And yet another NPC symptom: bureaucrats are saying ridiculous things. From Xinhua. Read the whole thing before I get stuck in:

Regulator: China not to implement film rating for the moment

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- China won't adopt a film rating system for the moment, the publications watchdog said.

Liu Binjie, General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) director, told reporters here on Tuesday that the country will not take the measure until "the market has been completely standardized", the New Express report.

There were two major concerns for the decision, he said. First, film rating was still a topic "too sensitive" for the general public. Secondly, China had yet to build a mature and orderly film market.

"Under the current circumstances, a film rating system equals legalizing the mass production of pornographic publications," Liu said.

The proposal of a rating system was first raised in 2001 by Wang Xingdong, a movie director and a then-member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The proposal, however, has failed to come to anything over the years.

A new round of debate was ignited late last year with the release of Ang Lee's award-winning film "Lust, Caution".

Containing bold sex scenes, the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion winner for Best Picture was cut by seven sexually explicit minutes for its screening on the Chinese mainland. Critics argued it wouldn't have had to be tailored if the country had a rating system.

I barely know where to start. So I guess I'll start at the beginning. "Until the market has been completely standardized"? That's like saying, "We can't measure this elephant until we know how high it is so we can get a long enough ruler." And what do you mean "completely standardized"? Does that mean we'll just have one movie for all eternity? The standard one? Coming to a theater near you, the same movie! Again! It kinda worked for Hollywood, I guess. In the future, all movies will be Curse of the Golden Flower. Rejoice! And I though ratings were how you standardize a market.

And while I'm on that, how are film ratings "too sensitive" for the general public? The same general public that stampeded out for pirate copies of the uncensored version of Lust, Caution? If I walk down the street talking about film ratings, will women faint and strong men weep? Will grannies cover their children's ears? Will people's heads explode like in Scanners? Cool! How is it that the same general public that isn't ready for a discussion of film ratings somehow survives unfettered access to the entire tawdry Hollywood oeuvre via the pirate DVD market completely unscathed? Somebody should look into that.

And how about this: "Under the current circumstances, a film rating system equals legalizing the mass production of pornographic publications."

My god, it's the slippery slope. One minute you introduce film ratings, and the next there's a Vistavision 3D johnson --possibly Edison's-- sticking out of every silver screen in the country. Think of the little Children! Mommy, my eyes!

I've been giving that statement some thought and, after careful deliberation, I've come to the conclusion that it is the single most ridiculous utterance in human history. If there was a Nobel prize for daftness this would be right at the top of the list for consideration. I'd like to send a bouquet and a bottle of champagne to Mr. Liu.

Ratings give you degrees of control, like the little knob on the stove. You don't have to turn it all the way up if you feel a gentle simmer will do. I recognize that this is a country with severe enforcement problems, but one thing it has never had a problem enforcing is what appears on movie screens. They've got that worked out. Start with "G" and "PG" if that's as far as you want to go. I just don't think a ratings system will cause the entire edifice to crumble, especially if it makes no provision for explicitly sexual films. If it does, your problems run deeper than smut.

And finally, what's Liu Binjie doing talking about this anyway? Isn't this SARFT's patch?

Previously:

Imagethief's comprehensive prescription for the Chinese film industry can be found in the September post, Why patriotism won't save the Chinese film industry.

 

The standard bosom movie