Party Game

I'm sort of a film fanatic. My husband has travelled to Malaysia umpteen times for work. I'm a pretty big fan of free speech, not so keen on censorship, and fascinated by the (let's put it lightly and call them) "quirks" of deeply religious people. Put all these things together, and the result is a strange fascination of mine: IMDB's list of films that are banned in Malaysia.

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country that also has substantial Indian and Chinese populations. Different folk groups and religious groups are subject to different laws. Some of the list's contents are therefore not in the least bit surprising (Boogie Nights, anyone?). Some are momentarily surprising (Prince of Egypt, perhaps?) before they also become disappointingly obvious. Some are a bit fuzzier and require one to guess at which scene, seemingly relatively innocuous and only slightly provocative to us, would cause the Malaysian censorship board to ban an entire movie rather than simply cut certain scenes, as they often do with kissing scenes, nudity, swearing, violence, single scenes that can be sensitive religiously, and the like. Imagine what Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan looked like when they were finally let through (and they were; it's the full versions that are banned). I imagine they were collectively 5 minutes long.

Then there's Babe. And let's not believe that it was a temporary offense -- Babe: Pig in the City is also on the list.

Now, it's been a while since I've seen Babe. I'm also not a member of the Malaysian family values lobby. So coming up with what themes in Babe might have been so potentially destructive to the ethics of the Malaysian people requires a lot of thought. I notice that Charlotte's Web is not on the list, so apparently it's not simply outrage at the very idea of a talking pig.

So I suggest a new party game: explain why your favorite movie, TV show or book would be banned in Malaysia. I'm currently working on a good explanation for Mary Poppins. The person who comes up with the funniest but most convincing argument gets to take a shot -- which is, incidentally, also banned in Malaysia.