Censoring a kiss on screen is a sure-fire way of getting people to want to see the movie… like J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Late in the movie, there was a 2-second, maybe, blimp when two women kissed as a bunch of people — some not human — were hugging, kissing, and cheering.
Well, of course the scene must go, as such shenanigans are not allowed on the big screen in Malaysia. Along with exposed body parts, and bad language. It’s family, syariah compliant public fare aka the Malaysian world view.
The film censors must employ many people to do this sort of work… and even Astro, which pixelated Nicki Minaj’s behind in one American award ceremony that it telecast a few years ago.
We also cannot allow scantily clothed artistes like Beyonce to perform in the country, and female Terengganu gymnasts cannot represent their state which also caned 2 women for alleged lesbian sex.
Recently, five men got sent to jail, caned and fined for attempting gay sex. Then there was some nudity in a recent international tattoo showcase. It’s called body art for a reason.
SO, while the bigger picture is monitored, who is watching the online sites that allow cats being killed, dogs tortured, monkeys eaten?
We Malaysians have been caught with porn on the handphone at immigration checks, and child porn on computers. Aren’t these depraved habits a more serious issue than a gay kiss?
These Internet sites cannot be allowed to carry on being allowed to host such depraved acts. Don’t blame parents and teachers because these are young adults involved.
So who’s monitoring these sites which are not on the Darkweb? You can find them even on Youtube, and some news portals. Someone must like them because they keep popping up.
So, all this censoring on the big screen, and banning of sexy artistes is not working, is it?
In fact, we Malaysians are quite open about sex-related products like herbal drinks, with advertisements in magazines that extol the uses of the product to, among other things, boost the sexual energy of both sexes. Hey, how can that offensive?
But we clutch at our pearls if we see a couple kissing on the big screen, at Sugar Daddy ads, at politicians and gay sex videos. We allow children to get married, but we say no to Beyonce’s uncovered curves on stage?
A bad word on the big screen harms no one, but it’s time the censors need to turn their attention to what’s being aired on the hand-held screens.
** cover pic:North by Northwest is a 1959 MGM thriller by Alfred Hitchcock. The film stars Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G. Carroll, and Martin Landau. Commons.