The Washington Post's Philip Kennicott reported yesterday that the Motion Picture Association of America has censored a lobby poster for Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross's The Road to Guantanamo, a highly praised film about the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Half-drama and half-doc, it's scheduled to open in the U.S. on 6.23.


"The image that ran afoul of the MPAA is tame by the standards set by the amateur photographers of Abu Ghraib," Kennicott wrote. "It shows a man hanging by his handcuffed wrists, with a burlap sack over his head and a blindfold tied around the hood. It has appeared in advertisements for Guantanamo, a documentary with some reenacted scenes, that follows the fate of three British men imprisoned at Guantanamo for more than two years before being released with no charges ever filed against them. U.S. distributor Roadside Attractions "submitted the poster to the MPAA, which must approve publicity materials for the films it rates, on 4.24. It was rejected the next day. 'The reason given was that the burlap bag over the guy's head was depicting torture, which wasn't appropriate for children to see,' said Roadsdie co-president Howard Cohen. The film will open on 6.23 with another poster, approved by the MPAA, which shows only a pair of shackled hands and arms. Gayle Osterberg, a spokesperson for the MPAA, said its standards for print advertising are particularly sensitive. 'If it's a poster that's hanging in a theater, anyone who walks into that theater, regardless of what movie they've come to see, will be exposed to it,' said Osterberg. While she wouldn't comment on the particular reason for the poster's rejection, and while MPAA guidelines for what is acceptable in advertising aren't made public, she did list some of the things that are not allowed: 'depictions of violence, blood, people in jeopardy, drugs, nudity, profanity, people in frightening situations, disturbing or frightening scenes.' Cohen says he understands why the MPAA exercises control over advertising materials -- he's a father himself. But that doesn't diminish his frustration with the decision. 'This is a film with a serious purpose, and this is the subject of the film itself, and the marketing materials were appropriate to the subject,' he said. And, he added, horror flicks and slasher movies are often advertised with images far more suggestive of graphic violence."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 18, 2006 at 6:24 AM

comment #1

sean says ...

Um ... shouldn't somebody tell the Republicans who run the MPAA that the Republicans who run the country have ruled that what we're doing in Guantanamo isn't "torture"?

Come on, right-wing, let's see a little less of the "vast" and a little more organization on the "conspiracy".

Posted by sean at May 18, 2006 9:08 AM

comment #2

JD says ...

"...horror flicks and slasher movies are often advertised with images far more suggestive of graphic violence."

But horror movies that aren't associated with studios -- I'm thinking specifically of Lionsgate releases -- are subjected to a similar MPAA preference for close-ups and oblique glimpses of things: ie. The Devil's Rejects (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395584/posters), Hostel (http://www.cinemablend.com/new.php?id=1826), Saw (http://nexbase.net/photo-gallery/Saw/Saw_poster1), and Saw 2 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432348/posters). I don't think this is a political issue, I think it's the MPAA's same old unfair treatment toward indie/non-studio releases.

Posted by JD at May 18, 2006 9:18 AM

comment #3

JD says ...

Sorry, those links got screwed up. These should work:

The Devil's Rejects poster
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395584/posters

Hostel poster
http://www.cinemablend.com/new.php?id=1826

Saw poster
http://nexbase.net/photo-gallery/Saw/Saw_poster1

Saw 2 poster
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432348/posters

Posted by JD at May 18, 2006 9:21 AM

comment #4

sean says ...

Oh, I agree, it's not literally political; I just think it's funny that the government can *do* it and declare that it's not "torture", and that's fine, but a film poster can't *show* it because the MPAA [who, coincidentally, have strong ties to the Republicans] can says it is "torture".

The MPAA shouldn't have a stricter definition than the government ...

Posted by sean at May 18, 2006 12:16 PM

comment #5

JD says ...

I totally agree, Sean. And I don't (ever) agree with the MPAA. But most of my frustration with the MPAA stems form their poor treatment of independent filmmakers, not their political perspective (if they even have one).

Posted by JD at May 18, 2006 1:19 PM

comment #6

JD says ...

I totally agree, Sean. And I don't (ever) agree with the MPAA. But most of my frustration with the MPAA stems form their poor treatment of independent filmmakers, not their political perspective (if they even have one).

Posted by JD at May 18, 2006 1:20 PM

comment #7

delbomber says ...

While the poster is most certainly political its censorship is not, regardless of any hidden agenda behind the original's rejection. Some may not agree, but parents DO have a right to protect their childrens' innocence, and that right trumps any ax to grind this filmmaker has. In an environment such a theater that is openly promoted as child-friendly it's simply inappropriate. Advertising sections of the NY Times, fair game...being placed in view of kids going to see 'Over the Hedge' is over the top.

Posted by delbomber at May 18, 2006 2:01 PM

comment #8

Daniel Zelter says ...

If parents care that much about the violence they see in media, why don't they do something about the violence we're causing as a society against third world countries? I'm sorry, but when a game about car-jacking causes more outrage from politicians than an illegal war, our priorities are clearly screwed up. Why is it ok for kids to have guns, but not watch movies which have guns? And while we're at it, why are we so obsessed with them smoking?

Posted by Daniel Zelter at May 18, 2006 4:11 PM

comment #9

delbomber says ...

Slow down Daniel, we can't solve all the world's problems in the comment section of HE...

There's no excuse for pandering and waffling politicians, but most average citizens are powerless to affect the big, bad red-white-and-blue machine once it's chugging along in any causal way. Acts like protests and letter-writing campaigns may make us feel better about ourselves, but they often do little to shift the dominant paradigm.

Does that mean parents should abandon all hope of raising well-adjusted children?? While there are certainly more important issues, does it mean we should suddenly stop protecting the innocence and psychological welfare of children? Clearly no.

This isn't government censorship, this is a capitalist entity censoring itself for the sake of its customers. The motive is surely the bottom line, but it's not such a terrible act of 'corporate' responsibility, if you ask me.

you're right...let anarchy reign!

Posted by delbomber at May 18, 2006 5:31 PM

comment #10

sean says ...

Well, if you believe the MPAA is ever motivated just by "protecting the children", I guess their marketing department has done their job.

Again, I'm not saying that their decision is political [though I would say it's partially based on the politics of the film industry, specifically indie releases vs. studio releases]; the decision to declare that what we're doing in Guantanamo isn't "torture" was political. I just think it's funny that the MPAA is, essentially, over-ruling the White House and declaring that it is, in fact, torture.

del - maybe you can explain how the poster with the guy with the bag on his head is more expressive of torture in a child's mind than the other one; they both have the handcuffed arms chained to a wall. If children are sufficiently aware of the current political spectrum to know what they're looking at, that certainly isn't the poster's fault. The MPAA approved a big studio poster featuring a plane flying around the Statue of Liberty with the WTC in the background; that was painful to look at, yet it hung up and down the streets of NYC. Are you telling me children are aware of Guantanamo but unaware of 9/11?

The MPAA is full of shit. Most people, parents or not, realize this. They're an extension of the marketing department of the studios.

Posted by sean at May 19, 2006 7:10 AM

comment #11

delbomber says ...

Sean, if you noticed I said the motive is surely the bottom line...I'm not naive to believe the MPAA is doing this out of the kindness of their hearts. The residue of their actions, however, is in the interest of children and their parents.

Awareness of Guantanamo is irrelevant, as it's the disturbing image that innocent kids need not be subjected to while grabbing their snow caps. It's the job of parents to educate their children about the world in which they live, not some filmmaker forcing it down their throat in what is supposed to be a family-friendly arena. He has endless other avenues to air and promote his agenda.

I can't explain, nor do I wish to get into a debate about, how they set their standards for decency. This particular poster conjures images in my mind of Daniel Pearl and Nick Berg...someone waiting to be beheaded. Is this image too disturbing for a child of a given age? Perhaps. Perhaps not. All I know is that as an adult I see this and am faced with the choice to duck my head in the sand or confront this issue at hand as best I can. A child sees this and is confused, frightened, and one premature step closer to the harsh reality that awaits him.

Posted by delbomber at May 19, 2006 10:01 AM

comment #12

Rabbit says ...

Bad news, delbomber: that child entered harsh reality the moment they were born.

If children are as innocent as you and a lot of hand wringing parents seem to think, then the first image conveys /nothing/. Nothing whatsoever. There's no context to it.

If they know enough about our world that it actually provokes a frightened reaction, it's too late. It's time to talk to your kid about it, not ask them to lie awake in bed at night, terrified and confused.

Posted by Rabbit at May 19, 2006 2:07 PM

comment #13

delbomber says ...

Rabbit, I'm not a parent, and when I eventually do have children I don't plan on shielding or sheltering them from reality, but there is a time and a place for everything. There is so much information available these days that an entertainment locale, outside of your chosen dark room, should be a safe-haven from such bombardment. It is no more appropriate in a theater than in, say, a Chuck E. Cheese, where parents and children co-mingle. First-graders, who certainly are becoming wordly little people, don't need to see images like that at the cinema...while the image itself may be appropriate and relevant to current events, the placement would be inappropriate. Should there be no sanctuaries?

Cheers.

Posted by delbomber at May 19, 2006 2:28 PM

comment #14

Duck of Death says ...

Maybe they don't want kids to see these images, as it will make it harder to propagandize them later in school when they learn that America stands for freedom. An improper indoctrination might lead to children who don't know when to wave mini American flags and chant "We're number one! We're number one!"

Posted by Duck of Death at May 19, 2006 8:04 PM

comment #15

Troy says ...

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Posted by Troy at May 24, 2006 12:14 PM

comment #16

Cindy says ...

Well done!
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