Film Censorship in Singapore

A new PG13 rating covering films, television programmes and videos has just come into effect. It was one of the recommendations of the Censorship Review Committee that was accepted by the government last year.

The new PG13 rating indicates content that may not be suitable for children under 13, so parental discretion is advised. These shows have dark themes, some violence, realistic and intense horror, sexual humour and coarse language.

Some films previously rated PG (Parental Guidance) such as Dark Knight and IP Man 2 or NC16 such as Meet the Fockers will fall under the new category, but media regulator Media Development Authority said the numbers will likely be small.

PG13 will also be the maximum rating for films and dramas on free-to-air television channels, but such content will only be allowed after 10pm.

Broadcaster MediaCorp will screen the first PG13 programme on Channel 5 on July 23 on the making of the series The Walking Dead. The series, which has been edited to fit the PG13 rating.

Last year, the government agreed with the Censorship Review Committee to allow R21 films on the Video-on-Demand service on cable. The Media Development Authority said they will be introduced as soon as it has worked out implementation details, such as designing parental locks to prevent minors from sneaking a peek.

Movies rated R21 in Singapore have been made available on pay-TV in private homes for the first time.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) has given the green light for StarHub and SingTel to offer R21 content on their video-on-demand platforms.

SingTel's mio TV will be now be offering R21 movies such as the crime thriller The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), the gay-themed drama A Single Man (2009), superhero flick Watchmen (2009) and horror flick The Hills Have Eyes (2006).

Material that is rated by MDA as R21 is deemed suitable for adults aged 21 and older. Previously the highest rating for pay-TV content now was M18.

The Censorship Review Committee had recommended in its report that year that R21 content be allowed on subscription TV and video-on-demand with a strong caveat that a simple-to-use parental lock mechanism is available . It added that if R21 content is made available, the operators should lock it by default.

The Government accepted the proposal.

As to whether R21 content might be made available for sale on DVD and video, Amy Chua, MDA's director of content and standards for broadcast, Internet and publications, said:

We would like to assess how consumers view this service on video-on-demand before we think of introducing it on other platforms.

Sex.Violence.FamilyValues. is a 2012 Singapore short comedy drama family by Ken Kwek.
With Adrian Pang, Vadi Pvss and Pamela Oei.

The film features 3 vignettes:

• A kindergarten principal finds a series of morbid cartoons drawn by a child.
• Porn Masala. A porn actor struggles to rise to the occasion while filming a romantic cumedy .
• A middle-aged nightclub bouncer faces off with a rebellious teenage stripper.

It was banned last year by Singapore film censors because of its racial humour and political incorrectness.

It has now just been given a rating of R21 after cuts following an appeal by the film's makers. This means it can be screened in cinemas to audience members aged 21 or older.

A statement by the Media Development Authority (MDA) says that the film may be screened under an Restricted 21 (R21) rating with edits , without describing what the cuts were.

The statement also mentioned that the Films Appeal Committee (FAC) took account of the public complaints arising from an online trailer containing the more controversial segments of the film, especially in regard to racial references in Porn Masala .