Cultural Edification

Beginning of September

I'm always on the lookout for interesting things to write about on our blog, particularly things that you don't see everyday living other places in the world (except for maybe in Africa, mom & dad). Some interesting news of note lately: there was an article recently commenting on the number of rapes that had been occuring in a certain area, indicating that it was clearly a problem that needed to be dealt with, and seriously suggested the return of the chastity belt to dissuade men from attacking girls in this way. Seriously. And that was front page news of a local paper. (It was in Bahasa, but a church member was telling us what it said). How would you like that to be the solution for crime in your community, hmmm??? The other interesting thing to note about that article is that there was a commentary article immediately below it that sort of tongue-in-cheek suggested that maybe the solution would be for the men to wear the chastity belts-- it was written in a way that obviously intoned that this was a ridiculous idea. Crazy! I mean, why go to the source of the problem when you can put the blame and responsiblity on the victim! Well, I can certainly say that I see things like that on a regular basis that have made me stop thinking about things I miss in the USA and start thanking Heavenly Father for blessing me to be born in a free land.

One other thing that I found this week that seemed interesting... I was looking at a movie times website (Michael & I want to go see Bourne Ultimatum, but it doesn't come out here until Oct. 11) and I noticed a guide showing visitors to the site how the ratings work... I think I copied them verbatim, so here is what they say:

U: appropriate for general viewing of all ages
18SG: for 18+ with non-excessive violent/horrifying scenes
18SX: for 18+ with non-excessive sex scenes
18PA: for 18+ with political/religious/counter-culture elements
18PL: for 18+ with combination of two or more elements

OK, aside from the obvious commentary on the subjugation of freedom of expression (you have to be over 18 to view counter-culture elements???) the more interesting thing was that as I scrolled down over the movies currently out in theaters, I was shocked to see that a VAST majority of those movies were thriller or horror type shows and were given a "U" rating! I clicked on the links for some of these movies and they look like your regular B-grade thrillers that would never even make it to the big screen in the US but go straight to DVD. (For example: "Dead Silence - English movie - A mad ventriloquist was buried with her dolls, but over the decades the dolls reapppear to seek revenge - Thriller." Doesn't that sound like a real family flick? Oh, or how about: "Forest of Death - Cantonese film - Mary and Steven work to investigate the truth following the rape/murder case of the Prime Minister's Daughter - Horror.") These are the kind of movies considered appropriate for all ages? And there is some question as to WHY there is so much crime and degenration toward women in this country? Sheesh. Even kids are desensitized to it from the time they can talk! I thought it was also interesting to note, the show "Evan Almighty" (a sort of modern-day Noah's Ark) was given an "18PL". Interesting. I did notice, however, that "Hairspray" (I mean talk about your counter-culture elements) was also given a "U"... I need to do some more research into who gives these ratings and how exactly they are determined... monkeys on a typewriter, maybe?

In the meantime, I hope that gives you some food for thought. Be grateful for the freedoms and general enlightenment you enjoy because there are certainly a lot of people who don't.

Pic explanation: they are building a sort of mini-mart outside our condo and we pass the construction site every time we leave to get a taxi or train. Michael loves walking by this sign and wants to know where we can get one.

(as always, click on the picture at the top for lots more interesting photos in our google slideshow)