Censorship Questions

1) What themes are shared by the Censors over time?

- Nudity themes are still censored though lifted higher. Some R16’s and R18’s contain Nudity/Sex Scenes today, while, say, 20 years ago, more “hardcore” sex scenes were featured in lower ranking censors

- Blood/Gore/Violence were seen in the past also, and are still shared at the same ratings

2) What differences can you see between them?

- Heavier nudity/sex scenes were seen in the past, while less nudity appears in the present, due either to the era or the over-protectiveness of our children.

- Violence/Blood/Gore is seen more often now, and though it was used in the past often, the actual scene was either left out or covered up, so you wouldn’t see (Scream, for example) a violent attack, only the victims reaction or an onlookers reaction. But now, films such as the Saw Series, Hostel and other popular horrors, you get to see every bit of detail inflicted upon the victim

3) Why do you think that protecting children from harm is such a strong theme? It pays to remem­ber that when the first Film Censorship Act was written, a boy was considered to be an adult at 16, and many people between the ages of 12 and 16 were already working, either in a job, or at home.

- Exposing children to violent films, such as Hostel, can not only inflict personal scars upon them, but leave them to ponder what happened, easily linking them to a violent future.

Hiding Scene (Out of the Blue)

The scene I choose was the scene after the father is shot, when the three girls are hiding under the table.

The scene is pretty terrifying and powerful, because it’s taken from the three girl’s point of view as David walks into the room. It happens just after he kills the father, so the film has already gripped you. Since the film is very slow, David slowly walks into the room. It’s not sudden, he doesn’t fly in and start shooting everyone, and he just slowly walks in. Since it’s taken from the girls (or one of the girls) point of view, it makes you feel like you’re actually there, and it’s happening to you, since it’s a New Zealand film and so close to home. Their father (and step father) has just been shot, right in front of their eyes. Their terror is shared with the audience with this technique. As he gets close to the table, the tension rises to the point of extreme, even giving you the false idea that he will walk away in a moment, until he ducks down and shoots them. One of the girls somehow gets away, with only getting shot in the stomach. The dead silence is now replaced with the girls breathing and footsteps as she runs, and a ringing sound, the volume of these effects higher than usual. I think this is a very prominent scene as it shows her escape, but also the anger and frustration of David, showing he’s willing to kill anyone. The sound effects used as the girl escapes is really great, as it’s what she hears at the time, he breathing and footsteps, and the ringing could be linked to either the sound of the gun or her sudden shock. Again, the terror is shared with the audience without them even knowing, the girl has now seen her father, sister and soon-to-be step sister shot and killed, the terror is intensified.