The importance of Being Censored

Singapore is a country which is seeing its box-office profits rise by the year. Movies are a great part of Singaporean social life and something which many locals turn to as a viable form of entertainment and leisure. It is also rapidly becoming a favorite past-time of many, something which shows no sign of slowing down.

The increasing number of movie goers in our country has placed a greater emphasis on the media to implement film censorship and classification. Parents would definitely not want their children sitting in movies with a high violence, extreme horror or explicit content. Teenagers of a certain age may be old enough to be exposed to a certain amount of profanity in films, but how much is too much? 

As a movie going public we have long been inspired by film, and the magic of movies.We value our movie experience and we want to make sure our money is well spent on films we would prefer, we all want to make the best possible choices, and we certainly do not want to leave the cinema with a bad taste in the mouth.

That is where Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA) comes  into such vital importance. Their role in the classification and censorship levels of films are the stepping stone and a vital component in ensuring the movie-going public can enjoy the magic of the movies in an appropriate manner. Age constitutes for a lot in life. From childhood, to the teenage years all through to adulthood, our preferences of  movies are sure to vary. And it is the task of censorship and proper classification to ensure we always appreciate film. An industry without proper classification of movies would be disastrous to say the least, and one can only shudder at the possible ill effects that could arise from such a situation. 

The media's role in censorship and classification is greatly emphasized by how it affects it. Over time the media's influence on the issue has continued to grow. So much so that in many countries, Singapore included, it is a media organization that sets the guidelines. 

Movie censorship and classification issues is an area of importance not just in Singapore, but all over the world. And in the coming posts, much will be discussed about how the media's role and take on censorship and classification ratings affect the movie-goers around the world, and the positive and negative impacts of the media's involvements and decisions.

Resources: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2001/mar/01/artsfeatures.filmcensorship

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/film_censorship.cfm