Obscenity
Sex, Nudity, Bestiality, Child-Rape, and the Real Obscenity
Many religious folks are quite upset about the current Sundance Film Festival, which includes several films with sexual content, including full male nudity, a documentary about bestiality, and a Southern Gothic tale about the rape of a 12-year-old promiscuous girl.
I want to comment on these, but also on Robert Redford, the founder of the festival, whose opening remarks included a demand from President Bush to apologize to the American people for our involvement in Iraq.Disclosure
When we're speaking of values, I have no moral authority, because I don't believe anyone has a corner on truth in this area. I can say what my values are, but I don't propose that these are the truth. So, I do have to respect how the religious people feel about this Sundance festival and these movies. In the interest of disclosure, however, my values are different on some of these issues. Again, I have a Catholic background, and had converted to Judaism to get married to an Israeli girl, but I also delved into New Age stuff, although I was never a fanatic. I believe in God, and feel we can learn much from many religions. I'm sure there are things in the Muslim religion that are instructive too, although I firmly believe that Islam needs a major reformation in order to rid itself of violence and radicalism.
No to Censorship
That being said, with regard to this post's topic, I am firmly against censorship. Furthermore, with regard to sexuality in film, I am on the liberal side, way on the liberal side, all the way to libertarian, and even libertine. I'm not against nudity in film meant for adults. I don't believe government has any business telling people what they can and cannot watch, or what kinds of films people can make. So, the films at Sundance now that have sexual content and nudity don't bother me.
Hounddog
My feelings about Hounddog, the Dakota Fanning film, directed by Deborah Kampmeier, that depicts Dakota as the 12-year old promiscuous girl who gets raped, are more complex. I believe that a tasteful exploration of this theme can be a benefit to society, as this type of event occurs so often in real life. I don't think that film should be prohibited from exploring such an important fact of life. On the other hand, I would be concerned if the rape scene or the movie itself were an excuse for prurient sensationalism using a young girl as a sex object. My understanding, and I have not seen the film, is that it does not go in this direction. The rape scene is done "tastefully," meaning not much is shown, just the girl's face and hand. Plus, the film is described as an honest attempt to explore the phenomena surrounding child abuse and rape.
click to show/hide the rest of the post
click to hide most of this post
The Real Obscenity of this year's Sundance
The really disgusting thing that happened at the Sundance Festival though, to me, is holier-than-thou, radical liberal Robert Redford demanding an apology for the Iraq War. In my opinion, Redford ought to get down on his knees and thank God for George W. Bush and his responses to 9/11, including Iraq. Redford and the rest of the limousine liberals would be the first targets of radical Islam if the terrorists could get out of the Middle East and turn their attention to America. Our President, though, is fighting them over there, keeping them away from our shores.
Can you imagine what the radical Imams would think of the films discussed in this post? These are the reasons they want Jihad and Sharia. They want men in charge and women covered head to toe (Hijab), subject to another kind of bestiality. Redford would be a marked man under Islamic law. He, though, is ungrateful to the country that gives him his wealth, safety, and freedom.
You, sir, Robert Redford, owe this country an apology, not for your festival's films, as some believe, but for your irresponsible and obscene politics.
Disclaimer: please, my Dear Liberal Friends, don't chide me for trying to shut down free speech. I'm not. Redford is free to say anything, anytime he pleases. He can promote any idiotic idea he has. No one is going to lock him up for it. I, though, and others, are free to respond to what he says.
Rock
(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)
Click here to get a button link to this blog:
Join me in the war on error, in the fight for truth, justice, and the American way! Support this site!
Subscribe to my feed
Join or Surf Rock's Political Blog Ring. Both Liberals and Conservatives are Welcome.
Technorati Tags for this post: Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford, Dakota Fanning, Hounddog, Zoo, Obscenity, Child Pornography, liberalism, libertarian, libertarine, nudity, rape, child rape, child abuse, Sharia, Jihad, Iraq War, George W. Bush, New Age, liberal
Regular Technorati Tags for this blog: politics, political, politically incorrect, no spin, conservative, Republican, right wing, liberal, Democrat, left wing, leftist, democracy, election, peace, war, George W. Bush, editorial, opinion, news, current affairs, media, television, television, Hollywood, books, culture, society, religion, God, fundamentalism, Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Israel, Palestine, blog, truth
One other concern I might have would be the effect of making this film on the young actress, Dakota Fanning. She is, after all, a child. It appears, though, that this child is special. She is 12 going on 40. She seems to be one of the most levelheaded children in Hollywood, and she is vigorously and articulately defending the movie and her role, as if she were Erin Brockovich. So, I'm not really concerned about Dakota, and I think she can handle it.
Prurience
Let's say, for the sake of argument, though, that the film did offer prurient interest centered on the sexuality of a child. Other message films have actually done this with older children, as in Larry Clark's 2001 film Bully, and his 1995 Kids.
In Bully, for example, the young girls are shown nude often, even going to the bathroom, and in several hot sex scenes. It is decidedly prurient. Yet it offers a message. Bad behavior gets punished.
My take, again, though, is that I don't want these films censored. I think censorship is usually wrong. I judge that in a free society we ought to be able to make and see what we want. Again, I do approve of the ratings system, so that young folks don't see adult material.
With any movie that crosses the line into child pornography, there are laws to deal with this, and here I do approve of censorship.
Zoo
Which leads me to the documentary about bestiality, which is called Zoo, a film about men who have sex with horses. Sounds pretty sick, no? Yet, here is its description:
Documentary on bestiality premieres at Sundance Film Festival: South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
Again, I'm an artsy-fartsy type guy, so they've got me curious with this description. Plus, I don't want this thing censored. If it's pornography, then label it as such, and let it be shown as such, with a suitable rating. Evidently, though, it's not pornography.