Barmy Brazier’s BBFC Bill bombs

Rejoice!

We can hear the outraged voices of middle England now….

Grrrr! It can only be because of those nasty wet lefty librels who
are quite happy to see our children’s minds corrupted by violence and
porn. We are vomiting our moral outraged bile into our copies of the
Daily Mail!

Lol!

Mediasnoops is very happy today.

From the BBC courtesy of the Melon Farmers:

Bid to censor violent films fails

A Conservative MP has failed in his bid to increase censorship of
video games and films containing extreme violence.
Julian Brazier’s plan would have allowed more appeals against British
Board of Film Classification rulings.

He argued standards had been “watered down” and explicit films and
games were fuelling a “tide of violence”.

He was supported by several Tory and Labour MPs, but both front
benches opposed it. The Lib Dems said it gave MPs “undue influence”
over censorship.

Mr Brazier’s private member’s bill failed when the debate ran out of
time. Private member’s bills allow individual MPs to introduce
legislation on a subject of their choice.

Allowing appeals

He wanted MPs to have more of a say over the BBFC’s membership and
guidelines, which he argued had been “progressively liberalised” and
standards reduced, particularly in regard to knife crime.

He also wanted a change to the system that currently only allows
appeals against BBFC classifications, or decisions to cut footage, by
the entertainment industry.

Mr Brazier’s plan would have allowed an independent jury to reverse a
ruling, if 50 MPs signed a Commons motion – even after the film or
game was released.

During a Commons debate, he cited the example of a previously banned
video – SS Experiment Camp – which was re-examined by the BBFC and
released in 2005.

“The film shows in voyeuristic detail women being tortured to death
by SS camp guards,” he said.

‘Glamorising rape’

Another film, Irreversible, featured a nine-minute rape scene he
said, adding: “If this is not glamorising rape then it is difficult
to imagine what would be.”

He told MPs: “The growth in violent offences is linked to the growing
availability in the media of extremely violent and explicitly sexual
material.”

His bill was supported by Labour MP Keith Vaz, who represents a seat
in Leicester where the mother of murdered 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah
blamed his killer’s obsession with the Manhunt video game – a view
not supported by the trial judge.

Mr Vaz said video games were different from films because they
were “interactive”.

“When they play with these things they are able to interact, they can
shoot people, they can kill people, they can rape women and that’s
what is so wrong about the situation we have at the moment,” he said.

Good job

Another Labour MP, Stephen Pound, said there was a danger that in
extremely violent films “the sanctity of life becomes diluted”,
particularly when dealing with the young and impressionable. But
Conservative MP John Whittingdale dismissed SS Experiment Camp
as “pretty tasteless and offensive” but said scenes of sex and
violence were mild compared to many mainstream films.

Mr Brazier said extremely violent material contributed towards
attacks

He said Mr Brazier’s bill “could do damage to the film industry” and
that the BBFC largely did “a reasonably good job”.

Lib Dem spokesman Don Foster suggested if MPs were to start signing a
motion to get a title banned “sales would absolutely rocket”.

“I believe the proposals contained within this Bill would give
politicians an undue and dangerous influence over these sorts of
issues,” he added.

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said the BBFC, while not getting it
right every time did an “extremely good job in incredibly difficult
circumstances”.

She said the government had responded to concerns by asking Dr Tanya
Byron to review whether more regulation to protect children was
needed – due to report back next month.

Urging MPs to await that report next month, she said legislation
would not be effective on its own. Parents, internet service
providers and others would also have to take responsibility. She was
still speaking as time ran out at 1430 GMT and the bill now stands no
chance of becoming law.

On Friday, the BBFC rejected the serial killer film Murder Set Pieces
amid concerns about violent sexual scenes – the ruling means it
cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK.
Thankfully Parliament has seen that this Bill was not based on any
actual evidence of harm from violent films and video games but based
on Julian Brazier’s and his supporters personal belief that film and
video game violence is the cause of violence in society.
Mr Brazier says that violent material is causing attacks on people
and and “fueling a tide of violence” but such views are just opinion
and are very subjective and are not justification for sweeping and
heavy censorship and regulation of the film and video games industry.
Personal and subjective opinion is never justification for banning
things and it seems Parliament has agreed with this.

It is no surprise to see Kieth Vaz spouting his usually illinformed
bollox. During the House of Commons debate on the issue (which we have
linked below thanks to the Melon Farmers) he struggled to get the
names of the consoles that children are playing these “vile and
corrupting” games on right….

“or someone with one of those small devices that young people have
these days, the name of which I forget— [Interruption.] PlayStations
or PSPs, something of that kind. [Interruption.]“

Lol! These MPs, so in touch with the youth of today eh?

He blathereed on about how video games are different from films
because people interact with them as justification for them being
heavily censored.

“When they play with these things they are able to interact, they can
shoot people, they can kill people, they can rape women and that’s
what is so wrong about the situation we have at the moment,”

Name us a game where players can rape women Mr Vaz. Go on! Bet you
can’t tell us one.

So video games where players can shoot and kill people are so wrong
are they? Ok then we must only have games with fluffy bunny rabits
and where players overcome confrontational situations by sitting down
and having a nice chat. Lol!

If Vaz ever gets his way that’s the only kind of video games we would
be allowed to buy and play.

Vaz drons on and on about the size of the labels for age ratings but
he’s just all for banning the lot and not just sticking age rating
labels on the boxes.
Anyway Parliament has fortunatly seen sense and seen Brazier’s Bill
not as a neccesary measure to protect society and children but as
tool with which to impose a bunch of agenda driven MPs’ views and
beliefs on the film and video game industry and onto the rest of
society as well as giving them the power to put pressure on the BBFC
to ban films and games not based on evidence of harm but simply
because a bunch of MPs don’t think people should be able to see/play
them.

Mediasnoops awaits the tide of outraged protest from the Daily Mail
and Mediawatch UK who will no doubt be blaming the “lefty librelism”
of the current government for blocking this Bill.

But it’s just common sense.

Here’s the Hansard link to the Commons debate:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtoday/cmdebate/01.htm

Much of Brazier’s “evidence” of the harm of violent films and video games is based on subjective opinion. He again sights the Manhunt/Le Blanc/Pakeerah case and he points to the trail judge in the Jamie Bulger murder case commenting that Jamie’s murder had simularities with Child’s Play 3. But this is not evidence just subjective opinion.

What’s most shocking is where Brazier seems to try and suggest adult consensual pornography is the same as child pornography and racist literature!

Jeez!