Lesbians out but bloody decapitations allowed

Lesbians out but bloody decapitations allowed

Sean Yoong, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

In the Oscar-nominated drama The Hours, lead actresses Meryl
Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore briefly lock lips with
other women. But Malaysian theatergoers are missing these kisses,
excised by the state-run censorship board.

Another Hollywood movie, Daredevil, isn't showing in this
Southeast Asian nation at all. The government has banned the
superhero flick for "violent content" and encouraging youngsters
to "hero worship someone with a devil-sounding name."

The head of Malaysia's Film Censorship Board, responding
Monday to recent public criticism that the panel was too prudish
for modern audiences, defended such measures.

"We are just applying the guidelines that have been
established," board chairman Shaari Mohamad Noor said in an
interview with The Associated Press. "We try to minimize cuts and
save every film, but censorship is a very subjective matter, so
some people might not understand our reasons."

Under Home Ministry regulations, the board "protects the
interests of the country and people from bad influences and
negative elements shown in films." This means many movies are
plagued with jarring edits of love scenes, swear words and other
objectionable material.

"It's irritating, because we go to cinemas to see films in
their totality," Malaysian movie producer Dominique Hee told The
Associated Press. "We're not dumb. We know when censors have cut
out chunks of a movie."

Daredevil is not the first high-profile movie banned in this
mostly Muslim nation. Steven Spielberg's Holocaust film
Schindler's List was deemed Zionist propaganda. The Prince of
Egypt, an animated epic about Moses, was "insensitive for
religious reasons," while the spy spoof Zoolander portrayed a
plot to assassinate a Malaysian prime minister.

Lukeman Saaid, one of the censors who chose to ban Daredevil,
currently showing in neighboring countries such as Singapore and
the Philippines, faulted the movie for its focus on "a character
who is a lawyer by day and a vigilante or hired killer by night."

"The theme of the movie is just not suitable," Lukeman told
The Star newspaper. "Hero-worshiping someone with a devil-
sounding name like Daredevil is just a no-no."

However, the censors' judgments sometimes seem inconsistent.
While Daredevil was axed, movies now showing in Malaysia include
horror sequel Final Destination 2, a gorefest of bloody
explosions, decapitations and people impaled with sharp pipes.

"The censorship board should just review its procedures to
recognize that Malaysian cinema lovers have matured," Francis
Dass, a newspaper entertainment critic, told The AP. "For urban
viewers, the censorship guidelines are extremely outdated and
frustrating."