Homosexuals, Zombies and Porn....OH MY!

As you may or may not have guessed the title of this post is referring to the new gay zombie film, 'LA Zombie', which has sparked controversy in Australia. Australia of all places..... I always thought we were a nation that wholeheartedly supported gay dead people having sex and I'm outraged. I mean c'mon hasn't anyone seen 'Vampire Lesbian Killers', I'm sure that one was a hit with men everywhere.

All jokes aside, The Sydney Morning Herald published the article 'Gay zombie porn to screen in Melbourne', this week.

Zombies...Source: Wikimedia Commons

Here is the link....http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/gay-zombie-porn-to-screen-in-melbourne-20100811-11zu9.html

QUICK SUMMARY OF ARTICLE: Director, Bruce LaBruce's (no I didn't make that name up) film, 'LA Zombie',  "was refused classification', which means that it is illegal to screen it here, in Australia. This is significant because it was supposed to air at Melbourne International Film Festival, but the censors stepped in saying that it was inappropriate. According to the title of the article, this is due to the fact the film is 'Gay zombie porn'. So the Director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival has stepped in saying he will screen the film regardless of the fact that it is illegal. He says he will not release the venue until the last minute so the police will have less chance of shutting down the event. That's pretty much the story...

I have to admit I was instantly drawn to the article because of the title. In class, we have been learning about news values. For instance, currency (eg. how hot is the topic in the media), consonance, conflict, proximity and novelty. I believe that this story contains all of the above. I think that the story has currency because censorship and classification are always big stories in the media. Also, there is normally controversy surrounding these stories. There is another aspect that I also think needs mentioning. The 'Twilight' series of movies has brought about a huge fan base for films with supernatural themes. Thus families could be  concerned that this sort of film will influence children to see the film etc.  The story contains conflict for obvious reasons. Film director vs. classification board....Underground Film Festival Director vs. police.
Proximity is relevant because the situation is unfolding in Melbourne, Australia. Thus the Australian public will have an invested interested in the outcome. Novelty is possible the most obvious news value in the article. I always find myself drawn to the articles with quirky, attention-grabbing title and I think this journalist has done that well.

The article is also interesting in relation to the fact that the film was refused classification. We are currently learning about media regulation in a media and ethics class and I am fascinated over what constitutes an 'unclassifable' film!

Overall, I think the article was written very well and I enjoyed reading it. Probably due to its quirky nature!

Source: Wikimedia Commons...Zombies as portrayed in the movie 'Night of the Living Dead'

I don't know about you but these sort of articles sure seem to drum up alot of publicity for films and television a great deal of the time...but after reading the article I do have to say I'm intrigued and  a part of me wants to see this film. Lets just say i probably won't be attending the ''public disobedience freedom of speech event'' though. For those of you who are, expect lots of fake blood-soaked clothing and people looking as if they are severely intoxicated.