MDA awaits decision on appeal for banned film

THE Media Development Authority (MDA) elaborated on its decision to reclassify the film Sex. Violence. Family Values and said it awaits the decision on an appeal from its director.

It disclosed on Thursday that apart from complaints about the racist language used by a character in the film, there were also complaints about a character that appeared in the uniform of a local school.

These complaints appeared to be triggered by an online trailer publicising the film, said MDA’s director of communications Ho Hwei Ling, in a letter published in The Straits Times Forum page yesterday.

The trailer shows an actress wearing a blue and white uniform similar to that of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) schools.

Sister Maria Lau, the provincial or head of the Infant Jesus Sisters, which manages the CHIJ schools, declined to comment when asked if it had complained to the MDA.

The film was to have been shown in a commercial theatre with an M18 rating but was reclassified with the rare Not Allowed for All Rating last week.

The new rating amounts to a ban on the film as this classification means it cannot be shown.

Initially, the MDA gave Porn Masala, one of three films in the Sex. Violence. Family Values compendium, an M18 rating “as we recognised it as a satire on racial ignorance”, said Ho.

The rating was accompanied by an advisory about the coarse language and racial stereotyping in the film, so that “the viewing public (can) make an informed choice”, she said.

But the complaints led the MDA to seek the views of the Films Consultative Panel, which comprises members from various professions, age groups and races in Singapore.

Of the 24 members who saw the film, 20 felt that while the film may be a satire, “the specific comments were offensive and demeaning to Indians to the extent that it should not be given a rating”. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network