Fifty Shades of Grey Movies

Morality campaigners from Christian Concern have whinged at Sainsbury's for placing copies of a popular erotic romance film in full view of children entering the chain's supermarkets.

A few religious customers were absolutely horrified to find Fifty Shades Freed displayed at kids' eye line in store entrances. featuring cardboard display pictures of lead characters Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in the same clinch as the movie poster.

Helen Burgess of evangelical interest group Christian Concern said she was absolutely horrified when she saw the display. She said:

Most of us who follow the news know that the 18-rated Fifty Shades Trilogy is clearly porn, with all kinds of distasteful, demeaning and actually dangerous sexual activity in it.

The display was right in the entrance, with a big image of the front cover at children's eye level.

I was so shocked that I asked to see the store manager.

I could cry when I think about the assault on children's innocent minds and pure hearts.

Fifty Shades of Grey continues to wind up film censors.

UAE: Banned

UAE's film censors of the National Media Council have required 35 minutes of cuts due to inappropriate scenes, forcing distributor Four Star Films to pull the film. The council's director of media content Juma Al Leem told the paper.

We reviewed the movie in the presence of the distributor and after he realized how many inappropriate scenes there were, he took the decision not to show the movie himself, before we were able to make a decision.

Russia: Not shown in the Caucases

Meanwhile Russian news agency TASS reported that the erotic drama, which opened elsewhere in Russia on Feb. 12 with an 18+ age restriction, has been pulled out by cinemas in the republics of Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya. Ossetian mufti Khadzhimurat Gatsalov was quoted as saying:

The initiative to send an address to the region's authorities, requesting that the film be banned, came from young people who are concerned about noticeable interest in the movie from those who are in the early twenties,

TASS also quoted Madina Ayubova, a spokesperson for Kinostar, a theater in Chechnya's capital Grozny, as saying that film won't be exhibited in Chechnya:

Because a lot of what is shown in [the film] contradicts the mentality and religion of the majority of the republic's population.

According to Gatsalov, the film is not going to be exhibited in any of the four remaining North Caucasus republics either.

Philippines: Blurred

MTRCB, The Philippines censorship group's Chairman Eugenio Toto Villareal told the Inquirer that the board approved the film with no further cuts, but that the producer/distributor (Columbia Pictures) had made pre-cuts prior to review.

As part of the measures, a 10-second notice is flashed onscreen before each screening, disclosing that the film was classified as is and in its entirety with noticeable blurs and screen blocks introduced by the film producer. The notice also informs the public about the adult content.

Update: Banned in Papua New Guinea and heavily cut in Zimbabwe

19th February 2015. See article from newzimbabwe.com .
See article from pacific.scoop.co.nz

Papua New Guinea : Banned in February 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey has been refused classification by the Papua New Guinea Censorship Office, preventing it from being shown in cinemas.

Zimbabwe: Heavily cut in February 2015

Zimbabwe's film censors have demanded heavy editing of the film Fifty Shades of Grey, leading to some movie theatres not screening it.

Two cinema houses in the capital Harare are screening an edited version of the movie. Sam Levy's Village was not screening it with the explanation:

It was felt that heavy censorship would compromise the integrity of the film and thus, a decision has been made by Ster-Kinekor Sam Levy's Village not to screen the film within its complex.

Update: Nigeria Too

21st February 2015. See article from osundefender.org

Nigeria : Banned in February 2015

Nigeria's National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has banned Fifty Shades of Grey, but only after the board had let it be shown for about a week.

World censors' ratings:

• Argentina 16
• Australia: rated MA15+ (15A in UK ratings terminology) for strong sex scenes, sexual themes and nudity
• Canada (Quebec) 16+
• Canada (Ontario + British Columbia) 18A
• China Unavailable as distributors think Chinese film censors would ban it
• Czech Republic: 15
• France 12
• Germany 16
• Iceland 16
• Indonesia Banned
• Ireland 18
• Italy 14
• Kenya Banned
• Malaysia Banned
• New Zealand R18 for sex scenes and offensive language
• Netherlands 16
• Nigeria Banned
• Papua New Guinea Banned
• Philippines R-18 after censorship cuts implemented by blurring
• Russia 18+ (banned in Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya)
• Singapore R21 uncut for mature theme and sexual scenes
• South Korea 18
• Spain 16
• Sweden: 15
• Thailand 20
• UAE Banned
• UK 18 uncut for strong sex
• US: R rated (17A in UK ratings terminology) for strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language.
• Vietnam 16+ after cuts which were required to make the film suitable for the masses
• Zimbabwe Heavily cut. Some cinemas have decided that the cut version is not worth showing

The British Board of Film Classification was today condemned as irresponsible, ill-informed and hypocritical for apparently endorsing the use of cable ties as a relatively harmless form of bdsm play. Experienced practitioners hit back, claiming cable ties were inherently dangerous and expressing disbelief that the BBFC, which has recently justified censoring bdsm film content on grounds of potential harm, should have been so permissive in respect of a running joke about cable ties in 50 Shades of Grey, on general release since Friday.

Today, Dennis Queen, co-convenor of Consenting Adult Action Network (CAAN) wrote to the BBFC setting out these concerns in detail, and offering to provide the BBFC with advice on safe bdsm practices for the future. She explained:

I am extremely worried to hear that we're seeing a notable increase in emergencies due to ideas from 50 shades of Grey being tried out.

The BBFC view of what is safe is irresponsible and ill-informed. Apparently they consider 'soft' what many of us who are experienced in consensual bdsm would call dangerous and abusive. At the same time, it bans material which it sees as more serious, but which is actually safer. We urgently need to challenge this problem before someone is killed.

We need people to know cable ties can be dangerous, and people are getting hurt. if you care for your partner, please don't use cable ties, or anything else which can tighten and injure them. Never tie anyone up in something you can't instantly get them out of in an emergency, and keep safety scissors handy.

We also cannot emphasise enough that the basis of the relationship in this story is abusive and anyone who attempts to stalk you, or control your life in the way this particular movie explores, should be avoided. We reiterate Women's Aid's call to get help now if you are in a relationship like this.

There is a thriving BDSM community in this country, so if you fantasise about power games, talk to us for more information about how to play more safely and plan your fun, consensually, as equals.

Commenting on their classification, the BBFC said:

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY only features activities at the milder end of the BDSM spectrum and contains nothing that is likely to present any novel ideas or potential dangers to adults. As such there was nothing to stop the film being classified 18.

In respect of their decision to do nothing in respect of the promotion of cable ties, they added:

The BBFC considers such matters in their overall context, include the amount of detail or otherwise in any depiction or reference: in the context of this particular work we did not consider it either justified or proportionate to make an intervention at the adult level.

When asked what advice they had taken on the matter from experienced bdsm practitioners, they explained that they have long-standing contact with BDSM practitioners, though it is not known what advice, if any, was given in this instance.

Charlotte Rose, who recently organised a protest outside parliament at the extension of BBFC classification to online material, said:

The BBFC approach on this issue is both dangerous and hypocritical.

The film promotes cable ties for bondage play, while simultaneously failing to give the viewer any education into the very real dangers involved. Yet in discussion of recent legislation giving to ATVOD greater powers to ban dvd's not passed for viewing by the BBFC, their excuse for much of their censorship activity is that it is necessary in order to protect individuals from potential harm.

Mediawatch-UK has made the inevitable blog entry about Fifty Shades of Grey and kindly adds some fine piffle to the hype for the movie. The morality campaigners write:

The book on which this film was based glamorised and legitimised both sexual and domestic violence. With the mainstream release and promotion of this film opinion makers, the media and celebrities are legitimising this violence too.

Sexual violence and sexual exploitation are at an all time high, permeating our culture by way of hardcore pornography. This film further legitimises them despite the fact that making violence sexy has significant consequences to individuals, relationships and society.

This film also perpetuates the fairy tale that women can fix violent, controlling men by being obedient and loving.

Violence is violence and inflicting sexual violence is not sexy. While this should be a black-and-white truth, this film is selling it in all shades of grey.

The BBFC has given the film an 18 certificate because it contains strong sex and nudity, along with the portrayal of erotic role play based on domination, submission and sado-masochistic practices .

We'd like to amend this to read: Promotes torture as sexually gratifying, encourages stalking and abuse of power, promotes female inequality, glamorises and legitimises violence against women.

One day after pulling Fifty Shades of Grey from its Thursday premiere, cinema chains in Vietnam finally proceeded with a wide release of the erotic movie, of a cut version of it to be exact.

The new cut, dubbed as the Asian version, is rated 16+ for mature audience but is now advertised as more suitable for the masses.

The last-minute cancelation, which forced theaters to give ticket refunds to many movie fans, has sparked rumor that the movie could not make it pass Vietnam's censorship board.

Meanwhile distributor, Comcast/Universal Pictures, is not pursuing a theatrical release in China. A source with knowledge of the studio's plans explained that sexually explicit films generally do not make it past Chinese government censors.

The distributor in Indonesia said the film would not be shown there as the film did not meet the country's censorship standards.

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2015 USA romance by Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan and Jennifer Ehle.

The film adaptation of the erotic romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey will be screened uncut in Singapore. It received an R21 rating from the Board of Film Censors, with an advisory that the film has a mature theme and sexual scenes.

Meanwhile in Thailand the film has been given a rare 20 rating. (20 is the age of maturity, similar to 21 in the UK)

For comparison, countries have rated the film as follows:

• Argentina 16
• Australia: rated MA15+ (15A in UK ratings terminology) for strong sex scenes, sexual themes and nudity
• Canada (Quebec) 16+
• Canada (Ontario + British Columbia) 18A
• China Unavailable as distributors think Chinese film censors would ban it
• Czech Republic: 15
• France 12
• Iceland 16
• Indonesia Banned
• Ireland 18
• Italy 14
• Kenya Banned
• Malaysia Banned
• New Zealand R18 for sex scenes and offensive language
• Netherlands 16
• Philippines R-18 after censorship cuts implemented by blurring
• Russia 18+ (banned in Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya)
• Singapore R21 uncut for mature theme and sexual scenes
• South Korea 18
• Spain 16
• Sweden: 15
• Thailand 20
• UAE Banned
• UK 18 uncut for strong sex
• US: R rated (17A in UK ratings terminology) for strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language.
• Vietnam 16+ after cuts which were required to make the film suitable for the masses

And perhaps, most importantly the viewers have rated the film 3. (3 out of 10 that is, the average mark from 10,000 reviewers on IMDb )

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2015 USA romance by Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan and Jennifer Ehle.

The Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF) banned the movie with its chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid saying that the board had found the film to be unfit for the Malaysian audience, calling the flick more like pornography than a movie . He said:

The board made a decision in view of the film containing scenes that are not of natural sexual content. The content is more sadistic, featuring scenes of a woman being tied to a bed and whipped.

Update: Kenya in bondage to prudery

11th February 2015. See article from allafrica.com

Fifty Shades of Grey has banned by the state censors of the Kenya Film Classification Board with the following announcement on facebook :

The Board wishes to inform the public, film operators and stakeholders that the film, 50 Shades of Grey has been RESTRICTED. It should not be screened or distributed to the public.

When contacted, an official at the board declined to comment on the matter until the department releases a full statement about banning the film.

An amusingly taunting tweet alerted me that France's film classifiers have given a 12 rating to Fifty Shades of Grey:

50 nuances de Grey interdit aux -12 ans en France! C'est la classification de Madame Doubtfire en Angleterre

And indeed cinema websites in France do seem to be noting the screening as Interdit aux moins 12 ans (Prohibited to those less than 12 years old).

Perhaps justifiably

9th February 2015. See article from telegraph.co.uk

The Telegraph has printed its first review saying:

Fifty Shades of Grey has no sex for first 40 minutes Preview audiences were getting restless at lack of sex in 50 Shades of Grey,

The film features only 11 minutes of sex and none at all in the first 40 minutes, according to one disappointed reviewer.

...Read the full article

USA Today has reported that Morality in Media's executive director, Dawn Hawkins, has whinged at the newly released trailer for the movie, Fifty Shades of Grey . She claims the trailer:

Deceives the public with a visually appealing melodramatic love story that romanticizes and normalizes sexual violence.

A warning to the women lining up to see this film: There is nothing empowering about whips and chains or humiliation and torture. Women as a group will not gain power by collaborating with violent men. Women would be serving only as an agent to further their own sexual degradation, handing themselves on a silver platter to exactly the sort of men who want to use and abuse them, and take away their power.

And it seems that an awful lot of the public are enjoying being deceived as the trailer on YouTube has been viewed 11,200,000 times already.

Meanwhile Parents Television Council have been joining in the whinge. PTC director of grassroots education and advocacy Melissa Henson spouted:

We're talking about basically the equivalent of a dime-store trashy romance novel. Essentially, [The Today programme on NBC] is promoting what people refer to as 'mommy porn.'

[The movie is one] that's romanticizing violence in relationships ... sexual violence is basically what this movie is promoting.

And anti-porn campaigner Gail Dines somehow reads lethal violence into the trailer:

In the trailer there is a hint of some of the violence that is about to come Anastasia's way when he tells her I don't do romance and warns her that I am incapable of leaving you alone. Stalker talk, for sure! In his book on batterers, Lundy Bancroft provides a list of potentially dangerous signs to watch out for from boyfriends. Needless to say, Christian is the poster boy of the list, not only with his jealous, controlling, stalking, sexually sadistic behavior, but his hypersensitivity to what he perceives as any slight against him, his whirlwind romancing of a younger, less powerful woman, and his Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings. Any one of these is potentially dangerous, but a man who exhibits them all is lethal.