Ratings rate

The Culture Ministry wants to implement a ratings system, according to a story in The Nation.

Currently, there is no ratings system for movies in Thailand, and this has created problems for filmmakers whose works end up being heavily censored by authorities who apply overly broad standards. Or no standards. Sometimes the works are not censored, which is fine, except that the movies are being seen by inappropriate audiences.

But the Culture Ministry isn't so much concerned about preserving artistic integrity as it is in trying to legislate morality.

“We need to do this as a way of establishing our concerns about pornography and make those concerns a public agenda,” said Vice Minister for Culture Weerasak Khowsurat at a seminar.

Dr Phanphimol Lortrakul, of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, threw her support behind the ministry’s proposal on the grounds that attention should be paid to the so-called “grey” area of pornographic classification “Sometimes, the material is not sexually explicit and there are no nude pictures. However, it can have the power to stimulate sexual arousal,” she said. “When we have a rating system, parents will be able to give proper advice to their children. We are not going to bar children from these materials, but we want to make sure we determine what is appropriate to what age. Children should understand what pornography means when they grow up,” said Phanphimol.

Weerasak said he planned to ask the government to clearly issue a standpoint on his ministry’s ongoing crusade against pornography. The Culture Ministry will request financial support and legal aide for that campaign, he added.

“We would like to recommend harsh punishments against offenders in this area,” Weerasak said.

At the same seminar, Chulalongkorn University researcher Amornwich Nakornthap released a study that found about 40 per cent of senior primary students watched or read pornographic material.

“Boys watch pornographic VCDs while girls read erotic cartoons,” he said.

Amornwich added that nearly 50 per cent of senior secondary or vocational students have already had sexual experiences.

“I think this leads to abortions,” he said.

The researcher blamed a negative environment, where nighttime entertainment venues and brothels are rife, along with the availability of pornography.

“Media members need to exercise ethics when they decide what they should publish,” he said.

Weerasak said sex potions, pictures of rapes or sexual activities and other pornographic materials should be wiped out.

“This should be a national agenda that receives support from various government agencies,” he said.

An earlier brief said the ministry is planning to denote various levels of porn materials. Levels 1 through 7 would be for those deemed legal, and 8 through 10 for images deemed illegal and prohibited from distribution.