...or else He'll edit your movie

The other day I made (what I thought was) a funny comment about Jesus. Today, something more serious.

Filmbrain (whose movie weblog Like Anna Karina's Sweater is a great place to go for any film geek - unfortunately, I know too little about Korea's movie scene to really understand what the hell he's talking about, but the Screen Capture Quizzes are fun) gives us an update on Bush's latest "gift to the Christian right": the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act (FECA).

This FECA contains, among other things, the Family Movie Act, which now allows companies such as ClearPlay to edit films without being liable for trademark infringement. ClearPlay et al. have made it their mission to remove anything from a movie that is not in line with good old Christian values - i.e. sex, drugs, violence, homosexuality, unflattering portrayals of George W. Bush, etc.

To quote Filmbrain:

The Family Movie Act of 2005 is just more of Bush's pandering to the Christian right, and there really ought to be greater opposition to it. As usual, they hide behind the "FECA is about the children" banner, when in fact it's just another example of the administration attempting to legislate morality and values.

And in case you were wondering:

Movie studios should be up in arms about this one, but (unsurprisingly) they've chosen to act in the best interest of their bottom line, rather than the concerns of many major directors.

Check the discussion for some interesting views and comments. Of course, in the US, women's breasts are already being edited out of TV broadcasts (but brains being splattered all over the place aren't). Pick up a copy of The Handmaid's Tale if you want to know where this all might lead. America, land of endless contradictions.

JJtags:

• movie
• usa
• politics
• television