The debate rages on. Yesterday’s lunchtime discussion veered onto the issue of censorship and the recent Stitching decision. After the break two persons, who I shall call Caius and Titus not to deviate from the subject, resumed the discussion with an exchange of emails. I found the discussion very interesting (and only intervened once between a meeting and another) and would like to share it with the J’accuse readers. You should note that the email exchange kicked off with a reference to a blog post by lawyer Kevin Aquilina that was heavily critical of the play. You can read the post by clicking here before returning to this discussion.
CAIUS: Artikolu tajjeb dwar id-dramm Stitching mill-aspett legali (provides link).
TITUS: L-artiklu (Kevin Aquilina ex chairman tal-awtorità tax-xandir), qrajtu (mhux fid-dettall). Ma impressjonani xejn anzi pjuttost kellu l-effett kuntrarju fuqi. Huwa jsostni li ġej:
1. Uncivilized Use of Language: Rude and vulgar, obscene and blasphemous language is used throughout the play.
2. Glorification of perversion: The play glorifies perversion, depicting it as being the acceptable norm in a civilised society rather than the exception (stitching a woman’s vagina as an act of sexual pleasure; bestiality – having sex with animals; a woman eating another woman’s shit; seeking pleasure in (a) child rape; (b) child murder; (c) having sex with the mothers of the raped and killed children, etc.
3. Disparaging the Right to Life: … the ‘discussion’ in the play on abortion is so valueless and baseless that there can be said to be no recognition of human dignity of the person including the unborn child, bearing also in mind that abortion in Malta is a criminal offence.
4. Sensationalising Perversity and Inhumanity: Both characters (Stu and Abby) are perverse and inhumane: they do not show a single shred of remorse on the killing of Daniel (their first child); they do not appear to be willing to carry out their parental responsibilities as part of their right for respect of family life in order to save the second child from abortion… burning children alive and then killing them and seeing the mothers of the murdered children seduced, fucked, fingered in their arseholes and putting the whole films portraying these heinous criminal acts on the web …
6. Advocating Degradation, Mutilation and Humiliation of Humanity: Abby is continuously degraded and humiliated by Stu in so far as his sexual demands go and in the way how he speaks to her and treats her (he repeatedly calls her a ‘whore’, he requests her to submit her person to various perverse and degrading sexual acts from her and addresses her with no sense of respect or décor);
7. Uncivilized Behaviour: uncivilized behaviour is considered to be normal and acceptable… Some of these conducts constitute criminal offences not only under the Laws of Malta but in other Council of Europe Member States, in Council of Europe Conventions and international criminal law ????????????????????
Re il-vittmi tal-olokawst, is-soltu vera nkun kontra ideat bħal meta bniedem jinnega l-olokawst eċċ, iżda sempliċement il-fatt li l-karattru jammetti li kien iġerrieh għan-nisa sejrin jinqatlu ma hijiex espressjoni ta’ opinjoni. Huwa sempliċement mezz (forsi “in bad taste”) biex juri l-perversità tal-bniedem.
Kollox ma kollox naħseb qrajt u ġejt espost għal dan kollu !!!!
CAIUS: Għaldaqstant huwa ċar li d-dramm juri l-bniedem fl-agħar tiegħu u għalhekk fih hemm kull forma ta’ aġir immorali u illegali, liema aġir huwa kkundannati f’ħafna soċjetajiet. Fil-fehma tiegħu l-arti għandha teżalta u mhux tbaxxi lill-bniedem u turi l-agħar perversitajiet tiegħu.
J’ACCUSE: Quote “Fil-fehma tiegħu l-arti għandha teżalta u mhux tbaxxi lill-bniedem u turi l-agħar perversitajiet tiegħu” Unquote i.e. fil-fehma tieghu l-arti ghandha tigdeb. Nahseb kien imur tajjeb ma mussolini u shabu.
CAIUS: Le mhux tigdeb imma turi l-verita’ fuq il-valur tal-bniedem. Dan il-valur ma jinsabx fl-istinti annimaleski li jbaxxuh.
TITUS: Li tiekol il-ħara għal gost sesswali ma huwiex istint annimalesk. Ma nafx b’annimal li jagħmel hekk … Dak huwa l-bniedem fil-kumplessità tiegħu …
CAIUS: Fil-fatt forsi huwa agħar minn annimalesk, huwa anki kontra n-natura. Għalhekk dak li jiddeskrivi d-dramm ma fihx valur pożittiv.
TITUS: Ok… Mela allura min jimxi kontra n-natura għandu jiġi ċċensurat … L-istess bħal ma niċċensuraw il-perverżjonijiet tagħna … Ninsewhom u ngħixu l-illużjoni li l-bniedem huwa safi minn kull dnub.
Mela r-ritratt tat-tifla taħrab għarwiena minn bomba tan-napalm fil-Vjetnam għandu jiġi ċċensurat għax huwa att agħar minn annimalesk kontra n-natura … (Premju pulitzer 1972).
Glorification of perversion
Disparaging the Right to Life:
Advocating Degradation, Mutilation and Humiliation of Humanity:
Uncivilized Behaviour
Iżda xorta jibqa’ l-fatt li għandu valur, mhux biss bħala dokument storiku iżda wkoll minħabba proprju dawn l-affarijiet hawn fuq imsemmija li skont Kevin Aquilina (u int) għandhom iservu bħala bażi għal ċensura …
CAIUS: Fil-fatt hemm liġijiet kontra tali atti.
TITUS: Iva hemm u tajjeb li hemm… imma ma jfissirx li ma tistax tagħmel rappreżentanzi tagħhom jew turi xbihat tagħhom lil pubbliku adult …
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I end this post with a quote from an essay by Umberto Eco (more next Sunday in the Indy) called “Hands off My Son”. It is about people who “were unable to distinguish between the Christ of the Gospels and the one of the film (ed. Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ)”:
“To see a representation as the Thing Itself is one of the modern forms of idolatry.” – Eco.
WARNING: The following video clip contains scenes of extreme violence, perversion and inhumanity that may be considered disturbing by certain audiences (the movie did qualify for viewing in Maltese cinemas though so I guess it’s ok).
