’s Proposed Lower Classification of the DVD End of the Spear and Formal Application for Leave.

5 February 2008

Further to the information submitted earlier by fax by the Society to the Secretary of Internal Affairs re the Application for Leave, please add the following:

It has come the attention of the Society today that the Film and Video Labelling Body has now approved a new classification of the film End of the Spear (originally classified on 20/12/07 as R16 by the FVLB by [incorrectly] cross-classifying it with the American DVD version) following a submission for a revised classification from the film’s distributor Life Resources Ltd. Read more

Submission to Board Re film “End of the Spear”

Attention: Film & Literature Board of Review (FLBR)

Re: End of the Spear (DVD 113 min 30 sec in length. Classified R16 By Chief Censor’s Office – the Office of Film and Literature Classification [OFLC]).)

The Society contends that the DVD feature End of the Spear, which is virtually identical to the 35 mm cinema version of the film that is currently screening in a number of New Zealand cinemas, should be classified by the Board as an unrestricted publication with a rating “M – Recommended for mature audiences 16 years of age and over.” It should carry a censor’s descriptive note such as: “Contains medium level violence including depictions of tribal warefare”. Read more

Morals body seeks lower [End of the Spear] film rating

KELLY ANDREW – The Dominion Post Saturday, 05 April 2008
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4464953a6479.html

A morals group is calling for a film’s rating to be lowered from R16 so that younger audiences can experience its Christian message.

End of the Spear tells the true story of a group of Christian missionaries speared to death by an Ecuadorian tribe in 1956. The wives and children of the murdered men moved in with the tribe to teach them about God. Read more