How many movies every year are either banned completely or barely scrape by with an 18 or R rating simply because someone else has decided it is unfit for you to view?Many people may disguard this by saying it is for a reason and do not think twice about it but who are the Irish Film Classification office to decide this when there is clear evidence that they are continuously putting overly high age restrictions on films.A perfect example from 2000 is the film 'The cider house rules' which recieved an 18s certificate due to its themes of abortion and incest. This film recieved a mere 12s rating in the Uk.I agree that this topic of film is not for everyone but it clearly shouldnt recieve such a harsh censorship.A person wishing to see this film would most definitely have an idea of the subject matter and nature of the film before attending and therefore there should be no problem of people being offeneded or being too immature.
In Ireland in particular censorship is dictated mainly by the Catholic religion and what its views are.Surely in this day and age it is unfair to assume everyone is of that religion or of any religion at all.This comes across as poseing discrimination toward anyone who is not Catholic and is incredibly offensive.The harmless comedy film 'The life of Brian' was first banned in ireland upon its release in 1979 due to it being apparently offensive to Catholics and the ban was not lifted again until 1987 only 2 years off a decade later.Anyone who has seen this film will most definitely agree it is a harmless ,humoursome film intended to provide comedic entertainment and nothing more but thanks to the irish film classification office Ireland was deprived of it.Another style particularly hit in Ireland is the horror genre.These harsh ratings and overall bannings are again given on the basis of religion.Both the 1978 and 2010 versions of 'I spit on your grave' were banned outright on release and are still banned and are deemed illegal to be sold at retail.Yes 2010.It is ridiculous for such a new horror film viewed as a classic of its genre in other countries to be disaloud in this country.We should as intelligent human beings be able to decide what films we want to watch and not have someone of different views to dictate to us especially because the content of these movies and the conditions in which they were filmed are 100% legal.
From my own experiences I no how frustrating it is to be forbidden to see a movie in the cinema and have to wait for the DVD release but by this point you have already missed any 3D option available and the overall cinema experience.I also know the effort and difficulty in trying to sneek into the cinema to see such films and being made to feel like some sort of criminal just because I am deemed 5 months immature.
I also know that this in turn encourages illegal downloading of films in turn losing bussiness for the cinemas, the DVD industry,the film companys and adding to the already struggling economy.Whats even more frustrating is the fact that censorship on materials such as books is virtually non-existant even though at one point it was very strict but it has evolved to suit the current time so why hasnt film censorship?
The simple solution to censorship is scrap the idea altogether and simply provide each film with a warning of content and allow people to make there own decisions.We are the most intelligent species in existance so why must we be told but someone of the same species what is suitable for us?why do they get to choose?We are all different and have the right to make our own decisions and have our own opinions.The idea of censorship is outdated and completely unnecessary.
COD