Campaigning anti-censorship magazine with much in common with the Melon Farmers. Based in Australia but many of the issues are of shared interest

Well produced and always an interesting read. One of my favourites.

Check out www.eros.org.au

Latest issue received May 2008:

• Preaching to the Perverted
• Eros at XBIZ Conference & Awards: Fiona’s Travel Diary
• State of the Union: Eros in America

But on the downside, Eros are a bit selective with their liberalism. They spoke out against making an adults only rating for computer games. In fact Fiona Patten of Eros:....congratulated the South Australian Attorney General over his stance on not allowing violent R rated computer games"

From Is It Uncut?, Latest issue 20

Murder To The Tune Of The Seven Black Notes, Excreamer, Bloody Friday, Summertime Killer, Scorpion Thunderbolt, The Flesh Eaters, Las Sicodelicas, Virgin Among The Living Dead, Hipnos, Do You Like Hitchcock, Grimm, The Iron Crown, Caniche, Killerfish, Operation Dance Sensation, Santanico Pandemonium, Death Wish, The Dragon Lives Again, Nightbeast, Soldier Blue, Seven Deaths In The Cat's Eye, End Play, House Of Voices, Prehistoric Women, Death Run, Satan's Black Wedding... And much more!

A fine offering for Melon Farmers everywhere. It crams in an incredible amount of detail for an awful lot of films from the world of horror, exploitation, giallo etc. Most of the featured films are hardly what you would expect to find at your local video stores though. It certainly is packed with ideas for adding to one's collection.

See www.midnight-media.demon.co.uk

From SGM, February 2007

Undead master George Romero brought the dead back to life in Pittsburgh in the horror classic 'Night of the Living Dead', Clive Barker briefly shipped the corpses over to London in graphic novel form with 'Living Dead: London', now SGM Publishing have brought the living dead to Scotland's heartland in 'Living Dead: Glasgow'; the all-new zombie horror action strip mix of Trainspotting and Zombie Flesh Eaters in 'Living Dead: Glasgow' limited collectors edition magazine issue one!

Also included in this debut edition is a brand new 'Bad Dog' zombie strip by the very talented Gary Northfield (of Derek the Sheep' and The Beano fame) as well as an extensive chronological overview of the modern 'Zombie Movie Classics'; covering everything from 'Night of the Living Dead' to 'Shaun of the Dead' - a cracking article which should be please both old school horror fans and those new to the genre (with film synopsis and uncut availability on DVD!)

'Living Dead: Glasgow' collectors edition magazine is available direct from SGM by clicking here

...Your monthly shield against BBFC harassed home entertainment
...Banned in Bristol

November 2005: Issue 4 received

Featuring in depth discussions of the censorship of such notable films as The Exterminator, Maniac, Blood Feast, Driller Killer, Island of Death, Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox, Kill Bill & Women of Cellblock 9.

Particular themes discussed this month are the BBFC's approach to cuttings one's wrists and also about nude scenes featuring 16 & 17 year olds.

Copies may be obtained for a £3.30 (including p&p) cheque/postal order made payable to Daniel Stillings:

Viper Publications,
12 Bannerdale Road
Sheffield
S7 2DL
UK

A British competitor to the continental hardcore titles such as Private or Color Climax.

It featured half a dozen photosets that were of high quality, well presented and featuring all the explicit action that you would expect. A definite step up in class from some previous UK attempts.

Most migrant women, including those in the sex industry, have made a clear decision, says a new study, to leave home and take their chances abroad. They are not "passive victims" in need of "saving" or sending back by western campaigners.

It is always refreshing to read a book that turns an issue on its head. Laura María Agustín's trenchant and controversial critique of the anti-trafficking crusade goes a step further: it lays out the matter - in this case, "human trafficking" - on the operating table, dissects it, unravels its innards, and shows the reader, in gory, sometimes eye-watering detail, why everything we think about it is Wrong with a capital W. It's a jarring read; I imagine that those who make a living from campaigning against the scourge of human trafficking will throw it violently across the room, if not into an incinerator. Yet it may also be one of the most important books on migration published in recent years.

A collection of articles on the subject of the media inspired censorship hysteria of the video nasty.

Available from UK Amazon

Great Britain, 1980: the dawn of the video age. With new video companies appearing on a weekly basis, competition for shelf space was fierce. Eye-catching cover designs were essential to succeed in this saturated marketplace. Video was new, unregulated and out of control. These were the outlaw years. These glory days spanned just five years, before a legal crackdown in 1984 banished most of these outrageous videos from the shelves forever. Marc Morris was one of the few to rescue these covers from obscurity, and this book delves deep into his unrivalled collection.

DVDs may have replaced videos in terms of film quality & content but they are hardly compete when it comes to cover art.  This book focuses on the cover art but also includes some accurately researched time line details of exactly when each video turned up on the prosecutor's (DPP) list. Excellent research.

Available at £19.99 from UK Amazon

As mentioned by Refused Classification

Just released, and worthy of your attention. It's an interesting look into the history of Australian wowserism. A time that the Religious Right would like to see return. More details, and ordering information can be found at ABC Books.

A new book details the extent to which countries across the globe are increasingly censoring online information they find strategically, politically or culturally threatening.

Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering challenges the long-standing assumption that the internet is an unfettered space where citizens from around the world can freely communicate and mobilise. In fact, the book makes it clear that the scope, scale and sophistication of net censorship are growing.

There's been a conventional wisdom or myth that the internet was immune from state regulation, says Ronald Deibert, one of the book's editors: What we're finding is that states that were taking a hands-off approach to the internet for many years are now finding ways to intervene at key internet choke points, and block access to information.

Has become a standard text in the field

Highly recommended

Available from Amazon

With a contribution by yours truly

An excellent read by an author who suffered a police raid whilst researching the book.

Review from Loaded
Book of the Month: Here, in intricate and quite literally anal detail, is the history and background to all the major hardcore films of the last four decades. Every key porn star and director gets a lengthy entry, so to speak: John Holmes, Mary Millington, Traci Lords, Jenna Jameson, Ben Dover, the woman from the Oxo ads and Leslie Philips....Flint avoids mere titillation in favour of hard details. A moist 9/10.

Available at £11.03 from UK Amazon

  Suggested by Alan

Niki Flynn is an actress/model specialising in spanking and the like. She has appeared in films and photoshoots produced in her native USA, Britain, the Czech Republic and Austria (at least).

She is really the ideal antidote to the idea of subs "not really consenting" which was initially touted as a reason for the Dangerous Pictures Act.

A bit more about Niki's book on her Not Blog

Available at £6.39 from UK Amazon for release 4th October 2007

Amazon synopsis:

Niki Flynn is a young woman on a journey into the dark heart of her own sexual fantasies. She is regularly restrained, spanked, caned and whipped in the most notorious adult films of modern times. And she doesn't do it for financial gain. Nor because she's a masochist. Niki Flynn makes extreme adult movies because of her curious and profound love of surrender and punishment. Her desires are all about authority and power in situations when she has none. Where she is at the mercy of others who lack just that. And for the thrill of dread, anticipation, and the euphoria that follows when she admires the marks from the headmaster's cane or the pirate's whip, Niki Flynn is willing to endure torment. Flown to the secretive underground world of taboo film-making, this strange art has led her all over the world. From schoolgirl canings in England to spankings in California, from a Stasi interrogation in Germany to a forced haircut in Prague, Niki Flynn progressed to her darkest role ever - in Bratislava, where she danced with the fiercest werewolves of all.

ISBN: 0753512289

Fascinating study of the porn business particularly concentrating on the money to made from porn and who makes it.

Available from UK Amazon

Novel set in the world of film censorship by Paul Hoffman who was previously a senior examiner at the BBFC.

Available from UK Amazon who also have the following details

Synopsis: Monuments of Censorship

Do you remember the video nasty? It is 1984 and video has just arrived in Britain's homes. With it comes a widespread distrust and fear. The public dread a deluge of porn, ultraviolence, cannibalism and dismemberment. Eager to reflect the public mood, Parliament decides to panic too, and gifts sweeping powers to the chief film censor, Nick Berg. Every film ever made has to be reclassified for home viewing. But rather than become a tool of moral hysteria, Berg has a grand plan. He will create an entirely new kind of censorship - benign, thoughtful, intelligent. First he must create a team to implement his wishes. This 'Magnificent Seven' will have the power to decide what others can and cannot see.

They will encounter the great monuments of censorship - The Exorcist, Cannibal Holocaust and Reservoir Dogs - as well as the obscure and unexpected: Rupert Bear and Little Yum and the almost unwatchable Nappy Love. But off-screen, all is soon not well in the inner sanctum. What Berg doesn't realize is that his prized rationale is flawed. Fault lines appear within his team of seven. And a struggle for power is set in motion.

Review: Four Stars

This book is gripping, thought provoking, and very enjoyable. The problem is that it's enjoyable because of what it has to say about censorship rather than because it's a great novel. The narrator is hard to sympathise with, many of the other characters are not drawn that fully, there are a few unresolved and rather irrelevant themes, and the plot revolves, in the end, around some petty squabbling. An interesting examination of ethics, and a great book, but not really much of a storyline. Still gets four stars from me, though!

An excellent history of video classification and censorship in the UK from the "video nasties" controversy to the present day. Includes chapters on the history of video, the "video nasties", the black market, the prosecutions of traders in unclassified material, media effects, and sex vids. A well written and intelligent study, well worth reading. (David Alexander)

Available from UK Amazon

ISBN: 1 900486 10 5

Comprehensive info about the Nasties which is particularly strong at providing lots of press cuttings giving a good feeling for the hysteria

Available from UK Amazon

ISBN: 0-9522-510-1-9

From Amelia May Kingston

Some time ago I decided that my contribution against the proposed bill outlawing the possession of "extreme pornographic images" would be to write and publish a semi-autobiographical novel The Triumph of Hope to show how BDSM can be part of a rounded life-style practised by intelligent, caring, creative people.

It is not pornography, but a challenging, erotic, autobiograpy detailing the changing perspectives of a disabled, middle-aged female psychotherapist as she interacts with the world of alternative sexuality. It follows her journey as a determined survivor from childhood to maturity through varied life-experiences in many parts of the world and at last to a joyful and shameless old age in which she finally recognises and accepts herself.

Is it really about me? Now that would be telling ... but my playmates may recognise themselves in some of the composite characters I have created.

Available at £11.53 from UK Amazon
More details at www.youareunique.co.uk/TOH.htm

ISBN 1-4116-7695-5

From AVN

Dr. Marty Klein's recently published volume, America's War On Sex, is quite simply the best book yet written dealing with the collision between the adult industry, sex-positive activism and the religious right. Every single page contains valuable information and analysis for anyone involved in the adult industry, and should be considered required reading for anyone who wants to understand why so many people in the United States, particularly the so-called "cultural leaders," are so fucked up when it comes to all subjects sexual.

Those who are trying to 'clean up' America say they're fighting for a number of critical reasons: the family, marriage, morals, education, community safety," Klein perceptively notes at the outset. But this isn't really true. It's a war against sex: sexual expression, sexual exploration, sexual arrangements, sexual privacy, sexual choice, sexual entertainment, sexual health, sexual imagination, sexual pleasure.

Klein's thesis is broken into several chapters dealing with such subjects as sex education, reproductive rights and the media, both broadcast and Internet, but as becomes quickly evident, those are really just different aspects of the same war, fought with the same weapons, using the same (mis)information and targeting the same objective: To control and restrict everyone's sexuality, even their own.

And what better place to start than with the kids?

The "anti-sex educators" received $200 million in 2006 alone to teach "abstinence education," but as Klein explains at length, it's a doomed enterprise.

Kids using abstinence this weekend will have sex. They've promised they won't, but they will. How do we want to prepare them for this? We tell kids to wear seatbelts, even though we don't want them to crash. We tell kids to call if they'll be late, even though we want them home on time. What do we offer kids who don't refuse sex the way we want them to? Nothing – no backup plan, no mnemonic devices, no support, no information to protect themselves. Ask an abstinence proponent what a kid should do if he or she has sex, and they reply, 'Don't have sex.''

Available in hardback at $30 from US Amazon

Don’t judge a book by its cover (or its title, for that matter). I figured that I was in for another tedious anti-gaming screed full of myths and hysteria about games and gamers. Boy, was I wrong. Massively wrong.

Lawrence Kutner, PhD, and Cheryl K. Olson, ScD, cofounders and directors of the Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health and Media, have written the most thoroughly balanced and refreshingly open-minded book about video games ever penned. They cut through the stereotypes and fear-mongering that have thus far pervaded the debate over the impact of video games and offer parents and policymakers common-sense advice about how to approach these issues in a more level-headed fashion. They argue that:

Today, an amalgam of politicians, health professionals, religious leaders and children’s advocates are voicing concerns about video games that are identical to the concerns raised one, two and three generations ago with the introduction of other new media. Most of these people have the best of intentions. They really want to protect children from evil influences. As in the past, a few have different agendas and are using the issue manipulatively. Unfortunately, many of their claims are based on scanty evidence, inaccurate assumptions, and pseudoscience. Much of the current research on violent video games is both simplistic and agenda driven.

...

They conclude, therefore, that “children are drawn to violent themes because listening to and playing with those frightening images helps them safely master the experience of being frightened. This is an important skill, perhaps even a life-saving one.” They also argue that “Video games give free rein to fantasies of power, glory and freedom. That’s quite different from the mundane lives of must children.” (p. 121) In this sense, Kutner and Olson’s argument is very much consistent with the work of Gerald Jones, who wrote the brilliant book Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super-Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence. In that book, Jones argued that:

One of the functions of stories and games is to help children rehearse for what they’ll be in later life. Anthropologists and psychologists who study play, however, have shown that there are many other functions as well—one of which is to enable children to pretend to be just what they know they’ll never be. Exploring, in a safe and controlled context, what is impossible or too dangerous or forbidden to them is a crucial tool in accepting the limits of reality. Playing with rage is a valuable way to reduce its power. Being evil and destructive in imagination is a vital compensation for the wildness we all have to surrender on our way to being good people.

Available via UK Amazon

Thanks to David Alexander

Interesting book, written a few years back. A well argued corrective to the "radical" feminist critique of porn. Some of your readers may be interested. It's an easy read.

Now available online here: www.zetetics.com/xxx/index.html

See book review from the Sydney Morning Herald

The front cover of The Porn Report - hot-pink lettering on a sinister black background - would seem to reinforce this sense of pornography as something dark and dangerous.

But this is the very view with which the book effectively takes issue. In that sense, the authors have followed the example of Alfred Kinsey and Shere Hite, whose reports on human sexuality sought to debunk pervasive myths, or ended up debunking them. Whether or not one agrees with their conclusions, the fact that they've broached the subject at all is sure to have a positive effect. Too often the debate about pornography is commandeered by capital-letter moralists and demagogic politicians who can always buy a few cheap votes by engineering a moral panic.

The book is based on the Understanding Pornography in Australia research project, funded by the Australian Research Council. It begins by placing pornography, obscenity and censorship in a historical context and shows how the moral emphasis has shifted from protecting women and the working class to protecting children. This is followed by a modest survey exploring pornographic consumption (including interviews with some respondents), a study of pornographic content and a discussion of various ethical issues connected with the making and consumption of porn.

On the whole, the authors are fairly sanguine about the nature and effects of porn. Indeed, I think they are rather too sanguine. For example, there is a lengthy survey of "cottage industry" or "DIY" porn but hardly any consideration of the seamier regions of the internet (with child pornography an exception).

Available at US Amazon

Wide ranging study of porn in Britain and the US

Available from UK Amazon

I have just finished reading Alan Travis' book and found it an excellent read. The majority of the book is about book burning from the 20's up to and including the 60's. It provides a fine illustration of how a few mad Home Secretaries, Public Prosectors and Customs could so successfully keep the Home Office furnaces well fired with fine literature. During this period, the authorities maintained a secret list of a 1000 books that were liable to burning. Roy Jenkins comes out of it heroicially as he added a defence to the Obscene Publications Act allowing literature to be exempted. This was the begining of the end of book censorship in the UK

Available from UK Amazon

Enid Wistrich was the liberal chairman of London's GLC Film Viewing Board in the mid-70s

Found to be an illuminating read, especially regarding the lengths Mary Whitehouse and friends will go to prevent a film being shown, although the book is now a bit outdated

Available from UK Amazon