Tom & Jerry to be censored?

[STEED]

I am lost for words......

Ofcom's Looney decision over Tom & Jerry's smoking

By MATT BORN 21:19pm 21st August 2006




They are two of television's favourite cartoon characters, who have entertained children and adults for almost 70 years. But now classic episodes of Tom & Jerry are to be re-edited to remove any scenes of the protagonists smoking after the broadcasting regulator Ofcom said they risked glamorising smoking and encouraging children to take up the habit.





However the watchdog's attempt to serve as guardian of viewers' well-being faced a backlash.
Critics denounced the decision as 'ridiculous' political correctness and said it was trying to 'sanitise the art of the past.'
Moreover there were accusations of double-standards: on the same day it ordered Tom & Jerry to clean up their act, Ofcom refused to censure Channel 4 for allowing Sir Elton John to say 'w*****' on comedian Paul O'Grady's daytime chat show.
Despite the singer's swearing attracting 10 times more complaints than Tom & Jerry's smoking, the regulator claimed that the offensive word was 'quite mild' and the outburst merely 'unfortunate.'
By contrast with the rap over the knuckles for Channel 4, Tom & Jerry were clobbered with a frying pan by the TV regulator yesterday.
The decision follows a complaint about two separate cartoons - Texas Tom and Tennis Chumps - that were shown repeatedly on the children's channel Boomerang earlier this year.
In the first episode, Tom tries to impress a female cat by making a roll-up cigarette, lighting and smoking it with just one hand. In Tennis Chump, Tom's opponent in a tennis match is seen smoking a large cigar.
A viewer complained that the cartoons were not appropriate for young viewers - 56 percent of Boomerang's audience is aged four to 14 years old.
Following an investigation by Ofcom, the channel - which is owned by Turner Broadcasting - agreed to go back through its library of Tom & Jerry cartoons and edit out scenes which could glamorise or condone smoking.
However it said any changes would be handled sensitively, warning that to remove all references to smoking might adversely affect the 'value of the animation.'
Ofcom's broadcast code states that smoking must not be featured in programmes made primarily for children unless there is strong editorial justification; and it must not be condoned, encouraged or glamorised before the watershed.
In its ruling, the regulator said it recognised that these were 'historic cartoons' most of which were made between the 1940s and 1960s when smoking was 'more generally acceptable.'
"We note that, in Tom and Jerry, smoking usually appears in a stylised manner and is frequently not condoned.
"However, while we appreciate the historic integrity of the animation, the level of editorial justification required for the inclusion of smoking in such cartoons is necessarily high."
Sir Elton John's outburst came during a episode of Paul O'Grady's live daytime chatshow broadcast in May.
Asked by the presenter about his decision to change his name, the singer said his old name - Reginald Kenneth Dwight - sounded like he was a banker or, making a play on the word, a 'w*****.'
Channel 4 admitted the slip was 'unfortunate' and said that O'Grady apologised later in the show for the 'raucous' nature of the programme.
It said it had also taken the show's production team to task and told them to ensure appropriate language at all times in future.
Explaining its decision not to take further action against Channel 4, Ofcom said that while the on-air apology was not definitive, most viewers considered the offensive swear word 'quite mild.'
However the broadcasting standards campaigners said the decision was 'absurd.'
John Beyer, director of Mediawatch, said: "Ofcom can't see the wood for the trees. Ofcom's own research showed people felt there was too much swearing and violence on television - yet the regulator doesn't want to intervene to ensure programmes meet with generally accepted standards. "Instead, it tinkers with trivial things like cartoons."


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...e_id=1770&ct=5

Here in the US Tom and Jerry, along with the Three Stooges and many other serial shows have been cencored to protect the young and promote the slack willed parents who want the government to do the parenting.

[STEED]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Here in the US Tom and Jerry, along with the Three Stooges and many other serial shows have been cencored to protect the young and promote the slack willed parents who want the government to do the parenting.

I am still lost for words.

I am still lost for words.

Two letters, PC.

[STEED]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Two letters, PC.

Agreed.

[CB..]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Two letters, PC.

yup never was there a more obvious example of the sheer moral lobotomy that is Political Correctness...they can visit in-sane acts of extreme violence upon each other with no problem at all....but light a ciggerette and the sky falls in..it is Orwellian

[snowsub]

Are taxpayers paying anyones wage to go though these old shows just to look for thing to censor

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Two letters, PC.

Yeah, I got a PC too. Has a couple monitors, HD, etc. :p All kids should get one who are worried about PC! Nothing censored there!

[CB..]

the problem with Political Correctness is self explanatory..it is that what is deemed correct is decided by Politics and Politicains....in those cirumstances anything can be correct and anything can be incorrect..and it is all governed by what is considered politicaly expedient by the party in power...(and in that case there is an argument for saying that ,regardless of any other consideration, the holocaust was in fact politicaly correct....very dodgy stuff indeed when given it's full leg room) IMO

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Two letters, PC.

I hate politically correctness, its one of the worst things western civilization has adopted.
It reminds me of Demolition Man (bad flick, but it was dead-on as a parody on modern politically correct societies).

[Pax Melmacia]

It reminds me of Demolition Man

I recall a better one. I forget what movie it was ('Escape to LA' comes to mind), but the trailer begins with an announcement flashed on the screen exhorting moviegoers not to smoke, talk, eat red meat, etc. All for our own good, of course.

[The Avon Lady]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Here in the US Tom and Jerry, along with the Three Stooges and many other serial shows have been cencored to protect the young and promote the slack willed parents who want the government to do the parenting.

To the best of my knowledge, the US government has not censored anything. The studios themselves have censored clips due to such things as "Sambo" and "blackface" stereotype images of blacks, as an example, that were still common in the 30's and 40's.

[STEED]

Tom and Jerry look like they are heading to the cutting room here in England.

It's 1984

[CB..]

Originally Posted by STEED

Tom and Jerry look like they are heading to the cutting room here in England.

It's 1984

we allready have people being condemned to an early death by a governmental organisation called N.I.C.E.
meantime we are prompted to be more morally outraged by the "bad example" given by cartoon characters smoking..
it doesn't get any more orwellian than that AFAIK :hmm:
it scares the hell out of me..

[The Avon Lady]

Originally Posted by CB..

we allready have people being condemned to an early death by a governmental organisation called N.I.C.E.
meantime we are prompted to be more morally outraged by the "bad example" given by cartoon characters smoking..
it doesn't get any more orwellian than that AFAIK :hmm:
it scares the hell out of me..

I wouldn't overblow this issue.

Kids will still learn about hitting their opponents over the head with mallets, dropping 2 ton weights on their toes and luring them to grab high voltage wires while falling off mile high cliffs.

Besides, smoking kills.