Lust Another Day at the Movies

Being an obsessive (though novice) Asian cinephile and eating up anything stamped ‘Wong Kar Wai’ and ‘Ang Lee’, I’ve been dying to see Lust Caution for a while now. So going overseas on a two week trip to Beijing and Shanghai a few weeks ago, I figured it’d be the perfect opportunity. Meet my brethren! Eat brethren food! Talk brethren talk! Watch brethren movi– not so fast. As posted by John earlier, China only shows the censored version. I had to wait until I returned to the States to see Lust.

I found a theater showing the film near LA, but balked that it was a half hour drive away. Then I read in the Times article people are flying to see this movie. Makes me feel like an ass. Well, this article convinced me. I am going to see this movie! Not lost on me though, was this quote (ninth paragraph down):

“For myself, I strongly object to censorship, but for the country as a whole, I think I can still understand its necessity,” said Yan Jiawei, a graphics designer from Shanghai […] “It has something to do with people’s educational level. In big cities like Shanghai, people will treat the deleted scenes as art, while those in less developed areas will only think of them as immoral.”

It’s “necessity”? I feel like saying, “You know what asshole?? It’s people like you I got to add Hong Kong to my Asia itinerary just to see a stupid movie!” You can’t have this quasi-half-baked censorship. Either you’re for censorship or you not. It’s got nothing to do with education level; let THEM decide if it’s immoral. Abraham Lincoln grew up on a farm and he turned out alright. I think graphic designers are immoral, how d’ya like them beans?? (It’s okay, folks. I’m a Graphic-Designer-American, I can say that.)

It’s that very type of thinking that’s the root of censorship; one person (or group of people) deciding what is right for another group of people, when in fact the first group doesn’t know shit about the second group. So do me a favor ‘Yan’, keep your mouth shut. I’m censoring you.