Family Friendly Fascism

There’s a major battle going on right now between the filmmaking community and groups of arrogant, right-wing fascists who are editing so-called "clean" versions of Hollywood films. It’s more than just a horrible precedent, it’s frightening move toward a nation of group think.

A handful of companies, with names like Clean Flicks, CleanFilms and Family Flix, purchase commercial copies of popular DVDs, edit out content they find "objectionable" and resell their versions. By purchasing a copy for every copy they sell, they claim their butchering of the artists’ work falls under the doctrine of "fair use." It’s hard to know the size of their market, but one company’s edited versions are available in more than 100 stores.

You won’t be surprised to learn most of these companies are headquartered in Utah, and all purport to adhere to some generalized Christian code of how much boob is family friendly. The fact is that what they cut varies. All remove whatever they deem "sexually explicit," but Family Flix also cuts any trace of homosexual behavior. If you ask nicely, I’m sure they would also remove Blacks and Jews. Bigots have a right to watch whatever they want, but to recut a film so it fits your narrow world view – and then present it as the work of the director – that’s just plain offensive.

What tremendous entitlement these people feel. It’s hard to fathom the hubris it takes to assert that all films should be tailored to your particular tastes. These film cutters say they’re only offering choice, but the choice is already there: Don’t watch the f***ing movie.
On one hand, these hacks complain that Hollywood films are too violent and profane. On the other, they insist on watching these films. There’s plenty of films that are created for young children and prudes. Just because your whacko views put you outside the cultural mainstream, what gives you the right to disfigure mainstream art so you can feel like you’re part of the party?

If there is any dedication to art in this country, and evidence seems to the contrary, we need to revive the legal concept of "moral rights." Even though directors and screenwriters don’t own the copyright on their films, moral rights give them legal recourse should their work be altered negatively. Moral rights in Europe are strong enough that Monty Python won a multi-million dollar settlement when ABC recut Flying Circus.

There are legal challenges that should shut down the firms that sell recut films, but Congress recently paved the way for ClearPlay, makers of specialty DVD players which skip over offensive material without physically altering the actual DVD. ClearPlay is a much less offensive application, but it still presents a version of a film that was not made by the filmmakers. And it still puts the power to pick which words, boobs and shootings are offensive into the hands of some third party.

So what about the edited versions that have aired on TV and airlines for years? Those are cut by the filmmakers as part of their contract. And several directors have said they would approve of those versions being made available for sale. But even that’s not enough for some of these faux Christian Crusaders, who claim Hollywood doesn’t have the moral authority to cut its own films. But what gives them that authority? The fact is there is no one version of a film that would fit every fundamentalists particular biases.

For more on this debate, I recommend a one-hour special airing on AMC this month entitled "Bleep." I also recommend telling anyone who supports these groups to go f*** themselves.

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