New Regulations Issued On Censorship Of Films

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27989, 8 June 1956, Page 14

New Regulations Issued On Censorship Of Films

(Xew Zealand Press Association)

WKLLTKGTOTL June 7. New regulations governing the censorship of films and posters, giving effect to recommendations of the special committee on moral delinquency, have been gazetted. The Minister of Internal Affairs •Mr S. W. Smith* said today that the regulations—the Cinematograph Filins and Posters (Censorship and Registration) Regulations. 1956—-gave effect to the views of the special committee on moral delinquency in children and adolescents by including the several regulatory provisions empowered by the Cinematograph Films Amendment Acts of 1934 and 1953. "From the numerous representations made to me. I have no doubt that this piece of information will be welcome news to large numbers of parents.” said Mr Smith. He thought that public interest in the new regulations would be centred mainly on the provisions relating to the classes of censorship certificate prescribed: to the requirements imposed in respect of advertisements of films: and to the measures designed to ensure the observance of the censor's recommendations in the case of restricted class films. Five Classes ef Certificates Five classes of certificate were provided for use by the censor to indicate classification of films examined and passed by him. the Minister continued. Of these five the first (and if experience was any guide, the one for which the large majority of films submitted would qualify) was a certificate of absolute approval to be issued in the case of films considered suitable for general exhibition without any reservations. Three other classes of certificate

would be of the recommendatory type. They would signify that a film was. suitable for general exhibition. but would, in addition, carry a recommendation from the censor as to its suitability or unsuitability for exhibition to the class or classes of person specified in the certificate. For example, it would say that a film was "suitable for people over 13 years of age-’ or "unsuitable for nervous women and young children” and so on. The fifth class of certificate would have a mandatory effect restricting the exhibition of the film only to the classes or descriptions of perseps; specified by she censor in the certi- j ficate. ' I Each class of certificate would carry in bold print on the form a prescribed letter symbol to denote its category, and those same symbols could, subject to certain conditions and exceptions, be used in newspaper and other forms of advertising to ? identify a film with the class of■. certificate given to it. A more detailed explanation of the letter symbols to be used and of s their exact significance would be included in a summary of the new • regulations now being prepared by, the Department of Internal Affairs. Enforcement Measures "Some persons and a few organisations have suggested to me from ’ time to time the inclusion in the regulations of enforcement measures which would virtually place the Government in the position of assuming a parental role.” said Mr Smitn. when referring to those provisions in; the regulations that dealt with advertising and the control of admission to theatres. "I think it neither desirable nor practicable for the Government to stand in loco parentis, he continued. "But it does accept the responsibility to the public in general, and parents in particular, to see that the maxi-

mum ’ possible amount of advance notification of the censorship classification of films advertised for exhibition is available to them, leaving it then to the individual to exercise his own judgment as to what films he or his family should see. "That. in short, is the object of this section of the regulations." The emphasis in the regulations was on the importance of pre-advertising as a means of achieving this objective, continued rhe Minister. Posters, circulars, and like forms of advertising would have to carry plainly on them a notification of th? class of certificate issued by the censor except when the film being advertised had been given an unqualified general exhibition certificate. Similar requirements would apply to newspaper advertisements, but the exemption in relation to posters would not apply. Trailer films and other widely-used forms of pre-advertising would have to have attached for screening a photographic reproduction of the censor's certificate "There has been a lot of confused thinking on this question of trailer films and I want to remove any misconceptions.” said the Minister. “In examining a trailer film the censor, as a matter of policy, almost invariably requires it to qualify in its own right for a general exhibition certificate, excisions from the trailer being made if necessary to that end.” If the regulations were to stipulate that its intrinsic certificate must be attached to the trailer, it would be patently misleading to the public in { those cases where the parent film had given a different class of certifiii cate. Notices Outside Theatres One further requirement was that - which obliged an exhibitor to display . at or near the entrance of a theatre a ; notice board in prescribed form an- | nouncing the censorship classification e of the films in the current programme. For this purpose the programme classification would be that of the film bearing the most restrictive type ol certificate. Exhibitors would also be required to display on a separate notice board an index explaining the meaning of the . various letter symbols permitted to be used in advertising films. It would now be an offence for any person not properly entitled to see a film to seek to gain admission to the theatre, and for any other person to aid him in an endeavour to gain adj mission An obligation was placed on publishers and printers to see that 3 notification of a censorship certificate was included in respect of films advenised in their paper or journaL “I sincerely appreciate." said M2 Smith. “The ready assurances giver that the newspapers would do all in their power to assist in ensuring tha< : censorship classifications were notified in newspaper advertisements.”