Thailand Continues to Crap on its Own Film Industry

So it’s clear now, isn’t it? The Thai Government is doing everything it can to usher its burgeoning film industry into extinction. I mentioned in my review of “The Tiger Blade” about my distaste for the country’s wanton (and seemingly random) censoring of their movies (even for international DVD consumption!), and how this will be the death of that industry. Now the country’s Ministry of Culture is set to institute a new Film Act which will encourage even more censoring and outright banning of Thai movies that doesn’t conform to their standards. The Thais have never been shy about banning movies and film productions that dare to criticize any part of their government, but especially their royalty, but this just makes it official.

From Variety:

The new bill, which will institute a film rating system yet still allow the state a legitimate right to cut or ban films, is believed by some observers to be worse for artistic freedom than the existing law. Current regulation dates back to 1930.

“There are three main points that we object to,” Pimpaka Towira, spokesman for the Free Thai Cinema Movement, said. “The first is that government representatives on the proposed rating committee will outnumber those from the filmmaking community.

“Second is the vague concept of age classification, which was conceived arbitrarily without any proper study. Third, and most important, is that the new law still allows cutting and banning (by the authorities), which is totally against the spirit of a good rating system.”

How funny is that? The people who will be looking for things to ban or censor outnumber Thailand’s filmmakers! I haven’t heard about anything that silly since, well, never.

Under the new military regime post-coup, the Film Act is basically a done deal.

So what does this mean for the Thai film industry? Probably a hell of a lot more mosaic blobs covering up completely random scenes in movies and a slew of “approved” flag-waving Thai films. Oh yeah, I’m gonna run out to my favorite Asian import store and buy those DVDs, alright.

Idiots.