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| Saturday, 22 May 2004 |
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by Prasad Abu Bakr A certain segment of Sri Lankan movie importers and distributors have been bracing themselves against many odds to go public with porn since the mid eighties. Even though there has been resistance from different factions of society from time to time it has managed to steer ahead steadily to the point of showing soft porn at public theatres today. Almost half of the film theatres in the city are exhibiting movies strictly suitable for adults and run into full capacity amongst audiences who have made it their only mode of entertainment. In the late eighties there was a spate of illegal blue film 'hubs' that were operating in Maradana and surrounding places. It was very evident that these places were operated with the knowledge of higher authorities. The ticket price There were notice boards outside, mentioning show times and men stood outside on the street inviting passers by stating the ticket price, which at that time was Rs 10.00. During weekdays most of the crowd consisted of teenagers, specially school boys who were lured in to themout of curiosity than anything else. However, there were related reports in newspapers at that time of police raids that took place, taking into custody the operators of the parlours along with the equipment that were used for the purpose. Though the wave has receded in appearance weather unscrupulous elements are still secretly operating such places is still in question. An attempt in putting a total stop to lurid literature or films invading our market is a futile exercise especially when mass communication trends are tagging these along with the many of the good it has to offer towards society's development in this century. But laws can control such occurrences by imposing limits, if not a total ban which can minimize its influences. The city theatres It has been found that most of today's `restricted cinema' showing at most of the city theatres are having negative results, especially amongst jobless youth living in the "city's slums" who are already frustrated with their standards of living and the options that society lack in offering them. And it is films of this nature which most of the time depict underworld operations showing gang leaders in bed with sophisticated prostitutes, strippers performing at night clubs with macho looking drug dealers or mafia bosses watching them with greedy intent, that make these frustrated youth live their dreams through. Despite the mass exodus from the west and far eastern countries there are also a large number of films being brought in to the country from South India, mostly from Kerala which are popular among local soft porn audiences. The scantily dressed heroin dancing with her lover in a swimming pool or bedroom with her bare chested hairy hero to full volumed music and other related lurid scenes makeup most of these films. A manager of a theatre screening such movies stated that most of their audience is made of middle aged men working in Colombo offices and do not necessarily live in the city. And he pointed out that this was one reason why they advanced the 3.30 pm show to 2.30 pm, which is very popular among this group. "It is a large profit margin for theatre owners, specially for the ones that import some of these movies on their own" said a distributor who is not involved in importing such material. According to him most of these films are outdated and very old of which copies are sold to foreign individuals at a very cheap rate. "Ticket prices range from 50 to 80 Rupees and within a couple of weeks running most theatres make a big profit" he added. Blue films This is also cited as a major reason why theatre owners refrain from exhibiting other films imported by regular distributors, which has created a void in the industry for clean entertainment. In a recent development, a theatre in Colombo was raided for exhibiting a so called 'Blue' film and it was sealed. An officer of the theatre concerned when contacted said that they were 'shocked' at what has taken place as they were not showing anything worse than what is circulating currently within city theatres. With the downfall of the local film industry it also plunged in to the lowest depths of soft porn production which swept the market at one time. Poor rates But it has died down in recent time probably owing to the reason of not being able to compete with its imported counterparts. Even in this case it is speculated that actors are poorly paid to take part and as most of them are newcomers to the scene they accept what is on offer in the hope that they might be able to use the project as a stepping stone to other major productions, by better known directors. This has been the case sometimes but most of the time the actors disappear from the scene no sooner the film is released. The most astonishing thing is that while the trend is catching on like wildfire most officials and specially religious dignitaries who scoff at short skirts, Valentine's day and promiscuity are turning a blind eye. Some officials have confessed that it is the trait of a country working within a democratic framework and the people have the right to choose. Even within that framework one is entitled to a quality product in comparison to the trash that is being exhibited. For example a recent film shown in Colombo starring singer Madonna besides other leading players was one such example. It was marketed within the same bracket as any other movie with a larger than life 'Adults Only' tag but it had so much character to it, an interesting script and high quality technical excellence set it apart from the rest. So is the film 'The Train' set very much in the same lines as the 'Taxi Driver' starring Robert de Niro who won an Academy award for his performance in it. `The Train' takes you through a comical journey set against a backdrop of the Eastern block in the early sixties. Yes it was soft porn but it had a method to it that made its pornographic ingredients melt and mellow with the rest. A global phenomenon It has been seen that males generally get inquisitive about sex at a very tender age. This is a global phenomenon but applies more to Asia as most of them are not exposed to pornography as a social non-event in the process of growing up, in comparison to teenage boys of developed countries. at least this was true of the past. Though pornography is made in to a mode of entertainment in the developed countries today we in Asia seem to be still using it as a bait to earn money. That is why one finds a large part of the audience during morning shows (at theatres exhibiting films with restricted tags) are made of young schoolboys. Watch sex on screen An educationalist on the subject made an interesting notion that it is better to watch sex on screen than violence, specially for young people. But are we opening our doors too wide? Do parents need to gear-up their religious values more intensely to fight such concepts creeping in to the minds of our children at such a tender age? It is an absurdity to think that by continuing the trend people will get tired of it and stop patronising porn. This is probably only the beginning, the tip of the iceberg that is showing now; signalling that a whole wave of x-rated movies are awaiting to hit our shores in the near future unless properstandards are set. If a total ban is not possible greedy businessmen involved in the trade will take their upper hand in the matter and create a situation where the law will become ineffective or lag behind to act against them. |
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