Avert Your Eyes

[Cosmicgaunt]

Avert your eyes - R-rated DVD cover-up in South Australia

R-RATED action movies such as Mad Max and Robocop will be placed alongside soft porn movies in South Australian shops, under new laws introduced last week.

Retailers without adults-only sections can display the DVDs only if their original covers are replaced by plain versions featuring simply the film title.

The laws, designed to prevent children from being exposed to disturbing or pornographic covers, have been condemned by distributors as "creeping conservatism".

Introduced by Family First MP Dennis Hood, it applies only to R-rated films.

While movies such as 2009 comedy The Hangover - which features on its cover a picture of three men holding a baby - will be affected by the new laws, MA15+ films with covers showing scantily-clad women - such as Lesbian Vampire Killers - won't be.

Likewise, MA15+ film Saw - which depicts a bloody, severed foot on its cover - can still be freely displayed, while 2005 hit Fight Club - which features a photograph of Brad Pitt and Edward Norton - can't be.

The changes came into effect earlier this week but many video-rental outlets and department stores are either unaware of them or have simply not complied with the new law.

It is understood police have granted a three-month grace period before retailers face fines of $5000.

On Thursday, Target at Castle Plaza in Edwardstown was still displaying R18+ horror classic Halloween alongside Jim Carrey's M-rated family romp Yes Man.

Paul Uniacke, owner of the Franchise Entertainment Group, which owns Blockbuster and Video Ezy franchises in Australia, said changes were being made.

"I'm not saying all our stores are compliant (yet), but we want the soft porn and the erotic out (of general viewing) early," he said.

When asked if he supported the legislation, Mr Uniacke said: "Do we have a choice? It's a pain but we'll work around it."

Kurralta Park Blockbuster customer Nick Johnson said the store's new, sectioned-off area made choosing a DVD more difficult.

"I think it's better to keep comedies together, and dramas, and horror; but if I was a parent, I'd probably look at it differently," he said.

Target shopper Sylvia Price, who was out with grandchildren Sarah, 7 and Jack, 5, supported the legislation. "It's so hard to stop kids looking. It's probably a really good idea," she said.

"If they see it, they want it and they pick it up."

Australian National Retailers Association CEO Margy Osmond said stores needed time to make the changes. "Major retailers are committed to complying with the law at all times, but the very short implementation window for this legislation has made this difficult," she said.

Movie distributors such as Hopscotch Entertainment feared major chain stores would stop selling R-rated films, because the law would be too hard to implement.

Managing director Jude Troy described the measure as "dangerous and draconian" and planned to lobby against it.

"To make (R-rated films) inaccessible to me seems to be a very creeping conservatism," she said.

"When you're talking about the young generation, (R-rated films) will become more desirable because they are forbidden."

Mr Hood, who introduced the legislation after his two-year-old daughter picked up an adult DVD during a shopping trip, acknowledged there would be problems.

"The goal was to have videos quarantined, so children could walk into the store without being exposed (to R-rated titles)," he said.

"The issue with classification is federal and I've tried to legislate under narrow parameters."

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html

The problem with this kind of legislation can be much more wide reaching than your choice of video and where to find it at the store.

The ban also covers advertising R rated movies -everything from cinema advertising to posters
This is where is gets tricky. If cinema's and film distributors can't advertise their product, they might seek to have their movie's avoid R ratings in Australia in order to be able to market their product.

Therefore big production movies could end up being snipped to get an M (15+) rating
And we get a censored water down Christian friendly product......

[ulti]

I think that this decision, whilst good in some points of view, such as removing R-Rated movies that have too much graphic content, should reside in the 'bad decisions' pile along with the decision to censor games which have blood in them. This, in my opinion, is restricting our freedom and trying to control our lives, by making us watch 'peaceful, un raunchy' films and playing games which do not demonstrate the full scope of action.

What next? Taking all blood out of movies? Removing action films and replacing them with icky childrens movies that always end well for the good guys.

I think that the Australian Government is pathetic by doing this.

[alhoon]

Ehhh... how three men holding a baby (The Hangover) is a disturbing or pornographic cover that will disturb children while the cover of Lesbian Vampire Killers isn't?

[Enemy of the State]

Jesus Christ Australians, what the is wrong with your country? Nanny state from hell.

[Burnum]

Jesus Christ Australians, what the is wrong with your country? Nanny state from hell.

It's South Australia, which is pretty much Australia Bible belt, fundamental Christians have stranglehold on the politics of the state. we're still not as bad as Alabama, though.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Family First is a fringe, highly conservative political party. They are a pack of religious nut jobs. Their single senator in the Federal Senate holds one of the few crucial deciding votes. Be prepared to see more of this creeping religious conservatism enter Australian politics over the next few years.

I would also like to point out that Australia is still the only developed nation that doesn't have an R18 rating for games. And it is South Australia's Attorney General who opposes introducing such a rating.