Page 1004 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 1990
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guidelines for the portrayal of violence in films and videotapes, in particular under the "R" classification.
This motion arose out of the debate on X-rated videos. It seemed to me that the issue of what was available in other classifications was being well and truly overlooked in that debate and, in fact, much of the correspondence that I received on X-rated videos reflected the misleading way in which the debate has been conducted. Perhaps that has been deliberate, perhaps not; but it certainly included the suggestion that so-called "video nasties", involving sexual violence, are available under the X classification.
Mr Speaker, when I looked at the classification guidelines and I thought about the kind of material that is available under the R rating, it seemed to me that film and video violence was probably a greater problem than the explicit depiction of sexual activity between consenting adults. Certainly, from the tone of much of the correspondence that I have had, it is the violence that upsets a great many people.
For the record, Mr Speaker, I might just read the guidelines on X- and R-rated videos so that the Assembly can see the difference. For R-rated, in relation to violence, the guidelines specifically say:
Highly realistic and explicit depictions of violence may be shown, but only if not unduly detailed, relished or cruel ...
They may be shown. In relation to sex, the guidelines say:
Depictions of sexual violence are acceptable only to the extent that they are necessary to the narrative and are not exploited ...
They are acceptable under the R classification.
By way of contrast, if we look at the guidelines for X-rated, they say:
No depiction of sexual violence, coercion or non-consent of any kind is permitted in this classification.
That is a very clear statement, but one that quite obviously has not been widely understood in the debate on the effects of X-rated videos and particularly the effects in relation to violence.
There has, indeed, been a long-standing debate about the effect of viewing violence on television and it has often been concluded that children's viewing of television violence desensitises them and makes violence more acceptable to them. Details of these arguments are set out at length in the Commonwealth Parliament's report of the
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