Censoring reality
The MPAA has rejected the promotional poster (see left) for Alex Gibney’s acclaimed documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side. The image shows two U.S. soldiers walking away from the camera with a hooded detainee between them and the MPAA’s reason for rejecting it is that a hooded detainee implys torture.
An MPAA spokesman said: “We treat all films the same. Ads will be seen by all audiences, including children. If the advertising is not suitable for all audiences it will not be approved by the advertising administration.”
As Mark Urman - president of the ThinkFilm, the film’s distributor - points out, this is an inconsistent ruling - to say the least - given the artwork that was approved for films such as Saw and Hostel.
“Not permitting us to use an image of a hooded man that comes from a documentary photograph is censorship, pure and simple,” said producer, writer and director Gibney. “Intentional or not, the MPAA’s disapproval of the poster is a political act, undermining legitimate criticism of the Bush administration. I agree that the image is offensive; it’s also real.”
ThinkFilm plans to appeal the ruling, although Urman admitted that he “doesn’t know what that entails. I’ve only appealed ratings before.”
If ThinkFilm decides to ignore the MPAA and use the unapproved poster, they run the risk of the film’s rating being revoked.
Thursday 20 Dec 2007 | Paul | USA
