Using Underage Actor Bad: Film About Pedophilia OK
A friend sent me this; I am appalled that this so-called "art film" was even considered for public funding -- but the reason for NOT funding it is even worse. Thanks, HH, for this.
This is the kind of "culture" that leftists/Liberals/Canada's cultural elite seem to think is perfectly ACCEPTABLE--EVEN NORMAL--to fund, although, with an election looming, they have probably reconsidered its impact on the election.
This is the kind of slippery slope that has loosened the bonds of decency in Canada. The minute our governments become involved in funding this kind of activity under the guise of "culture" and "art", it has the same effect as letting the little things go -- things like allowing homelessness on the street and doing nothing about it. It is one of the ways of signalling an open attitude or a lack of boundaries in a society -- in all areas that used to have standards.
It is the kind of attitude that leans more toward sociological excuses for crime and criminals than toward protecting the innocent victims. Calling this "art" is but one step down that slippery slope to "Any behaviour is acceptable; anything goes". (See excerpt below for a link to the whole article by MacDonald on the little things that have exacerbated the problems in Toronto -- things like the homeless on the streets.)
Responding to media attention, the Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa (IFCO), a publicly funded group, has announced that it will not be providing funding for the pedophilia-themed film Last Night with Jesse. Filmmaker Ken Takahashi had requested a "major" grant from the group.
. . . the IFCO said the decision was based on "concerns that were legal in nature. On March 29, 2004, the IFCO Board met and decided to refuse the grant based on the inability of the filmmaker to provide assurances that the film would not contravene any existing law."
IFCO did not appear to be concerned about the immoral nature of the film rather than its possible illegality. It said,"The denial of the production service grant application is due to concerns that are legal in nature, and not due to the particular subject matter nor the recent media attention and pressures," the IFCO writes. "If the filmmaker is able to provide the assurances requested, he is able to resubmit his request for production support."
The IFCO also clarified that it "is a publicly funded organization" that provides monetary assistance to artists ".made possible through revenue generated by IFCO and is not funded by public funds." [. . . .]
Thanks to Ottawa city councillor for Bell-South Nepean, Jan Harder, for her efforts against funding this type of what is pushed onto Canadians as "art". It isn't ,and most Canadians would be horrified by funding this, I would think.
*** The film had been approved for funding by the selection jury of the IFCO, which gets public money from the Canada Council, the Ontario Council for the Arts and the City of Ottawa. ***
*** Sheila Pokiak, IFCO's executive director, said funding for the movie was denied because Takahashi was not able " to confirm whether he would use a minor or a person of the age of majority" in the film.
"If [Takahashi] were to have confirmed that he would use a person of the age of majority, we most likely would have approved it," Pokiak said. ***
Before you go any further, read that again. Think about what Pokiak is saying.
OTTAWA - A taxpayer-funded grant for a film depicting a sexual relationship between an adolescent boy and an older man has been pulled.
[. . . . ] The film had been approved for funding by the selection jury of the IFCO, which gets public money from the Canada Council, the Ontario Council for the Arts and the City of Ottawa.
But the group's board quashed the grant on Tuesday, saying the film's director, Ken Takahashi, couldn't confirm whether he planned to use a minor as an actor.
[. . . . ] In Toronto, provincial Culture Minister Madeleine Meilleur said she was "uncomfortable with government funding for any film that depicts a sexual relationship between an adult and a child."
In Ottawa, Jan Harder, councillor for Bell-South Nepean, led the attack against public funding for the film, threatening to withdraw municipal money from IFCO if the group approved the grant.
[. . . . ] Sheila Pokiak, IFCO's executive director, said funding for the movie was denied because Takahashi was not able " to confirm whether he would use a minor or a person of the age of majority" in the film.
"If [Takahashi] were to have confirmed that he would use a person of the age of majority, we most likely would have approved it," Pokiak said.
[. . . . Takahashi ] described his film as a coming-of-age story about "a relationship between an older man and an individual coming into sexual maturation."
Check into a film named "Bubbles" which, if I am not mistaken, celebrated hard-core lesbian love -- and was funded by Canada's culture vultures -- with taxpayer money (all, or in part), of course. If I am wrong, correct me. NJC
