Government gets tough on X-rated movies

There's apparently a strong underground film industry in Thailand that I've never given much thought to before.

But the newly formed Ministry of Culture has been thinking about it. And they want to do something about it. A story in today's paper (Happy Valentine's Day) reveals a bit more about the crackdown plans, which were first revealed in a story about a week earlier.

I don't know anything about these films. Some I guess are just b-grade soap operas with some racy sex involved. Others I guess are hard-core. Nonetheless, this Culture Ministry wants it stopped.

Since the Culture Ministry has been formed, it's been the butt of jokes and subject to much derision. So it feels it must do something to justify its existence. Typically, it is doing so in an authoritarian manner, which is worrisome. But it dovetails with the moves by the government to clamp down on nightlife - the so-called morality campaign - that involves bars closing at midnight.

Not that I personally care what time the bars close, or whether I have easy access to crap Thai films - but I am concerned with the continued erosion of freedoms - something that's in precious supply anyway.

After all, the 1930 Censorship Code is still on the books and is applied to films that are screened locally. So from time to time, sex scenes are clipped or smudged out. Scenes showing intercourse action are generally smudged out. A couple of examples I can think of were rental VDO copies of Tailor of Panama and Three Kings. But bare breasts are okay on video and film, as evidenced by Suriyothai.

On television, cigarette smoking and drug using is pixelated out.

Violence is, too. I have a Thai-subtitled VCD of From Dusk till Dawn and a scene where a vampire's head is blown off is pixelated.

Pictures of people smoking cigarettes may not run in the newspapers, and from time to time, in order to use a picture of a celebrity, I have to spend some time with Photoshop to remove the offending cancer stick from between someone's fingers or lips. That's always a bit of fun. These are just a few examples of the censorship that is actively practiced - even by me, in my gatekeeper function as a responsible editor.

Thankfully, the government's itchy hands have not extended to DVD releases yet. I supposed if they head in that direction, I'll change my tone.

(Cross-published at Rotten Tomatoes)