Obscenity

When you go to the cinema the films are rated - up to 18 here if there is sex or violence or other 'subversive' behaviour, such as drug use or young people enjoying themselves. Let's just deal with the sex and violence.

It's possibly an age thing, but certainly a 'good' age thing, something I notice not because I'm old and miserable, more because I'm older, wiser and understand the world a little better, and this thing is a growing unease with our (society, Australian and US films sensors, and more importantly film makers) treatment of what is obscene and what is harmless fun. So this is pornography and clearly corrupting reasonable adults all over the world. This however, is perfectly ok and won't create and reinforce twisted values in any human being, even the most unstable and psychotically violent. So why is one of these films to be raved over by critics in family newspapers and TV shows, shown as a 'milestone' film of Deep Cultural Significance on TV and worthy of shameless marketing campaigns in full view of children, whilst the other (sex between consenting adults) will quite possibly result in arrests and court cases?

I want to see a world where men in dirty raincoats have to go get their depraved obscene films from dodgy backstreet shops, where other equally seedy men will be shuffling embarassedly through DVD titles such as 'Mission Impossible 2', 'Reservoir Dogs' and '24 Series 6'. There will be different sections depending on your fetish; handguns? Over here sir. Explosions? That'll be in softcore. Headshots? Would that be adults or children being shot in the head sir? Might I recommend this title sir, as there is a particularly satisfying drawn out scream and a beautiful shot of the blood spattering over his family. Oh the look on the children's faces!

Contrast this with the scene in HMV where kids point at the promos for the latest Dirk Diggler movie. "Daddy, when I grow up I want to be like him. He's just so COOL, and he goes round making all those pretty ladies so happy." "They're films for grownups son. Now where's the Disney section?" I wonder if in this case the quality of 'sauce' on offer would go up? Assuming it can hardly go down, once the shame factor is removed and it becomes socially acceptable to understand that, say, people have sex and it's to be celebrated and doesn't necessarily do anyone any harm,,even to the point it might be argued that it does quite the opposite, maybe some more films will come to the shelves alongside the current tiny crop of 'thinking' films with explicit sexual content. Films such as 'Romance', 'In the Realm of the Senses' and 'Y tu Mama Tambien', as opposed to lowest common denominator popcorn that gets churned out currently. There are 'pop' shots and they're really bloody corny, hence popcorn.

Well, we humans are degrading ourselves with the current state of affairs; I really feel quite ashamed. Sorry, this was just something that for some reason got my goat, although I'm not sure why today in particular. It's not something I've really articulated before, so my explanation is somewhat disjointed. What do you think? Am I on to a hiding to nothing?