Censorship update
Two recent bits of news we missed, included today for completeness.
The Advertising Standards Authority received ten complaints about this ice-cream ad:
Tongue-in-cheek: not quite, but nearly
Antonio Fedirici Gelato Italiano said the ad was meant to be a “light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek portrayal celebrating forbidden Italian temptations.†The ASA concluded:
We considered that the portrayal of the priest and nun in a sexualised manner and the implication that they were considering whether or not to give in to temptation, was likely to cause serious offence to some readers.
And the good news – Glasgow has finally lifted the ban on Life of Brian, 29 years after the film’s release. The council’s decision was greeted positively by nearly everyone, including clergy who had previously been opposed to the film. In the words of one councillor, “The world, and people’s attitudes, have moved on in the past 30 year.”
Not so Stephen “Birdshit” Green of the bible-worshipping pressure group Stephen Green’s Voice (aka Christian Voice). His mind remains mired in 1st century superstition, as The Scotsman, keen to find a negative view to provide “balance”, revealed:
We know Glasgow was the last place in the country to keep the ban in place, as the only other area, Aberystwyth, had a screening a couple of months ago. It is a bit of a shame it’s now been granted a licence in Glasgow, but it shows how much we have let standards slip.
(Thanks to The Freethinker).
Just had this thought –
Stephen Green’s funeral is in full swing when due to a mix-up someone puts on ‘Always Look On the Bright Side of Life’ instead of his favourite hymn.
Imagine the scene as the crowd (yeah, I know, optimistic!) sings out ‘Life’s a piece of birdshit/when you think of it….’
…sorry, the ice cream made me do it!
Personally, I think the ASA has got it wrong this time. If you ban everything that causes offence to “some readers” then you will end up banning everything because there are always people ready to be offended at anything.
After several recent sensible rulings (e.g. the “Atheist Bus Campaign”), I thought we had finally got past this “if it offends someone, ban it” approach. Sadly, I was mistaken.
The mention of the eventual death of Mr. Green puts me in mind of the scene from the radio comedy Old Harry’s Game when an American TV evangelist has his encounter with Satan and refuses to believe that he is in Hell as he “Always walked in the ways of Jesus” to which Satan replies “I know Jesus quite well actually…and I don’t think Jesus would want you in Heaven ’cause let’s face it your ways did differ from his in certain key areas”.
Yeah! Notably in living in multi-million dollar mansions amongst Hollywood film stars, wearing designer clothes and bling, having a fleet of luxury limousines, flying in a private Lear jet, etc, etc, etc!! You should all Google Benny Hinn/Prosperity Gospel for starters if you don`t know what I am on about – talk about “you couldn`t make it up”!!!
As always, the brilliant Jesus and Mo is spot on.
http://www.jesusandmo.net/2005/12/18/hook/