Bad news for "The Passion," good news for fair play
You'll forgive me a satisfied cackle over the implications of this one. I think I've earned it.
It seems that, despite a financial take so huge that it simulataneously shattered boxoffice records AND my faith in humanity, Mel Gibson's Religious Right torture-porn epic, "The Passion of The Christ" is having difficulty inking a deal for it's network TV debut.
Why? Well, it seems that the big FCC crackdown on "indecent broadcasting" that most of the so-called Religious Right has been so joyfully cheering on as Michael Powell and his cronies use it to attempt to destroy the likes of Howard Stern and Janet Jackson is now making the nets skittish about airing the brutally-violent film without SEVERE editing which it's fervent supporters oppose.
From the Associated Press:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040420/D822MAS00.html
Now, normally I'm not a bitter guy and I wouldn't ordinarily take humor from watching something blow up in the faces of even so odious a group as the extreme Religious Right. However, I'll make an exception this time.
Ha.
Ha.
HA.
HA!
Don't mistake this for me being on the side of the censors on this one, though. Far from it. I hate the new FCC crackdown, I hate that the FCC even has content-regulation powers to begin with. I oppose all forms of government censorship of the arts and the media. I oppose ALL mandatory ratings and content-control systems. I oppose the government telling television networks, radio stations and movie theaters what they are and are not allowed to broadcast or show through their privately-owned mediums. I favor the removal of ALL mandatory content "standards and practices" regulation from the television industry and the revamping of the MPAA film-ratings from a system of mandatory-enforcement to one of voluntary participation/interpretation on behalf of theater owners.
That being said, turn about is fair play and I find the idea that the same regulations championed by the "conservative" Culture Warriors may wind up depriving them of the chance to foist the cinematic guilt-trip sermon that is "The Passion" on television audiences to be very, very, VERY funny indeed.
For the record: "The Passion" should be allowed to run uncut on any television network that wishes to run it, and so should everything else. If you own a TV network, you should be able to broadcast anything you damn well please and the government should not have word ONE to say about it; and to hell with inane non-issues like "the family viewing hour" and "unclean words."
With that in mind, here's some Religious Right hypocrite of the highest order to demonstrate the kind of nonsensical double-standard on behalf of "the movement" that makes me so giddy to see their beloved FCC step on THEIR toes for a change...
The Media Research Center is a conservative think-tank dedicating to chasing down and exposing examples of the "Liberal Media" boogeyman. It's founder and frequent columnist L. Brent Bozell ("guy with the orange beard" to less-frequent Cable News viewers) is a long-time pro-censorship advocate who ALSO runs the "Parents Television Council," an organization which calls itself "the only Hollywood-based organization dedicated to restoring responsibility to the entertainment industry." Funny how the PTC's definition of "responsibility" tends to sound a lot like "puritanical censorship."
Introduction done. Now, here's Mr. Bozell in his own words back on March 5th marching in lock-step with the rest of the Religious Right in their unanimous praise for "The Passion." He sees the "elite" film critics of America engaged in the usual "anti-traditionalism" conspiracy to destroy the film:
http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/entertainmentcolumn/2004/col20040305.asp
Note his specific indictment of the "hypocrisy" of critics who complain about the film's ultraviolence.
I won't pretend Bozell doesn't make what LOOK like convincing points here. He's been a Religious Right propagandist for a long time, and he's good at it. Trouble is, his adoring love for the freedom of the entertainment industry to make explicit adult-level material seems to begin and end with "The Passion." HERE he is, in the very next colum on March 12th, attacking entertainment industry folks for complaining about the new FCC restrictions:
http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/entertainmentcolumn/2004/col20040312.asp
Getting the picture? It's wrong to point out "The Passion's" content as objectionable, but controversial entertainments that AREN'T useful as Religious Right recruitment drives deserve to be censored.
Bozell likes to thrown around the word "double standard" in relation to the U.S. media. Ahem. Pot, this is Kettle, you're black.
Lest anyone complain I'm indicting the ENTIRE "conservative" culture in this country on this, rest assured I am most certainly not. Charles Krauthammer, a columnist respected in right-wing circles at a level usually reserved only for George Will and William F. Buckley, offered what I think is one of the most damning, insightful and intellectually-sound reviews of the film on record in the Washington Post.
You can read it here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31980-2004Mar4.html
Hey... y'think that the same folks who want "The Passion" uncut on network TV would step up and help Quentin Tarantino get the same treatment for "Kill Bill?"
Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath either.
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