Banned!
Daredevil, the movie based on Marvel's comic character, has been banned in Malaysia. The ban was announced on Feb 11. (Sorry it took me so long to put this up here!)
Censorship Board bans Daredevil over unhealthy elements
- The [National Film Censorship] Board gave five reasons for the ban, citing the first as the theme which focused on the dealings of a secret society.''
The ban also stated the film contained violence including fighting scenes using weapons and hands.
Another reason given was the vigilante act of the comic book legend known as Man Without Fear who is a lawyer by day and killer by night.
It also stated the film focused on the mafia world and portrayed a character who is a hired killer.
The decision is currently under review.
It's a bit unfair to ban it at this late date; trailers and previews had already been showing when the ban was announced. One of the radio stations been conducting ticket giveaways and contests, and its promotions were disrupted. People were looking forward to seeing the movie.
Movie/TV censorship is pretty strict in Malaysia. We have a rating system, but no one seems to understand what a rating system is for. Let's not even talk about nudity - even kisses get snipped! It's common to see the man and the woman's faces getting closer and closer... next thing you know, they're moving apart. It's as if you blinked and missed something!
Vulgarity gets blocked off. The character could be in a tirade, raging, and suddenly there's a second of total silence before his voice comes back in the middle of a sentence.
The censorship runs to reading material, too. Pornographic magazines are illegal and any nudity in other magazines gets blacked out before the mags hit the streets.
For this I am thankful: in many ways, Malaysia is a good country to live in. The government is pretty concerned about upholding moral values and actively protects us from harmful influences. Of course, sometimes the Censorship Board gets overzealous (as in the case of Daredevil) or comes off a bit heavy (Prince of Egypt was banned on grounds of "religious sensitivity" because Muslim prophets - of which Moses, called 'Musa' in the Quran, is one - cannot be portrayed in any form, whether images, animations, or carvings). But overall, it's a good thing.
Of course, porn - and, I'm guessing, Daredevil - will still be readily available on $5 pirated VCDs. Or $7 pirated DVDs. As was Prince of Egypt, in its time.
But at least the porn is just that bit harder to find. Unless you have an Internet connection.
*sigh*