Thursday, April 28, 2005

Technology (and time) marches backward

President Bush on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at helping parents keep their children from seeing sex scenes, violence and foul language in movie DVDs.

The bill gives legal protections to the fledgling filtering technology that helps parents automatically skip or mute sections of commercial movie DVDs. Mr. Bush signed it privately and without comment, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
--The Associated Press, as picked up by CBS News


How much longer before they come up with something that does something similar for books? Oh, yeah, they have that already--bonfires.

Meanwhile, when they come up with a gadget that adds nudity to movies, let me know.

I wasn't kidding about the bonfires, by the way:

A college production tells the story of Matthew Sheppard, a student beaten to death because he was gay.

And soon, it could be banned in Alabama.

Republican Alabama lawmaker Gerald Allen says homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle. As CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, under his bill, public school libraries could no longer buy new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters.

"I don't look at it as censorship," says State Representative Gerald Allen. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children."

Books by any gay author would have to go: Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Gore Vidal. Alice Walker's novel "The Color Purple" has lesbian characters.

Allen originally wanted to ban even some Shakespeare. After criticism, he narrowed his bill to exempt the classics, although he still can't define what a classic is. Also exempted now Alabama's public and college libraries.
--CBS News

That's so stunningly stupid I don't even have a snarky comment to make.

Oh, wait a sec, I do: "I don't know how to define 'classic,' but I know it when I see it--and it doesn't have any perverts in it."

Sigh.

(That second story via Americablog.)


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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Up against the wall, pal. We're closing down this web site.

NYPinTA said...

It would be funny if it weren't true. Sadly though... *sigh*

Suddenly, Jon Stewart is no longer a comedian. He's our last hope.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Oscar Wilde--classic, or gay? can't decide...

As a parent who doesn't want her kids to see violence, profanity, or sex in the movies, I find it easier just to turn the TV off, and not rent those DVDs.

I think there's a difference between enabling individuals to filter what comes in the house, and prohibiting the purchase of books with public funds, though. That guy in Arkansas scares me. Heck, most of Arkansas scares me. How did Hillary stand it?

But a technology that PUTS nudity in the movies would certain be fun--you could watch presidential press conferences with it!

CG said...

This is nothing - just want until some "businessman" makes available software that removes all inter-racial scenes, or all people of color.

How about removing any women that do not obey?

Urban scenes?

Ankles?