Asia 'hots up' censorship of The Da Vinci Code

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May 9, 2006, 11:11 GMT

Opponents of 'The Da Vinci Code' are increasing their campaigns against the Sony Pictures film which opens world wide May 18th - Board of Film Censors in Singapore bans viewers under 16 and a senior Philippine Archbishop demands government censor movie.

The movie is based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel and stars Tom Hanks. The storyline suggests that Jesus married follower Mary Magdalene and they had a child, starting a bloodline that still exists - something the Vatican denies. In Singapore, youngsters under the age of 16 have been prohibited from viewing 'The Da Vinci Code' out of concern that they would regard the movie as fact, not fiction, the Board of Film Censors said Tuesday. In deciding on the prohibition, the board said it sought the views of the Film Consultative Panel, comprised of a cross-section of the population and representing different professions, age groups, races and religions. 'The majority of members came to the conclusion that the film should be viewed as a thriller and a piece of fiction,' the board said in a statement. Board members agreed that only a mature audience 'will be able to discern and differentiate between fact and fiction,' the film censors said. In Singapore the movie will carry a 'mature content' advisory. Meanwhile in the Philippines, where more than 80 per cent of estimated 85.2 million people are Roman Catholic, a senior Philippine bishop on Tuesday urged movie regulators to ban the showing of the movie.Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said the movie 'destroys' the image of God and the Catholic Church. "If you are a Catholic and you watch or encourage others to watch this film, that destroys the image of God and the church, you are encouraging others to commit blasphemy because this film is sacrilegious against God," the Archbishop said. Arguelles said that after reading the book, he was convinced that the film could shake the belief of even the most devoted Catholic and urged the Philippine Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) not to approve it for public screening. 'I appeal to the MTRCB and the government to ban the film on the grounds that it injures the religious sentiments of the majority of Filipinos,' he said. Arguelles has already sent a letter to the Board, which has yet to issue any decision on the film's ratings.The influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, however, does not support Arguelles' position. Spokesman Monsignor Pedro Quitorio said other bishops believe that banning the film would only create more controversy, which would intrigue more Filipinos into seeing it. "We neither oppose nor endorse its showing,' he said. 'We don't want to ride on the commercialization and marketing hype because we know that this is all marketing strategy and the bottom line here is money. It's not religion." © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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TemplarMay 12th, 2006 - 01:58:27

The censorship over this movie in India is even crazier. People are threatening to hold hunger strikes and kill themselves unless the movie is banned from theaters.

They're protesting the Da Vinci Code and a completely inocuous Bollywood film 'Tickle My Funny Bone' -- a comedy of all things -- about a novice nun who falls in love and tries to leave the convent.

The uproar over these movies is ridiculous. If anything, they're giving them more attention than they deserve.

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