Silencing Cinema: Film Censorship around the World

322 Pages·2013·2.92 MB·English

by  Daniel Biltereyst, Roel Vande Winkel (eds.)

Silencing Cinema
GLOBALCINEMA
EditedbyKatarzynaMarciniak,AnikóImre,andÁineO’Healy
TheGlobalCinemaseriespublishesinnovativescholarshiponthetransnational
themes, industries, economies, and aesthetic elements that increasingly connect
cinemasaroundtheworld.Itpromotestheoreticallytransformativeandpolitically
challengingprojectsthatrethinkfilmstudiesfromcross-cultural,comparativeper-
spectives,bringingintofocusformsofcinematicproductionthatresistnationalist
or hegemonic frameworks. Rather than aiming at comprehensive geographical
coverage,itforegroundstransnationalinterconnectionsintheproduction,distri-
bution,exhibition,study,andteachingoffilm.Dedicatedtotheglobalaspectsof
cinema, this pioneering series combines original perspectives and new method-
ologicalpathswithaccessibilityandcoverage.Both“global”and“cinema”remain
opentoarangeofapproachesandinterpretations,newandtraditional.Bookspub-
lishedintheseriessustainaspecificconcernwiththemediumofcinemabutdo
notdefensivelyprotecttheboundariesoffilmstudies,recognizingthatfilmexists
inaconvergingmediaenvironment.Theseriesemphasizesahistoricallyexpanded
ratherthananexclusivelypresentistnotionofglobalization;itismindfulofreposi-
tioning“theglobal”awayfromaUS-centric/Eurocentricgrid,andremainscritical
ofcelebratorynotionsof“globalizingfilmstudies.”
KatarzynaMarciniakisaprofessorofTransnationalStudiesintheEnglish
DepartmentatOhioUniversity.
AnikóImreisanassociateprofessorofCriticalStudiesintheSchoolof
CinematicArtsattheUniversityofSouthernCalifornia.
ÁineO’HealyisaprofessorofModernLanguagesandLiteraturesat
LoyolaMarymountUniversity.
PublishedbyPalgraveMacmillan:
PrismaticMedia,TransnationalCircuits:FeminisminaGlobalizedPresent
ByKristaGenevièveLynes
TransnationalStardom:InternationalCelebrityinFilmandPopularCulture
EditedbyRussellMeeufandRaphaelRaphael
SilencingCinema:FilmCensorshiparoundtheWorld
EditedbyDanielBiltereystandRoelVandeWinkel
Silencing Cinema
Film Censorship around the World
Edited by Daniel Biltereyst
and Roel Vande Winkel
SILENCINGCINEMA
Copyright©DanielBiltereystandRoelVandeWinkel,2013.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-0-230-34080-0
Allrightsreserved.
Firstpublishedin2013by
PALGRAVEMACMILLAN®
intheUnitedStates—adivisionofSt.Martin’sPressLLC,
175FifthAvenue,NewYork,NY10010.
WherethisbookisdistributedintheUK,EuropeandtherestoftheWorld,
thisisbyPalgraveMacmillan,adivisionofMacmillanPublishersLimited,
registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,ofHoundmills,
Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XS.
PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabove
companiesandhascompaniesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld.
Palgrave®andMacmillan®areregisteredtrademarksintheUnited
States,theUnitedKingdom,Europeandothercountries.
ISBN 978-0-230-34081-7 ISBN 978-1-137-06198-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137061980
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Silencingcinema:filmcensorshiparoundtheworld/editedby
DanielBiltereystandRoelVandeWinkel.
pages cm. — (Globalcinemaseries)
Includesindex.
1. Motionpictures—Censorship. I. Biltereyst,Daniel,1962–
editorofcompilation. II. VandeWinkel,Roeleditorofcompilation.
PN1995.6.S532013
363.31—dc23 2012046505
AcataloguerecordofthebookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
DesignbyIntegraSoftwareServices
Firstedition:March2013
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
ListofIllustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
SilencingCinema:AnIntroduction 1
DanielBiltereystandRoelVandeWinkel
Part I Censorship,Regulation,andHegemony
1 AllthePoweroftheLaw:GovernmentalFilmCensorshipinthe 15
UnitedStates
LauraWittern-Keller
2 “Americanmoralityisnottobetrifledwith”:Content 33
RegulationinHollywoodafter1968
JonLewis
3 WhenCinemaFacesSocialValues:OneHundredYearsofFilm 49
CensorshipinCanada
PierreVéronneau
4 InquisitionShadows:Politics,Religion,Diplomacy,and 63
IdeologyinMexicanFilmCensorship
FranciscoPeredo-Castro
Part II Control,Continuity,andChange
5 FilmCensorshipinGermany:ContinuityandChange 81
throughFivePoliticalSystems
MartinLoiperdinger
6 SeeingRed:PoliticalControlofCinemaintheSovietUnion 97
RichardTaylor
7 Prohibition,Politics,andNation-Building:AHistoryof 109
FilmCensorshipinChina
ZhiweiXiao
8 FilmCensorshipduringtheGoldenEraofTurkishCinema 131
DilekKayaMutlu
vi CONTENTS
Part III Colonialism,Legacy,andPolicies
9 TheCensorandtheStateinBritain 149
JulianPetley
10 BritishColonialCensorshipRegimes:HongKong,Straits 167
Settlements,andShanghaiInternationalSettlement,1916–1941
DavidNewman
11 “Wedonotcertifybackwards”:FilmCensorshipin 191
PostcolonialIndia
NandanaBose
12 IrishFilmCensorship:RefusingtheFracturedFamilyof 207
ForeignFilms
KevinRockett
Part IV CensorshipMultiplicity,MoralRegulation,and
Experiences
13 Nollywood,Kannywood,andaDecadeofHausaFilm 223
CensorshipinNigeria
CarmenMcCain
14 TheLegionofDecencyandtheMovies 241
GregoryD.Black
15 BlessedCinema:StateandCatholicCensorshipinPostwarItaly 255
DanielaTreveriGennari
16 FilmCensorshipinaLiberalFreeMarketDemocracy: 273
StrategiesofFilmControlandAudiences’Experiencesof
CensorshipinBelgium
DanielBiltereyst
NotesonContributors 293
Index 299
List of Illustrations
Graph
16.1 ProportionsofBeBFC’sdecisions 277
Images
1.1 IrwinEsmond,chiefcensorfortheStateofNewYorkfrom 19
1932to1945
2.1 JackValentidiscussingthevoluntarymovieratingsystemin 36
ThisFilmIsNotYetRated(2006)
2.2 AnanimatedrenderingoftheactressWinonaRyderdoing 44
somethingunspeakablewithping-pongballsinSouthPark:
Bigger,LongerandUncut(1999)
3.1 1912cartoononcensorshipinJackCanuck 51
3.2 Aframefrom40,000feetofrejectedfilmdestroyedbythe 52
OntarioCensorBoard(1916)
4.1 StillimagefromabrothelsceneinLamanchadesangre 72
(TheBloodStain,AdolfoBestMaugard,1937)
10.1 MajorfilmdistributionhubsinEastAsia 169
13.1 AsealedvideoshopinKaduna,Nigeria 226
13.2 FilmmakersonafilmsetinAugust2010readingthe 236
newsofRabo’ssexscandal
15.1 ApriestoutsidetheCinemaMetastasio,whereGoffredo 265
Alessandrini’scontroversialfilmNozzedisangue(Blood
Wedding,1941)wasshown
16.1 BeBFC’sminutesforCasablanca(May7,1946) 278
viii LISTOFILLUSTRATIONS
Tables
10.1 Comparisonofcensorguidelines 171
10.2 ProportionoffilmsbannedintheStraitsSettlements, 177
1927–1928
10.3 AnalysisoffilmsbannedintheStraitsSettlements,1935–1940 178
11.1 CBFC’ssuggestedmodificationsforZakhm(Wound,1998) 196
Acknowledgments
Editing this volume has been a slow but rewarding exercise. We are very
proudthatsomeofthekeyauthorsinthefieldoffilmhistoryandcensorship
researchwerewillingtosharetheirworkwithus.Aseditors,weshouldoffer
our thanks to all our contributors, not only for their generosity but also for
theirpatience.AtPalgraveMacmillan,wewouldliketothankRichardBellis,
RobynCurtis,FloraKenson,MichaelStrang,andSamanthaHasey,aswellas
Palgrave’sGlobalCinemaserieseditorsAnikóImre,KatarzynaMarciniak,and
ÁineO’Healy.Wearealsoverymuchindebtedtocolleaguesandfriendsatour
respectivehomeuniversities,inparticularthemembersoftheCentreforCin-
emaandMediaStudiesatGhentUniversityandtheVisualStudiesandMedia
CultureresearchgroupattheUniversityofAntwerp.Thanks,foravarietyof
reasons,alsotothefollowingpeoplewhohavehelpedthisvolumetocometo
fruition:NicoCarpentier,NicholasCull,Jean-PaulDorchain,LiesbetDepauw,
JeanPaulGoergen,JokeGoovaerts,AndrewGrossman,PaulLesch,VeerleLeus,
JoséCarlosLozano,RichardMaltby,ErnestMathijs,PhilippeMeers,LiesVan
de Vijver, Luiz Nazario, Maurice Vambe, Thunnis Van Oort, Khaël Velders,
KoenVlassenroot,andJanetWasko.