Media Musings

Egypt bans The Matrix

by andrew on Jun.11, 2003, under Films

BBC NEWS | Egypt bans ‘too religious’ Matrix

The press launched a campaign to stop showing the movie, saying that it reflects Zionist ideas

Wael Abdel Fatah
Egyptian film critic
A statement said: “Despite the high technology and fabulous effects of the movie, it explicitly handles the issue of existence and creation, which are related to the three divine religions, which we all respect and believe in.”

The movie “tackles the issue of the creator and his creations, searching the origin of creation and the issue of compulsion and free will,” it said.

“Such religious issues, raised in previous times, caused crises.”

Good luck trying to “unite” the Middle East and the West on one common goal then.

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If only…

by andrew on Jun.10, 2003, under Films

Joi Ito’s Web: The guy in Memento should have had a blog

If only the guy in Memento had a blog…

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“Let’s start a war” - not on The Box, despite Electric Six’s best efforts

by andrew on Jun.09, 2003, under Music, Television, Weird

This is bizarre - I’m watching the video for Electric Six’s Gay Bar on The Box (one of those video jukebox channels). For those not in the know, it’s an exceedingly silly if funny and catchy song - and if I tell you that the video has multiple topless Abraham Lincolns singing “I want to take you to a gay bar”, then you’ll know it’s not exactly going to bring the Establishment down.

However, The Box has seen fit to censor - at 1.10am on a Monday morning, when normal kids are all wrapped up in bed ready for school - the song. And which lyrics have they decided to censor?

The ones which go “Let’s start a war… .a nuclear war…” - instead, it just replaces it with the sound of a whip.

Of all the things to get offended about, this gets silly…

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Pure 24 and the terrible Tamsin Sylvester…

by andrew on Jun.09, 2003, under Television

I’ve already ranted and raved on the BBC messageboard about just why Tamsin Sylvester should be frogmarched from the Pure 24 “studios” and sent back to simpering about clothes on Liquid News or whatever else she does normally.

She gives entertainment journalism - and hell, female presenters - a bad name because:
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Revisiting Fight Club…

by andrew on Jun.07, 2003, under Films

One of the fun things in life is rewatching a film with a “twist” ending or some kind of superlative thing with someone who hasn’t seen it before - especially someone for whom great film-making is usually something like Final Destination 2 or Home Alone.

Right now, it’s Saturday night, neither of us have la money, so my flatmate and I are rewatching Fight Club. And he looks totally flummoxed so far - not too sure if he “gets” it or not. Which ruins the theory of enlightening people via great art. ..
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