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The Big [Censored] Theory

pudding.cool

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Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#281

Post by pimlottc »

Kye wrote: post #247
andruby wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We (the HN crowd, often living in less-censored societies) would be very curious. I’d like to know how curious this would make non-HN people, and those living in more censored places. My assumption is that they take it for granted and just continue to watch the show. It might be hard for them to even find the uncensored clips.

I still encounter people who don't know "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" was a heavily censored version of the real show. They realize how weird the edits are in retrospect, but it didn't register much/at all for them at the time.

> "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles"

Are you referring to the UK version of the 1987 animated "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" TV series? I never realized it was considered controversial! [0]

0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_(...

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#282

Post by tablespoon »

It's not exactly the same thing, but I've noticed similar kinds of edits in a couple of US children's books I've been able to compare. Some are easily explainable as political correctness or changing social mores, some might be explainable by the influence of helicopter parenting and increasing uptightness (e.g. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/27/opinion/halloween-kids-mo...), but others I can't make heads or tales of.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#283

Post by timeon »

concordDance wrote: post #252
cdot2 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anything you can think of you will be able to find that content. We simply don't have the kind of censorship that China has. Comparing the two is ridiculous.

> Anything you can think of you will be able to find that content. That's untrue. A trivial example is porn involving 17 year olds.

I bet you could gave other examples instead of escalating with pedophilia.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#284

Post by [deleted] »

Kye wrote: post #247
andruby wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We (the HN crowd, often living in less-censored societies) would be very curious. I’d like to know how curious this would make non-HN people, and those living in more censored places. My assumption is that they take it for granted and just continue to watch the show. It might be hard for them to even find the uncensored clips.

I still encounter people who don't know "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" was a heavily censored version of the real show. They realize how weird the edits are in retrospect, but it didn't register much/at all for them at the time.

[deleted]

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#285

Post by tgv »

still_grokking wrote: post #270

What's the moral here? There is also a lot of censoring in the "western" world. It's also mostly justified by the exact same "reasons" like the ones mentioned in that blog post. Especial the "but the children" "argument" is used the whole time. And if that gets boring than it's "terrorism". Than again "the children". Also there are a lot of things one can't publicity say for political reasons. In Germany for example…

You’re really not making a strong argument by invoking the German example. The things that they forbid are mainly glorification of a most shameful regime. Holocaust denial comes to mind. Good riddance, I say.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#286

Post by Bakary »

ur-whale wrote: post #240
Bakary wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sort of TV shows are censored in the West?

> What sort of TV shows are censored in the West? When was the last time you saw a pair of boobs on an US sitcom?

Game of Thrones? I'm not really a TV guy.

I was specifically intrigued by what the GP saw as political censorship, but I see what you mean.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#287

Post by carapace »

Bakary wrote: post #210
briantakita wrote: post #129

Companies & Governments in the US & West censor for political reasons. Why is this any different?

What sort of TV shows are censored in the West?

There's an episode of South Park that featured the Prophet Mohamed (Super Best Friends) that was uncontroversial when it aired, but now you can't get it anywhere. They did a very good bit about it in "Cartoon Wars". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartoon_Wars_Part_I (They deserve like a Pulitzer Prize or something for CW, it's genius.)

It's not illegal to depict the Prophet, it's religious courtesy. (Also, it might interfere with profit (no pun intended.))

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#288

Post by tablespoon »

tuatoru wrote: post #275
wizofaus wrote: post #137

Is aversion to discussion of sex a part of traditional Chinese culture? Seems odd given I'm not aware of any puritanical religions taking hold there.

Non-heterosexual images (and masturbation) are anathema to China's leadership because China is facing a population decline, due to very low fertility.[1] [2] Internally produced TV in China has been censored for portraying "effeminate men".[3] The CCP has also, er, "encouraged", women to spend less time on social media and shopping. Internally the CCP says members must have three children.[4] 1. Here is military age…

> Non-heterosexual images (and masturbation) are anathema to China's leadership because China is facing a population decline, due to very low fertility.[1] [2]...

> 1. Here is military age population: https://population.un.org/wpp/Graphs/Probabilistic/POP/15-49...

I've read that's one factor that makes the 2020s particularly dangerous: it's peak Chinese demographics and a period of Western military weakness (b/c there's a pent up need for long term investment/replenishment, because the War on Terror shifted budgets towards short-term operations). There's a now-or-never factor if China wants to take Taiwan by force.

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#289

Post by dj_gitmo »

coryfklein wrote: post #277
wrs wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a home version of this called ClearPlay that auto-redacts movies and TV. It actually started with DVD players (!) but now does streaming. Ref: https://amazon.clearplay.com/

My Mormon neighbors tend to use VidAngel, which got in huge trouble with an absolutely hilarious payment model. 1. VidAngel purchases a bunch of Blu-ray discs and stores them in a warehouse 2. Tag all the content of a film and create filters so the user can, for example, filter out all sex and violence but leave in vulgarity 3. User "purchases" a Blu-ray for $20 (!!) and VidAngel says, "since we now know you're the o…

This reminds me of Aereo. They provided each user with their own individual TV antenna, DVR and streaming server. Their case went to the Supreme Court but they ultimately lost. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aereo

Re: The Big [Censored] Theory

#290

Post by danjoredd »

still_grokking wrote: post #270

What's the moral here? There is also a lot of censoring in the "western" world. It's also mostly justified by the exact same "reasons" like the ones mentioned in that blog post. Especial the "but the children" "argument" is used the whole time. And if that gets boring than it's "terrorism". Than again "the children". Also there are a lot of things one can't publicity say for political reasons. In Germany for example…

It is more extreme in China than in America. In addition to sex, lgbt, and other things of a similar nature, movies with magic are especially rejected. Ever notice how movies seem to be getting more bland and milk/toast each year? its because there is a lot of money in China, and China only accepts a few foreign movies each year. Disney, Warner Bros, etc. all want a slice of that pie so they comply with Chinese censors as much as they can to get in. Germany is almost as bad, I agree, but companies aren't stooping to Germany. They stoop to China for the money, and it affects the whole of the west as a result.
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