Yes, But Is It Art?
July 27th 2010 04:40
The latest offering by controversal Canadian film maker Bruce LaBruce was last week refused classification by the Australian Film Classification Board, and the director himself couldn't be happier.
"I'll never understand how censors don’t see that the more they try to suppress a film, the more people will want to see it. It gives me a profile I didn’t have yesterday.’’ he said to SMH when asked for a quote on the issue.
This is second time in the past 7 years a scheduled screening at the Melbourne Film Festival has been knocked on the head by the Australian Film Classification Board - the first being Larry Clarkes Ken Park in 2003 - and the screening was to be the second time LA Zombie has been screened. The film is due to screen at Lacarno in Switzerland next week.
Bruce LaBruce is known for his shocking, deliberate attempts at B Grade shlock horror. LA Zombie tells the story of an alien zombie with a penchant for necrophilia. Featuring full frontal nudity and the in your face sexual content LaBruce is known for I can't imagine the debate that raged at the Classification Board.
And while the old cliche "all publicity is good publicity" proves yet again to be accurate, it touches on the changing landscape of Australian censorship. With debate raging about the proposed compulsory Internet Censorship, it leaves you wondering if Australia really is a country of freedoms or if the increase in dictatorship style living is here to say.
An audience for a LaBruce film is not likely to contain the whole family. Anyone who brings a child to a screening of a film like this has more to worry about then a gay Zombie. Are Australian's really that fragile that we can't make our own choices? Have we truly sunk to the level of requiring a watch-dog for all of our choices?
LA Zombie is unapologetically crass, gross, sexual and in your face. It is a Bruce LaBruce film. Whether or not it something you choose to see should be left to the discretion of the viewer, not a political watchdog. Common sense and freedom of choice seem to the be the issues here.
Festival director Richard Moore said it best in a quote I read on news.com.au
"Bruce LaBruce's blend of sex and violence can be confronting, but I would argue that within the context of the festival, it is nonsensical and patronising to not allow people to decide what they want to see,"
To read more about the banning of LA Zombie or to follow any fresh breaks on the topic here's the link on news.com.au that I saw.
LA Zombie Denied Classifaction
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