This post was taken from Carlo Cielo's Facebook Page Notes
Questions are from Aya Baclao
Emphasis and comments are mine
1.) What is your personal view with regard to MTRCB’s regulations against nude films?
They've been irrelevant, really. We've had proliferation of nudity in media for quite some time now, or at least iterations of it. So much, it’s become a staple in our culture and our arts. You can even say we’ve been saturated by it. Billboards are full of this stuff, even if they’re more of suggested. Plus, anyone can just look for it on the net, if they’re really into that thing.
[Allow me to post some of these so called "Family noon time variety shows" that were allowed by the MTRCB, mind you that these shows were rated as PG "Parental Guidance"]
[While this show "My Husband's Lover", is categorized under SPG "Stricly Parental Guidance programming. I may not agree on the show's premise due to personal and faith-based beliefs, but this kind of "double standard" that MTRCB employs is just disturbing
Not so much the sex, though – those you don’t see much. But then again, there’s the cell phones and the dirty CDs, and the internet. And yes, they have a debilitating character about them.
So yes, if their censoring is supposed to protect us from this stuff, to keep us from being corrupted by it, then they have failed. Pinoys are probably more well-versed in sex scandals than Lav Diaz’ movies ( and those were known worldwide ), which rendered, say, the X rating for his ‘Death In The Land of Encantos’ extremely pointless in that regard. If censoring it for its nudity was even the intent.
‘Coz it’s not so much as their attitude to nudity that is the problem, as their controlling the Filipino masses.
[We have schools, religious groups and even politicians joining in this bandwagon of promoting the good ol' fun "moral" and "clean" Filipino Family friendly types of programming. Heaven forbid! If we allow such scenes such as nudity and sex in our screen, or even in our community for these types of films are immature and pornographic to say the least!]
[This so called "Filipino Family Morally Clean" culture is a perversion and illusion of the actual state of the Filipino Masses in this age and time. These so called "preventive" censorship tools that seeks to IMPOSE such "Judeo-Christian, which is obviously not the same set of values that everyone holds" acceptable behavior upon Filipinos is just a pretension, why censor Sex scenes and nude scenes from Films that are essential to their story lines and messages, while at the same time allow show girls and half naked men and women strip almost bare naked at noon time variety shows while jiggling their "stuffs." If you ask me, the greater evil is this kind of mentality that allows and even promotes this kind of objectification of human beings as compared to a 10 second scene wherein the Breasts or the Vagina is exposed to the screen.]
2.) Do you think imposing censorship upon movies hinder the development of Philippines’ movie and TV industry?
Well, obviously. First, because it’s a sign of immaturity. Look at the TV of first world countries, and then look at ours. It’s almost become a call sign, if not a red flag, that we are a developing nation, we are at the bottom of the barrel, that we could not be left alone to grapple with our sexuality and aggression enough to be comfortable with images of these on screen. Is that how we want to present ourselves to civilizations? And I thought we live in the 21st century.
[This kind of uneasiness towards proper discourse of sexuality in the public sphere probably stems out from the misunderstanding of the Catholic Church's teaching on the body and its value. The Church has never condemned "nakedness" or "sex" as a bad thing. Look at medieval architecture and paintings and you would be bombarded by celebrated artists who painted nude subjects, saints and even Jesus at that!]
[What the Church condemns instead is the objectification of the human body. To present and expose it in such a way that it devalues the dignity of the human being. Thus, there is a tendency among religious authorities and even those pretentious politicians who bear "moral standards" to twist and misunderstand this basic teaching of Judeo-Christian values. They therefore take a "legalistic" view that every form of "sex" or "nakedness" is "evil" and must not be shown. This is a very Protestant almost close to Gnostic understanding on human sexuality]
Furthermore, it’s a sign of how moribund our state is, and how semi-feudal and semi-colonial it is. That it has to infantilize us all for all eternity, lest the ‘bad man’, that is OUR NATURES, take over us, and unshackle us from their chains, so to speak.
So it proceeds to direct its fear on its constituents. The peons lap that up, sure, but not the rest.
Besides, it is counter-intuitive. It weakens people in the face of REALITIES, instead of mentally arming people for them, so they’d be able to do shit about it. And part of it has to do with normalizing the nudity and the sex and the violent imagery, so they’d look at those things a bit more clinically.
Also if you make, say, ‘nudie films’, out to be bad, then they BECOME bad. And how. That attitude messed up the ‘70s and the ‘80s. And much of the current indie scene.
Why can’t we be more like Hong Kong or South Korea, instead of a frickin’ dungeon?
[This kind of attitude and misconception towards Indie Cinema is seen in the Filipino Masses. When you talk, discuss or merely mention the word "Indie" to them, they would automatically think about sex, nudity, homosexuality and such. This kind of categorization of the Independent Cinema Movement LIMITS and BOXES in the movement, preventing it to grow and develop on its own. Its effects upon the movement is not just the construction of false perceptions from the potential audience, but also the societal pressure towards the film makers who, rather than focusing on telling a story and bringing a message, are forced to embeed "indie elements" towards their films, which are useless and does not contribute to the story, so as to exploit this niche market.]
3.) Do you think MTRCB’s scope of authority should be amended? Why or why not?
Its scope should be amended to such a point that its powers be redefined from ‘censorship’ to ‘classification’ - again and again - until it goes away. It also must do away with its ‘X rating’ crap, since its statutes have been exposed as mere politics and are insultingly vague. For this, I would refer you to the proposal by the Makabayan bloc and some artists, of ‘MTCB’ ( Movie Television and Classification Board ) taking its place.
Plus, I think it should answer for its political abuses during the Arroyo regime.
4) If you have the power to makeover MTRCB’s attitude towards nude films, what will you do? Please justify your answer.
MTRCB shouldn’t be too fixated with ‘nude films’ and neither should you. It shouldn’t bow down to the moralist pigs who are making them do so. MTRCB is supposed to educate and lead, not rush to the back of the line, at the first hints of repression.
Which I why it should relax its restrictions on nudity and sex, as well as the violence, if not remove these completely. As a matter of fact, I’d rather it allowed graphic sex and nudity in our TV shows. Sure, it may worsen shows like Wowowillie ( currently dead ). But it will lead to maturation of programming as we know it, as well as appreciation of content, since this also means taking new paths and venturing into new televisual territory. Like what has occurred to U.S. television with its nudity prone yet very brilliant ‘Sopranos’ and ‘Game of Thrones’. And with our better indie films which didn’t need to think of itself as ‘nudie’ in order to feel easy around its nude parts. Not to mention our storied literary history, which is full of intelligent filth.
Sometimes, we should just let our culture air itself out, so it can find its way enough to move past pre-pubescence. So far, we are reduced to perennial 12 year olds, still giggling at pictures at frickin’ FHM.
Personally, I’d rather the MTRCB was abolished, and not be replaced by anything. It’s been more of a political tool, and we’re done with that shit. Better to leave it up to the filmmakers to deal with their content, and to the audience to properly respond. There is no ‘ratings system’ for books, and none should apply to films.
[This is where I probably disagree with Mr. Cielo's propositions, although I also call for the removal of these ridiculous regulations on censorship, I am also concerned towards on the big media corporations attitude towards the entertainment industry. You remove a regulating or police industry, these corporations would stop at nothing and would show no mercy to the point of extreme exploitation and de-valuing of human beings for the sake of capitalistic profit and gain. Thus I also call for a "Self-Regulating" commission equally composed of different media groups. Everyone should be represented and their powers be limited as such to CLASSIFICATION alone. Merely an advisory body NOTHING MORE. Although the immediate abolition of the MTRCB seems tempting, it seems that the only way this country could be truly progressive in its entertainment industry is by transitioning slowly.]
[In the end, the public should be aware of its own collective power and act upon against those who seek to gain political and intellectual advantage through politicizing small governing regulatory groups. Rather than a small governing body that regulates, the state should exert its efforts on EDUCATING the masses and doing away with this semi-colonial and hypocritical sensibilities towards human sexuality and violence.]
[The world's ugly reality can be beautifully exposed so that people would be made more aware of the ugliness, disgust and injustice around them. This could inspire them to do something than to sit on their asses and laugh like there's no tomorrow. If this trend is to continue....
then indeed there can be no tomorrow.]
-DGQ
Questions are from Aya Baclao
Emphasis and comments are mine
1.) What is your personal view with regard to MTRCB’s regulations against nude films?
They've been irrelevant, really. We've had proliferation of nudity in media for quite some time now, or at least iterations of it. So much, it’s become a staple in our culture and our arts. You can even say we’ve been saturated by it. Billboards are full of this stuff, even if they’re more of suggested. Plus, anyone can just look for it on the net, if they’re really into that thing.
[Allow me to post some of these so called "Family noon time variety shows" that were allowed by the MTRCB, mind you that these shows were rated as PG "Parental Guidance"]
 |
| Eat Bulaga |
 |
| Eat Bulaga |
 |
| Showtime |
[While this show "My Husband's Lover", is categorized under SPG "Stricly Parental Guidance programming. I may not agree on the show's premise due to personal and faith-based beliefs, but this kind of "double standard" that MTRCB employs is just disturbing
 |
| My Husband's Lover |
So yes, if their censoring is supposed to protect us from this stuff, to keep us from being corrupted by it, then they have failed. Pinoys are probably more well-versed in sex scandals than Lav Diaz’ movies ( and those were known worldwide ), which rendered, say, the X rating for his ‘Death In The Land of Encantos’ extremely pointless in that regard. If censoring it for its nudity was even the intent.
‘Coz it’s not so much as their attitude to nudity that is the problem, as their controlling the Filipino masses.
[We have schools, religious groups and even politicians joining in this bandwagon of promoting the good ol' fun "moral" and "clean" Filipino Family friendly types of programming. Heaven forbid! If we allow such scenes such as nudity and sex in our screen, or even in our community for these types of films are immature and pornographic to say the least!]
 |
| Wowowillie, frequented by politicians, elementary and high school classes and even some religious groups celebrating their xx anniversary |
 |
| This as you see has a PG rating...because...well just BECAUSE! |
 |
| A Barangay presentation, thanking its whole barangay for the support that they had given! |
 |
| Magpapahuli ba ang DENR! Siyempre! Celebrate tayo lahat! Ibalik natin ang sigla ng Kagubatan! |
2.) Do you think imposing censorship upon movies hinder the development of Philippines’ movie and TV industry?
Well, obviously. First, because it’s a sign of immaturity. Look at the TV of first world countries, and then look at ours. It’s almost become a call sign, if not a red flag, that we are a developing nation, we are at the bottom of the barrel, that we could not be left alone to grapple with our sexuality and aggression enough to be comfortable with images of these on screen. Is that how we want to present ourselves to civilizations? And I thought we live in the 21st century.
[This kind of uneasiness towards proper discourse of sexuality in the public sphere probably stems out from the misunderstanding of the Catholic Church's teaching on the body and its value. The Church has never condemned "nakedness" or "sex" as a bad thing. Look at medieval architecture and paintings and you would be bombarded by celebrated artists who painted nude subjects, saints and even Jesus at that!]
 |
| HEAVEN FORBID! A PENIS! |
 |
| A Painting in the SISTINE CHAPEL...you know? Where they elect the next Pope and all... |
Furthermore, it’s a sign of how moribund our state is, and how semi-feudal and semi-colonial it is. That it has to infantilize us all for all eternity, lest the ‘bad man’, that is OUR NATURES, take over us, and unshackle us from their chains, so to speak.
So it proceeds to direct its fear on its constituents. The peons lap that up, sure, but not the rest.
Besides, it is counter-intuitive. It weakens people in the face of REALITIES, instead of mentally arming people for them, so they’d be able to do shit about it. And part of it has to do with normalizing the nudity and the sex and the violent imagery, so they’d look at those things a bit more clinically.
Also if you make, say, ‘nudie films’, out to be bad, then they BECOME bad. And how. That attitude messed up the ‘70s and the ‘80s. And much of the current indie scene.
Why can’t we be more like Hong Kong or South Korea, instead of a frickin’ dungeon?
[This kind of attitude and misconception towards Indie Cinema is seen in the Filipino Masses. When you talk, discuss or merely mention the word "Indie" to them, they would automatically think about sex, nudity, homosexuality and such. This kind of categorization of the Independent Cinema Movement LIMITS and BOXES in the movement, preventing it to grow and develop on its own. Its effects upon the movement is not just the construction of false perceptions from the potential audience, but also the societal pressure towards the film makers who, rather than focusing on telling a story and bringing a message, are forced to embeed "indie elements" towards their films, which are useless and does not contribute to the story, so as to exploit this niche market.]
3.) Do you think MTRCB’s scope of authority should be amended? Why or why not?
Its scope should be amended to such a point that its powers be redefined from ‘censorship’ to ‘classification’ - again and again - until it goes away. It also must do away with its ‘X rating’ crap, since its statutes have been exposed as mere politics and are insultingly vague. For this, I would refer you to the proposal by the Makabayan bloc and some artists, of ‘MTCB’ ( Movie Television and Classification Board ) taking its place.
Plus, I think it should answer for its political abuses during the Arroyo regime.
4) If you have the power to makeover MTRCB’s attitude towards nude films, what will you do? Please justify your answer.
MTRCB shouldn’t be too fixated with ‘nude films’ and neither should you. It shouldn’t bow down to the moralist pigs who are making them do so. MTRCB is supposed to educate and lead, not rush to the back of the line, at the first hints of repression.
Which I why it should relax its restrictions on nudity and sex, as well as the violence, if not remove these completely. As a matter of fact, I’d rather it allowed graphic sex and nudity in our TV shows. Sure, it may worsen shows like Wowowillie ( currently dead ). But it will lead to maturation of programming as we know it, as well as appreciation of content, since this also means taking new paths and venturing into new televisual territory. Like what has occurred to U.S. television with its nudity prone yet very brilliant ‘Sopranos’ and ‘Game of Thrones’. And with our better indie films which didn’t need to think of itself as ‘nudie’ in order to feel easy around its nude parts. Not to mention our storied literary history, which is full of intelligent filth.
Sometimes, we should just let our culture air itself out, so it can find its way enough to move past pre-pubescence. So far, we are reduced to perennial 12 year olds, still giggling at pictures at frickin’ FHM.
Personally, I’d rather the MTRCB was abolished, and not be replaced by anything. It’s been more of a political tool, and we’re done with that shit. Better to leave it up to the filmmakers to deal with their content, and to the audience to properly respond. There is no ‘ratings system’ for books, and none should apply to films.
 |
| From Wikipedia.com... If you laugh at this, that means you're still a child inside.... kawawa naman...loljk |
[In the end, the public should be aware of its own collective power and act upon against those who seek to gain political and intellectual advantage through politicizing small governing regulatory groups. Rather than a small governing body that regulates, the state should exert its efforts on EDUCATING the masses and doing away with this semi-colonial and hypocritical sensibilities towards human sexuality and violence.]
[The world's ugly reality can be beautifully exposed so that people would be made more aware of the ugliness, disgust and injustice around them. This could inspire them to do something than to sit on their asses and laugh like there's no tomorrow. If this trend is to continue....
then indeed there can be no tomorrow.]
-DGQ
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