SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

SPCS revitalised campaign against gratuitous sexual violence in films – ignited censorship debate

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Prior to its application to become a registered charity with the Charities Commission, the Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc. (SPCS) engaged in a “revitalised campaign” against gratuitous sexually explicit movies screened in New Zealand cinemas, focusing on those such as Baise-Moi (French = “Rape-Me”) which was scheduled as an opening show-piece in the now defunct Beck’s Incredible Film Festival (B.I.F.F.) directed by Mr Ant Timpson. The R18 classifications issued to this morally putrid film and others like the Japanese film Visitor Q, were appealed by the Society to the Film and Literature Board of Review, to test whether or not the Chief Censor Bill Hastings and his staff had correctly applied the censorship laws to safeguard the “public good”.

Both films were effectively shut out of Timpson’s B.I.F.F. and after protracted litigation through the courts, the Court of Appeal issued decisions upholding in large part the concerns raised by SPCS. The Society contended that the Chief Censor had well passed his “use-by date” as a competent censor, having become “desensitised” by excessive exposure to the injurious, corrupting and toxic impact of so many films containing explicit sexual content and gratuitous sexual violence he had had to view. The vast bulk of publications (films, videos, DVDs and magazines etc) he had “examined” over his lengthy career as a censor involved the degradation, dehumanisation and demeaning of women and are “injurious to the public good”. The Society’s concerns about the Chief Censor and his Deputy Ms Nicola McCully, were taken up by a number of MPs in the House of Representatives and eventually Hastings left the job.

Bill Hastings served as NZ’s tenth Chief Censor from October 1999 to July 2010. Prior to that he was Deputy and Acting Chief Censor from December 1998 to October 1999. He was a member of the Indecent Publications Tribunal from 1990 to 1994 and Deputy President of the Film and Literature Board of Review from 1995 to 1998. He played a key role as Deputy of that Board in issuing a highly controversial decision that banned the “talking heads” Living Word videos. This decision was subsequently overturned  by the Court of Appeal and the videos were classified as “unrestricted”. The Board was forced to concede the obvious – the videos contained nothing that remotely came within the five censorship “jurisdictional gateways” of the censorship Act – involving “sex, horror, crime, or cruelty or violence” – the basis upon which a publication can  be classified “objectionable”.

Download a high-resolution PDF version here.

David Lane SPCS - Revitalised campaign against gratuitous sexual violence in films
David Lane SPCS Revitalised campaign against gratuitous sexual violence in films

Film and Video Labelling Body – censorship and charity

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The Film and Video Labelling body (“FVLB”), like the Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc (“SPCS”), is constituted as an incorporated society under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. Like the Society, which is a registered charity (registered with the Charities Commission on 17/12/2007 Reg. No. CC20268); it too is a registered charity (registered 28/01/2008 Reg. No. CC20715).

For many years the FVLB was headed by Mr William (Bill) Hood, with whom the SPCS had regular contact. He retired as FVLB committee member and executive secretary on 31/01/2011. Ms Sharon Rhodes has taken over his leadership role.

The gross income of the FVLB for “service provision” for the financial year ended 31/12/2010 was $1,504,338, according to financial records it registered with the Charities Commission (www.charities.govt.nz). From this income, $588,376 was absorbed in salaries and wages.

The FVLB employs five persons full time and two part-time  to achieve its “service provision” and the total hours worked by “all employees” per week is 262 hours (equivalent to 6.55 full time persons). Each full time equivalent employee receives on average an annual remuneration package of about $90,000 per annum.

The FVLB has been registered as a charity by the Commission on the basis that its purpose it to serve “some other public benefit” to society ( it does NOT qualify as a charity on the basis that it fulfils any one of more of the remaining three charitable purpose categories:  relief of poverty, advancement of education or adavancement of religion). (Note: The SPCS qualifies as a charity for its “advancement of public welfare” or “public well-being”, which are terms recognised in law). [Read more…]

“Salo – Decision goes so low” says Family Voice Australia

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FamilyVoice Australia: Media Release, 6 May 2010
“Yesterday’s confirmation of the R18+ rating for the DVD of Salo – Pasolini’s  film revelling in teen torture and sex abuse – hits a new low in Australian classification decisions,” FamilyVoice national policy officer Richard Egan said today.
FamilyVoice Australia was the only community group to make a submission and personally present a case to the Classification Review Board that the ban – first applied in Australia in 1994 – should remain.
“Salo appears to clearly breach the classification guidelines, which say…..

[Read more…]

Film “End of the Spear” R16 rating downgraded to R13 following Society’s successful appeal

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Press Release 4 July 2008

The film “End of the Spear” has had its classification downgraded from R16 to R13 following a successful appeal by the Society against the classification decision issued by the Chief Censor’s Office. The Society contended in its written and oral submisssion to the Board that the nature of the depiction of violence in the film – medium level violence – could not possibly justify an R16 classification. The nine member Film and Literature Board of Review agreed and in a unanimous decision, issued to the Society on Wednesday this week, took the view that 13, 14 and 15 year old children would not be harmed by exposure to the violence which formed only a small part of a compelling Christian message of forgiveness and redemption that is told based on the “true story” of the missionary outreach in the 1950s, to the violent South American Waodani Indian tribe. A revised censor’s note from the Board, alerts viewers to the medium level violence involving tribal warfare that some might find “disturbing”.

This is the second successful appeal by the Society in recent years involving a major Christian film that has led to its classification rating – issued by the Chief Censor’s Office – being downgraded by the Board. The Society made both oral and written submissions to the Board to overturn the R16 classification of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster film “The Passion”, and this led it to being reclassified R15. The applicant in this case was the film’s distributor and the Society opted to take a role as an interested party.

The Society has as one of its six objectives: the promotion of freedom of expression, within the boundaries of good law that safeguards the public good from injury.

Submission to Secretary re film “End of the Spear”

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Urgent Attention
Secretary of Internal Affairs
and copy for Mr Owen Davie
Secretary, Film & Lierature Board of Review

Additional Comments Relevant to Society’s Proposed Lower Classification of the DVD End of the Spear and Formal Application for Leave.

5 February 2008

Further to the information submitted earlier by fax by the Society to the Secretary of Internal Affairs re the Application for Leave, please add the following:

It has come the attention of the Society today that the Film and Video Labelling Body has now approved a new classification of the film End of the Spear (originally classified on 20/12/07 as R16 by the FVLB by [incorrectly] cross-classifying it with the American DVD version) following a submission for a revised classification from the film’s distributor Life Resources Ltd. [Read more…]