WHY THE VIDEO RECORDINGS ACT IS ILLEGAL

[eroticartist]

In the English Parliament before a law can be passed it has to be debated on the floor of the House. Also it is extremely rare and almost impossible for a Private Members Bill to become law and illegal if it is not debated first.

The passing of the Video Recordings Act 1984 (VRA) was a conspiracy by the Thatcher government. The reason was that the Obscene Publications Act ,the main state censorship device, was failing and juries were acquitting pornographers. I myself was acquitted for producing The Videx Video Show in 1983 a hardcore film. I said to the Director of Public Prosecutions "that I have smashed your Obscene Publications Act".

The state needed a new law that would be able to stop the flood of hardcore pornography into the UK. Mrs Thatcher hated porn and thought that it would corrupt the great British public.She stated that the "permissive society" was the greatest threat to our morals and way of life. This disciple of the free market wanted a free market in everything else but porn! Her friend was Mrs Mary Whitehouse the notorious anti Porn campaigner.They got together to draw up the VRA(Mrs Thatcher was a trained solicitor) which would stop the permissive society,born of the Sixties revolution,in its tracks.

A big campaign was started in the media against Video Nasties(horror films with a misogynistic plot) and there was a unholy alliance between the feminists,on the left and the right wing. How to get the Bill through
Parliament. Mrs Thatcher persuaded her Private Secretary, Graham Bright MP to introduce a Private Members Bill (PMB) . Thatcher conspired with her cronies and the media and the Video Recordings Bill sailed through Parliament unopposed and undebated. This had never happened before in the history of the house.

The consequences in the UK for filmmakers who desire to make films with explicit sex scenes is that the VRA requires them to submit their films to the BBFC in order to obtain a licence. If the film is then classified R18 it can only be sold in licensed sexshops and it is illegal to sell by mailorder. For this privilege producers are forced to pay approximately 20 Euros a minute.

With the invention of digital camcorders and editing systems the making of films has become democratic. It should be a revolutionary time for budding filmakers to enter the market and make money. However if they want to put their film on the market it must be sumitted to the BBFC, with an upfront non-refundable fee. The cutting crew issue a cuts list if the filmmaker has decided to include any forbidden images. For example, a fist entering a vagina. Some women have smaller fists than penises and this is only one example of state censorship in this country.

The BBFC is not an independent body,as described on its website, but a state institution controlled by the Home Office who issue the criteria for censorship.

The rest of the European market have abolished such censorship years ago, Denmark being the first in 1969 after Dr Berl Kutchinsky of the Copenhagen Department of Forensic Science presented his findings on the effects of pornography The reason everyone in Europe followed the Danish experiment was that sex crimes against women dropped dramatically when pornography became widely available.Now here in the 21st centure British filmakers are still controlled by an illegal, artificial censorship device the VRA 1984.

Mike Freeman.

[one eyed jack]

Christ Mike! You make a damn good point...Why dont you join us over at www.ukadultproducers.com it would be nice to have someone with a bit of fire in his belly and you are a legend from the 70's come over and join the good fight.

I'd like to think UK Adult Prouders is making at least a tremor at this point thanks to Phil Black and Red Zone for running away with organising the event...I think we can have some interesting dialogue Mike. Come on over.

[Officer Dibble]

"With the invention of digital camcorders and editing systems the making of films has become democratic."

Unfortunately, this is true, Mike - and it's one of the main reasons why contemporary porn is so horrid.



Officer Dibble

[Jacques]

Dont forget the Diamond Report which is so conveniently ignored.

[eroticartist]

One eye,

You are still stuck in the process of distributing DVDs to the wholesale distributors. You know that they will pirate your product and still be selling it years later withou buying any new stock. There is nothing legal you can do except stop supplying the pirates because they have an invoice proving that you sold them two hundred five years ago!

Distribute yourself and keep the rights of all the films that you make.

The VRA is illegal as I have proven and an association should be set up to repeal it. However you need an honest solicitor. They are out there if you look very hard.

Yours Sincerely,
Mike.

[eroticartist]

Remember David Bailey who used an ordinary Canon SLR when everyone else had one? Bringing democracy to filmmaking is a good thing and it is called "competition." The golden rule is to make good films, not cheap films, that you sell for 2K to some buy cheap sell dear merchant!
Quality will always win out in the long run.
Mike Freeman.

[Robches]

One small point, Thatch was a barrister, not a solicitor.

[eroticartist]

Jacques,
A good report that I have never read before. Interestingly Japan has a tradition of violent porn,submission of women,bondage and so on with one of the lowest sexual crimes rates in the world.
Mike.

[eroticartist]

Robches,
Thank you for informing that she was a barrister. It is peculiar that no-one seems to have any suggestions for the repeal of an act that makes a mockery of the free market enjoyed by the rest of the European Community!
Mike.

[eroticartist]

Any barristers, solicitors or others of that ilk got any suggestions for the repeal of an ilegal act of Parliament?
Mike.