Hamilton is a 2020 USA musical music film by Thomas Kail. Starring Jonathan Groff, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The real life of one of America's foremost founding
fathers and first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Filmed live on Broadway from the Richard Rodgers Theatre with the original Broadway cast.
The original stage show contained three uses of the word 'fuck' but these were
reduced to one so as to obtain an MPA PG-13 rating as required to make it suitable for Disney. See details from polygon.com
Comment: PTC to Disney: Zero F-Bombs when Hamilton Streams on Disney+
The Parents TV Council (PTC) is a US TV morality campaign. The group writes:
The Parents Television Council is calling on Disney+ to reevaluate allowing even one f-word in the forthcoming PG-13-rated Hamilton. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda confirmed that two of three f-words were dropped from the
streaming version in order to reach the broadest audience. The Motion Picture Association allows one f-word to be used in PG-13-rated films
PTC President Tim Winter said:
We applaud Lin-Manuel
Miranda for wanting to reach the broadest possible audience for the film version of his epic and brilliant Broadway musical, Hamilton , and for allowing the removal of harsh profanity in order to do so. But Disney's decision to allow even one 'f-word' to
be heard on its Disney+ platform is shameful. Even with the stated permission from the program's creator to remove them, Disney is choosing to keep an f-bomb in the film.
The MPA's own rating system that enables one 'f-word' must
be reevaluated. Most families consider any usage of that word greater than zero to be vile and totally off-limits. And Disney needs to recall its swarm of lobbyists who are crawling all over Capitol Hill, working to prevent a legislative update to the
Family Movie Act, and preventing parents from using content filtering technology to block explicit material that they find harmful or offensive.
The statellite and cable subscription service, Sky Cinema, has issued a political correctness disclaimer to its subscribers that some of its content contains outdated attitudes, languages and cultural depictions which may cause offence today. Sixteen films have the warning:
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). The only non-white character in the film Mr Yunioshi is played by white actor Mickey Rooney. Pretending to be a Japanese man, he wears fake teeth and puts on a Japanese accent.
The Jungle Book (1967 and 2016 live-action remake). There have been suggestions the character of orangutang King Louie, which did not feature in Rudyard Kipling's original novel, implied inequality between African Americans and Caucasians. It has also been claimed the character's portrayal is based on what white people thought about black people at the time, such as his poorer linguistic skills and him wanting to be like the other men.
Aladdin (1992). Critics have expressed concerns over the story's use of Orientalist stereotypes, while casting decisions also came under scrutiny, with Aladdin, Princess Jasmine and the genie played by white actors in the animation.
The Goonies (1985). The portrayal of Clever Data, a gadget freak who helps the boys in situations, speaks in a stereotypically Asian accent.
Dumbo (1941). Dumbo has been accused of containing racist stereotypes of African
Americans at the time in the form of black crows, who use jive-like speech patterns. The main bird is even named Jim Crow, a nod to the racist segregationist Jim Crow laws of the time, and is voiced by a white actor.
Aliens (1986). The
film has been accused of hi-tech racism and android apartheid due to the way in which humans in the film deal with the presence of other. It has been suggested the character of Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, treated them with fear and suspicion.
Trading Places (1983). The film was littered with controversies, including Dan Akroyd wearing blackface, continuous stereotyping of black people and women and frequent use of the n-word throughout the movie.
Flash Gordon (1980). The film's antagonist, Ming the Merciless, played by Max von Sydow, is viewed as a classic example of Yellow Peril xenophobia.
Gone With The Wind (1939). Gone With The Wind has been criticised for romanticising slavery and glosses over the horrors of slavery. The film also features the word 'nigger' throughout, which was used in the book.
Lawrence of
Arabia (1962). Some criticised the film for feeding on racial stereotypes and on Western beliefs that Arabs needed foreigners to guide them.
Tropic Thunder (2008). Robert Downey Jr appeared in blackface for the comedy blockbuster,
while many considered use of the word retard, uttered 17 times in the film to denote a person with learning difficulties, as unacceptable.
The Jazz Singer (1927). The musical drama was criticised for Al Jolson's use of blackface, though
many have since pointed to the fact the actor was a civil rights advocate, often backing projects by black artists, including playwright Garland Anderson.
The Littlest Rebel (1935). Perhaps Shirley Temple's most controversial movie, The
Littlest Rebel, in which she appears in blackface, is also accused of glorifying Confederate ideals, with black slaves appearing unhappy to be set free.
The Lone Ranger (2013). Questions were raised over Johnny Depp's portrayal of Tonto,
a Native American, as it sparked a debate over whether actors should play a race other than their own. The actor himself said he considered the role an attempt to try to right the wrongs of the past, meaning poor portrayals of Natives in Hollywood.
Balls of Fury (2007). The ping-pong based comedy starring Christopher Walken was criticised for caricaturing Asian characters and carrying racist jokes and a running gag making fun of blind people.
T he Last Samurai (2003). Tom
Cruise's role as a captain hired to train the Japanese army to fight a Samurai rebellion is considered problematic by some for the sense of American superiority portrayed in the film.
Sky say that they are reviewing a number of their titles across their platform and are adding any warnings where they think it necessary to flag issues of cultural sensitivities and attitudes which may cause offence as part of its broader commitment to
tackle racial injustice.
Habit is a 2020 USA film by Janell Shirtcliff. Starring Bella Thorne, Bria Vinaite and Paris Jackson.
The casting of Jackson, a model and actor who is the daughter of the late pop star
Michael Jackson, opposite Bella Thorne and musician Gavin Rossdale in the film was announced in April .
The plot synopsis suggests that Thorne plays a street smart party girl with a Jesus fetish [who] gets mixed up in a violent drug deal and finds
a possible way out by masquerading as a nun. Jackson's gender-bending take on the religious figure was reported to include a nose ring, tousled waves and a traditional robe.
Echoing PC rules that selectively ban actors from playing roles based on a
different ethnicity ('blackface'), the petitioners claim that it is unacceptable for a female to play a male role.The petitioners denounce the film as Christianophobic garbage, and call for the film to be banned. The petition has attracted about
260,000 signatures.
The petition, which names Warner Bros and Lionsgate as its targets, claims that Jackson will play Jesus as a lesbian, though there is no mention of this in any publicly available reports of the film. The petition also claims the
film is blasphemous.
The project previously sparked protest from a christian organisation called One Million Moms , which claimed the film was sacrilegious and ridicules people of faith. It has started its own petition which has attracted
about 69,000 signatures.
Horror Channel brings plenty of suspense and splatter to July's line-up with the UK TV premiere of The Rezort , where The Walking Dead meets Jurassic World. Starring Dougray Scott and Jessica De Gouw, this fast-paced, gory horror is directed
by Outpost franchise helmer Steve Barker.
There are also channel premieres for Damien Mace and Alexis Wajsbrot's cleverly sinister Don't Hang Up , where an invisible predator turns the tables on two online prankers, and
Paul W.S Anderson's cult gaming adaptation Resident Evil , with Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez in blistering form.
Plus, there are welcome returns for No One Lives , director Ryuhei Kitamura's taut, tension-laden
cat-and-mouse thriller, starring Luke Evans, alongside Sam Raimi's unforgettable genre classic The Evil Dead and fans of Arnold Schwarzenegger will welcome the clone-seeker's top-notch performance in The 6th Day .
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 USA action Sci-Fi fantasy by Irvin Kershner. Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca face attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet Hoth. While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to Dagobah in
search of Yoda. Only with the Jedi Master's help will Luke survive when the Dark Side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader.
No censorship issues beyond noting that the film was U rated from 1980 until 2011,
but was PG rated in 2020.
The 2011 Blu-ray was rated U for mild violence and threat whereas the 2020 cinema release was rated PG for moderate violence, mild threat.
There have also been a few minor tweaks to plot and special
effects over time.
J'accuse is a 2019 France / Italy historical thriller by Roman Polanski. Starring Jean Dujardin, Louis Garrel and Emmanuelle Seigner.
In 1894, French Captain Alfred Dreyfus is wrongfully
convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment at Devil's island.
Just rior to the coronavirus lockdown Quebec's major distributors announced they would ban cinema showings of Roman Polanski's J'accuse ( An Officer and a Spy ),
whether out of fear of reprisals from the #MeToo campaign or in deference to the movement's anti-democratic arguments. News of the ban susbequently got lost as the cinemas weren't open to notice that the film wasn't being screened.
It should be noted
that despite the efforts of the Macron government and #MeToo's feminists to intimidate audiences and have J'accuse banned, the film was extremely popular in France--by the end of February 1.5 million people had viewed it in that country.
Polanski's film is a truthful and poignant reconstruction of the Dreyfus Affair that shook French society between 1894 and 1906. The case concerned a French army captain of Jewish origin, Alfred Dreyfus, who was falsely accused of espionage and imprisoned.
An article in the Quebec daily newspaper Le Devoir, published at the end of February under the headline Director Roman Polanski, persona non grata in Quebec, shows the kind of anti-democratic conceptions that have penetrated the world of cinema and
the arts. Encouraged by large sections of the ruling elite, including the Democratic Party in the United States and Justin Trudeau's Canadian federal government, the #MeToo campaign has served to undermine fundamental democratic principles, such as the
presumption of innocence and due process.
As in France, the viewing public in Quebec is largely in favour of the film being shown. The thirty or so comments under the article in Le Devoir all opposed the reactionary argument that one could not
separate the work from the author and demanded that Quebec distributors reconsider their decision. Many compared the censorship exercised by the #MeToo campaign and Quebec distributors to the censorship exercised by the Catholic Church during the era of
Quebec history from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s known as the Great Darkness, when the Catholic clergy exercised stifling control over culture, education and social mores and the ultraconservative government of Maurice Duplessis promoted reaction and
used state violence to suppress an increasingly militant working class.
A feminist extremist has had a go at Amazon Prime for its catalogue of British sex comedy films, whingeing that they trivialise sexual harassment by presenting it as a hilarious joke.
The online platform features a number of 1970s softcore porn
slapstick flicks, complete with suitably saucy descriptions, available to buy or rent.
Kate Smurthwaite spouted to FEMAIL:
I'm not offended by nudity or sexual scenes or references ...[BUT]... The
issue is that these films routinely present sexual harassment as a "hilarious" joke. The same is true of some modern shows such as Keith Lemon's output. Recommending them on mainstream platforms reinforces the message that this behaviour is
normal and even funny. For many women the experience of being harassed and then told to "take it as a joke" is all too familiar. Media streaming services should take the time to think about what they are putting on their platforms and
recommending to their customers.
According to the Amazon description, the Confessions... series follows the 'saucy antics of the hapless Timothy Lea.
The Daily Mail then kindly details many of the most well known of the sex
comedies and reminds us of how many well known mainstream stars featured in the films.
Offsite Comment: The Manufactured Outrage Over Seventies Sex Comedies on Amazon
Update: Can art survive woke culture? 
