If you had the power
to ban a work of art
would you ever use it?
I have a friend who has what it is probably the coolest job in the world–at least to me. She works for a provincial film ratings board, which means she has to see virtually every movie that might end up playing on a movie screen in that province. That translates to about 500 movies a year–including not just the latest Hollywood blockbusters, but tons of obscure foreign films and older films that need to be reclassified.
It’s that last kind of film that interests me the most, because it’s an excellent way to measure changing public standards. For example she recently had to reclassify a seventies horror classic (I’m not going to be specific, because I’m never sure what it is and isn’t supposed to be secret about these things) and–despite its reputation as one of the most extreme films of its era–it only merited a rating of 14A (the Canadian version of PG-13). This was a film that was so controversial that when it original came out it was actually rejected for classification (meaning it could not be shown) several times before finally being given an Adults Only rating over seven years after it was released.
To this day there are several films on the “Banned” list, but all but those few that actually break the law can be taken off merely by requesting a screening. But this got me thinking back to when there were people who actually had the power to ban artistic works and who happily kept others from being exposed to images and ideas that they deemed dangerous for public consumption.
I’ve always regarded this as incredibly backwards, but–based on the way I see how many people react to controversial material on social media–I wonder if I’m in the minority. A lot of folks out there seem more than willing to wipe out work that offends them out of existence–often without even having seen it themselves.
Are there works of art that you would ban if you could? Or do you believe–as I do–that there is a place for the offensive, even if it’s only to confirm what we know to be good and true?
Great question, and no I wouldn’t. I think legally we have things right here in the US where basically nothing is banned. Now that doesn’t mean that every outlet has to let everything be available. I think it’s completely legit for movie theaters to not show certain films or TV channels to not allow swearing or nudity or whatever. But as for banning works of art, no. From a movie context I really think that different films can mean different things to different people, and that’s what makes art so great. My mother recently asked me for a list of… Read more »