Quote:
Originally Posted by dougal  This is also the country that allows MTV to show various gangsta rap at 9am in the morning complete with T+A and muddyfunkster-ing - they seem to have very different views on sex and profanity than they do to violence. |
That sums it up quite nicely: Sex= good, (media) violence= bad.
:
To make matters even worse, there are basicaly 4 (!) different categories for "18" movies:
1) "Keine Jugendfreigabe"= (KJ) "Not allowed for minors": This is the rating that everybody wants to get from the German ratings board FSK (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft = Voluntary Selfcontrol of the Movie Industry
), because it (still
) guarantees that your release can be sold on the shelves of public shops, you're allowed to advertise the movie and- best of all- it CAN'T be put on the dreaded "Index of Restricted Movies" anymore, for which another organization- the "BPJM" (Bundespruefstelle fuer jugendgeaehrdende Medien= Federal Testing Board for Youth Endangering Media
) is responsible.
2) "SPIO/JK: Keine schwere Jugendgefaehrdung"= The "JK" stands for a commision, which determines if your movie conflicts with current German laws.
If the "FSK" refuses to grant the "Keine Jugendfreigabe" certificate, this is the next best alternative, since the "keine schwere Jugendgefaehrdung" (= "No serious danger to the Youth") means that you're allowed to advertise your movie and some public shops wil pick it up for sale.
The downside is that your movie CAN be put on the "Index of restricted Movies" now if the "BPJM" don't like it too much, which'll mean: Restricted to *adults only' shops and videostores, no advertising in public places or other media accessible to minors allowed, no internet sale on amazon.de and most other sites based in Germany. They often end up on the "A" list of the "Index"...I guess you're starting to get the picture.
3) "SPIO/JK: "Strafrechtlich unbedenklich" = The legal commision deems that your movie does not conflict with the German law and gives it its blessing....yet the "BPJM" seems to have a liking for putting lots of movies with this certificate on the "B"-list of the "Index": The "B" stands for movies THEY deem to be conflicting with German law- mostly with the very mysterious and often misused passages about the "value of human sacrecy" - OR to be of great danger to the youth.
The "B" means that they'll have a vast interest to ban the title in question, which will be later determined by a DA.
"Hostel Part 2", "Saw III" (as the "unrated" import, the "R rated" version got "blesssed" with an "A"!), "Haute Tension", "TCM: The Beginning" and many others still wait for their fate to be determined, yet most videostores have already pulled them off the shelves in fear of legal consequences or trouble with the BPJM.
I just hear you asking: "And what has all this talk about "protecting the youth" to do with movies, which are supposed to be viewed by "18+" year olds anyway?".
Sorry, I and thousends of other German move fans can't come up with a satisfying answer for that!
Ah, yes: There IS also one opportunity left:
4) You can put out your movies "unrated", since the German constitution clearly prohibits CENSORSHIP...yet only a distributor with a death wish would release a movie officially outside the "fan circles" like that, because the "BPJM" will put it faster on their "B" list than you can spell the movie's title backwards.
Whereas things were slightly lightening up in the late 90's/early 21.st century, the treatment of movies and games has taken a dramatic turn to the worse in recent weeks, mostly thanks to the conservatives rising back to power.
Only a few days ago, laws were passed to tighten restrictions evven further (!), handing MORE power to the BPJM and forcing distruibutors to print a HUGE and ugly new version of the "age certificate" (for ANY rating!) on the covers of DVDs and games.
Welcome to Germany in 2008....a country in which "Phantasm" is still banned and "Terminator" in its uncut form restricted to "adults only" videostores....
Pretty much the same happens with games: insert "USK" for "FSK" (which is yet another body only dedicated to the rating of computer games).
Somewhat explains all the cut-to-ribbons sellthrough DVD versions on the one hand and countless "uncut" dodgy releases of our classics on the German language market to some extent...or does it?