Film: (Un)acceptable: Censorship in Film

Thursday 20 May, 20:00 – 21:00

Speaker: Rudi de Boer (film expert)

What role has censorship played in film history, both in and outside of Hollywood? What are we not allowed to see and why? Film expert Rudi de Boer will discuss both the history and the current status of censorship in film.

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In the 1930s, a number of rules were established within Hollywood that filmmakers had to adhere to. Until the end of the 1960s, there was very strict censorship. Any filmmaker that did not follow the rules could forget about having their film released. In 1968, a film rating system was established, comparable to the Dutch Kijkwijzer.

But censorship did not disappear. Did you know that, for example, many Disney, Pixar, and Marvel films (classics and recent) have undergone some censorship? What about censorship in the rest of the world? For example, India, China or here in Europe? What are we not allowed to see and why?

Censorship, in simple terms, is the suppression of certain parts of a film that have the potential of being politically unacceptable, offensive, or threatening to society. It is a controversial and hotly-debated issue in the film industry, with no solution in sight. Film expert Rudi de Boer will discuss its history and current status.

Rudi de Boer studied Theatre, Film, and Television Sciences at Utrecht University. While there, he specialized in film history and his love of Alfred Hitchcock films was born. Since then and for the past 15 years, he has been teaching anything and everything related to film.

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