Post by White Knight on Apr 4, 2006 17:09:43 GMT -4
Gay rights groups and others are decrying a decision by the Bahamas film control board to ban the gay cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain.
CBC Arts
The Rainbow Alliance, a gay advocacy group, called the ban a "farce," and said most Bahamians would agree that small group of people should not “provide the moral compass for the entire country."
Some theatre owners echoed the sentiment.
“You have a group of people who are telling grown men and women what they can and cannot watch," said Philip Burrows, a theater director in the island chain.
The Plays and Films Control Board announced its ban at the request of the Bahamas Christian Council. Theatres in the capital of Nassau had already planned to advertise the movie Friday.
“The board chose to ban it because it shows extreme homosexuality, nudity and profanity, and we feel that it has no value for the Bahamian public," Chavasse Turnquest-Liriano, liaison officer for the control board, said Wednesday.
Brokeback Mountain, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, has won a slew of film awards and critical praise, earning Ang Lee a directing Oscar.
Some have suggested the board should have issued a rating to bar anyone under 18 from seeing the movie.
"This is not a movie to be banned. This is not a subject to be censored," said Bahamas resident Liz Roberts, who has worked in film production. "It is a subject to be aired, a subject to be confronted openly."
Roberts spoke on a radio call-in show and called the move “Brokeback bigotry.” But some island residents sided with the decision.
"Films of that nature should be banned because [they go] against the Christian principles of our country," resident Stephanie Hanna called into the show.
"We don’t want our children watching movies that practice homosexuality or bi-sexuality.”
entertainment.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/Home/ContentPosting.htm?newsitemid=brokeback-bahamas&feedname=CBC-ARTS-V2&show=True&number=5&showbyline=True&abc=abc
CBC Arts
The Rainbow Alliance, a gay advocacy group, called the ban a "farce," and said most Bahamians would agree that small group of people should not “provide the moral compass for the entire country."
Some theatre owners echoed the sentiment.
“You have a group of people who are telling grown men and women what they can and cannot watch," said Philip Burrows, a theater director in the island chain.
The Plays and Films Control Board announced its ban at the request of the Bahamas Christian Council. Theatres in the capital of Nassau had already planned to advertise the movie Friday.
“The board chose to ban it because it shows extreme homosexuality, nudity and profanity, and we feel that it has no value for the Bahamian public," Chavasse Turnquest-Liriano, liaison officer for the control board, said Wednesday.
Brokeback Mountain, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, has won a slew of film awards and critical praise, earning Ang Lee a directing Oscar.
Some have suggested the board should have issued a rating to bar anyone under 18 from seeing the movie.
"This is not a movie to be banned. This is not a subject to be censored," said Bahamas resident Liz Roberts, who has worked in film production. "It is a subject to be aired, a subject to be confronted openly."
Roberts spoke on a radio call-in show and called the move “Brokeback bigotry.” But some island residents sided with the decision.
"Films of that nature should be banned because [they go] against the Christian principles of our country," resident Stephanie Hanna called into the show.
"We don’t want our children watching movies that practice homosexuality or bi-sexuality.”
entertainment.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/Home/ContentPosting.htm?newsitemid=brokeback-bahamas&feedname=CBC-ARTS-V2&show=True&number=5&showbyline=True&abc=abc