Malaysian Censorship Policy and It's Effect - Coursework Example

Malaysian censorship policy Introduction Morality is one of the core issues in Malaysian society that has affected many industries and the economy as a whole. This impact is felt in terms of the policies formulated to guide and control the operations of such industries, so that they remain within the desired moral standards. Such industry most affected by the morality policy in Malaysia is the film industry, whose control is one of the strictest in the world. The policies guiding the censorship of materials were first established in 1993. These policies were later revised in 2002, under the Film censorship act, which guides the films that should be viewed, through the provision that the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia is authorized to license and or ban films and movies as it deems appropriate, to control the content of such movies, that are viewable by the public (Chooi, 13). The reasoning behind the introduction of such policies was to build a moral Malaysia. The Board is required to first view all the scenes in a movie or film and if such scenes proves to have elements of nudity, or kissing, then the board is responsible to cut the scene. This policy guideline has seen the Board ban over one hundred movies just in a decade, due to the allegations that such movies do not uphold the principles of morality (Aversa, P12). The basis of such censorship is to maintain the standards of morality and spirituality high in Malaysian community, by eliminating such challenges as presented by the films, in that there is a great relationship between sex, violence, and criminal offenders, as shown on the screen (Zappei, A8). The major elements that are of interest to the Board regarding any film or movie produced are nudity, sex, religious blasphemy, and violence. Any religious theme that appears sensitive in films is also a point of higher concern by the board (Davis, 7). The board rates the movies based on their content, issuing guidance on the ones that should be allowed an audience by the public, based on their moral content and banning the ones it considers inappropriate. On the part of religious discrimination advanced by these censorship policies and guidelines, any film with Israeli religion or Hebrew religious content is not allowed for viewing in Malaysia. Another element that is outrightly banned is any element of Rastafarian in the films, more so if it has anything to do with Zionism (Cruz, 14). Such religious content are considered inappropriate for the religious standings of the Malaysian community. Most fundamental of this policy guideline is the fact that political interest plays a great role in the administration of the board. If anything seems to be of political interest, notwithstanding whether it is devoid of the sexual content, then, it is amenable to be blocked from being aired in films and movies. Any movie or film that is not rated suitable and appropriate by the board is forthwith banned from being viewed. Examples of recently banned movies include Stool Pigeon and The America both in 2010 for containing sexual contents, Black Swan, and The Mechanic in 2011 for having sexual and nudity content. The suitability of such policies to the economic advancement of Malaysia and its competitiveness with other Asian countries is in question. In Malaysia, films are rated by the board into different categories, to guide the audiences on the nature of the content and specify who the viewers of such films are. These categories are allowable if only they are considered to have no elements of kissing, swearing, and use of strong language. This rating system is meant to ensure that good moral values are instilled on the people, while protecting the family values for the Malaysian community. The first category rated by the board is U (Umum), a category that is deemed appropriate for viewing by all audiences. This category is devoid of any sexual or nudity scenes, lacks strong language and any sensitive religious elements as well as zero violent scenes (Walker, 22). The second category is the 18SG, which is suitable for viewing by audiences aged 18 or over only. This category of films is licensed by the board based on not having any excessive violent or horrifying scenes. However, the category is also required to be free of any sexually explicit content (Davis, 8). The board also licenses another category, 18SX, as appropriate for viewing by persons who are over the age of 18 years. This category is ensured to be containing no excessive sex scenes and no elements of drugs use in the film. Thus, any element of kissing or nudity is cut from the films and only those scenes that are considered to meet the basic moral values of the Malaysian community are allowable under the category. Under the 18PA, yet another of the boards licensed category, audiences who are 18 years and over is allowed to view the films. The films under this category are supposed have suitable political, religious, counter culture, and mature themes. Any film that is containing religious elements or political and governance issues that seems sensitive is banned from viewing by the audiences. The last of the category licensed by the board for public viewing is the 18PL category. This film category has the combination of all the categories discussed above (Cruz, 16). It is licensed for viewing by the audience who are 18 years and above. The maintenance of the values of the family institution is considered a major reason as to why censorship of films is justified. The cinema category chart in Malaysia is as follows: U (Umum: General Audiences) 18SG (Graphic Violence and Horror/Terror). 18SX (Sexual Content) 18PA (Strong Religious or Political Elements). 18PL (Variety: A film with strong violence and sexual references) The policies have provided for stern measures against any attempt to have banned or censored films in Malaysia. Any individual who possess, distributes, or engages in the sale of censored and banned films and material is liable for huge fines and a jail term of three years (McAdams, A2). These measures have been put in place to ensure that any material that is not licensed or that is deemed inappropriate by the board is not available for the public to view. Though meant to preserve the value systems of the family institutions, the censor policies in Malaysia limit the media freedom as well as the right of the Malaysian community to the access of diverse material and literature. The censorship has not only affected family viewing but also the business of those films involved in cinema operations. The cinema operators are supposed to ensure that only individuals aged 18 years and above gains entry to the cinema facilities, and that the films they show are rated and licensed by the board. However, the strict control to entry is questionable; since the movies and films aired in the cinema facilities are already rated by the board, meaning that all the scenes considered inappropriate in the films have already been cut. The rating, and censorship system in Malaysia is questionable. There have been observed some scenes in the movies that have already been censored to contain profanity (Kent, A6). This is an indication that the censor practice is discriminatory, in that it allows some extreme religious sensitive matters to be aired in films, while restricting other religions. Therefore, the Malaysian system of film censorship and rating is filled with a lot of discrimination, irregularity, and inconsistency, something that makes it seem ineffective and unnecessary. Most notable is the fact that locally produced movies, which have graphic violence and profanity were allowed to be shown in local cinemas, without the violent and profanity scenes cuts being cut. This occurred after the policy guidelines were eased in March 2010 (Lai, 10). Some movies have been cut minimally, leaving some scenes that the board regards inappropriate to be displayed by such movies. There are some other movies, which even after their scenes have been cut by the board, can still not be sold in Malaysia, such as the Blu-ray releases. All this serves to indicate the censorship and rating system of Malaysia, applied towards films is discriminatory and inconsistent. There are numerous disadvantages caused by the Malaysian film censorship to the community as well as to the economy as whole. Censorship plays a great role in suppressing the ideas and thoughts that were originally meant to be passed on to the viewers. By eliminating certain scenes in the movies and only leaving the ones deemed appropriate by the board, then, the censorship creates inconsistency and lack of flow of such films, limiting the communication and the desired interaction between the film and the audience, as desired by the producers of such movies (Nik, W16). The educative and the literature essence of the film are limited by the interruptions caused to the plot of the films and movies, through cutting some scenes. Additionally, censorship decides what the audience should now and what they should not know, based on the viewpoint of just few individuals, who are the members of the board. Their determination of what is suitable for the wider Malaysian community may not tally with the societal needs. Thus, the censorship policies can be used as a political tool to limit the dissemination of information to the people, a fact that serves to limit the freedom of access to information by the society. This is detrimental to the societal development agenda (Matabuena, P11). The discriminative nature of the censorship policies applied in Malaysian film is yet another drawback to the Malaysian community wellbeing. Through allowing scenes deemed inappropriate in local productions of movies, while limiting the same for the imported productions, the censorship kills the diversity of information as could be disbursed by varieties. The allowance of profanity regarding some religions while completely hindering any element of other religions is an aspect of religious discrimination, which is not fit for the religious diverse community in Malaysia (Zappei, A8). Free exchange of ideas, even those that are contentious and disagreeable is relevant and necessary for community development, an aspect that censorship in Malaysia serves to damage. Conclusion Censorship of films in Malaysia has affected other industries in a negative way. The trade industry is such one of the industry that has been badly affected, due to a lack of variety of content in the films, then, the trade in films is not a major business in Malaysia. This serves to incapacitate the role of the trade industry in the Malaysian economy. The advertisement and the media industries are the other industries affected by the film censorship. The two industries are deprived of a broad category of film products that they can advertise or air in their programs (Kent, A6). This also affects the financial gains for such industries, since there lacks a channel through which a wider audience can be reached, because of the film product limitations in variety and content. Any career goals for the film industry in Malaysia will thus be affected by the factors, as have been discussed. Film taxation is yet another factor that can hinder the development of the film industry, in that foreign produced movies are taxed to a tune of 20% of their gross earning. There is however some tax discounts for locally produced films, which are only to be allowed to certain range of movie takings, whereby the movies with low takings qualifies for the discounts, while the ones with a higher taking are refused the discount. This policy could see the production of low quality films, which will only earn within the discount allowable takings. Works Cited Aversa, Jeannine. Trademark Problem: TV-M to Become TV-MA. The Seattle Times, March 13, 1997. P12. Print. Chooi, Clara. Najib repeats promise of no Internet censorship. The Malaysian Insider, 2004. p3. Print. Cruz, Marinel. MTRCB revises rating system for TV shows. Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2011. 14-16. Print. Davis, Laura. Gratuitous Gore and Sex. Tonight & Independent, 2009. 7-9. Print. Kent, Jonathan. Malaysias censorship strangles growth. BBC, 2007. A6. Lai, Wei. Censorship issues uncensored, 2010. 9-10. Print. Matabuena, Julie. Revised TV classifications launched by MTRCB. Manila Bulletin. P11. Print. McAdams, Mindy. How to report a wedding. Asia Media, 2010. A2. Print. Nik, Nazwin. PM: Media censorship no longer effective (in English). The Star (Malaysia), 2011. W16. Print. Walker, Peter. Malaysias mission unbloggable. London: The Guardian, 2006. 20.25. Print. Zappei, Julia. Malaysian group wants Lavigne concert cancelled. Toronto: The Star, 2008. A8. Print. Read More