Censorship: Does it work?

This point came to me while I was watching Cannibal Ferox with friends the other night. At one point in the film the prisoners of the cannibal tribe are about to be- well, i dont know -that part had been cut out of the movie -so answers on a postcard please people. We have no clue what had happened -all we knew was it cant have been pretty and thanks to be bbfc, we’d missed out.

Do moves really need to be censored to protect us? 25 years on watching these movies we have to wonder why these movies were taken as serious threats to society. Would we all turn into gibbering monsters if we veiwed these movies in their full bloody glory?

The video nasty act of the 80s wasnt an attack on free speech, but for many of these films it was the greatest piece of publicity they could ever recieve. Banned movies obtain a mythical status because they are banned -were not allow to see them, so we want to see them all the more. The horror films that are now being made -the Saw’s and Hostel’s arent any different from what we’re seeing back in the 80s with Cannibal Holocaust and Zombie Flesh eaters? The ‘too extreme for cinema’ cuts of films we receive on dvd are more marketing ploys rather than any attempt at censorship.

The wii game ‘Manhunt 2′ was banned last year until game developer Rockstar toned down the killings, but after 5 minutes of going through the death sequences, your left with a game that has poor controls and little replay value.

Censorship is supposed to ‘protect’ the public from devient artists -but shouldnt we have the choice over whether to view said entertainment for ourselves? Rather than cutting films to the point of being left with a unitelligible film because of the cuts. I leave you with a quote from the poster of famed banned movie last house on the left ‘remember: its only a movie.

If you remember the video nasty campaign of the eighties you’ll also remember Converse trainers -go here for trainers and some cool t-shirts.