Middle East continue to ban movies due to presence of LGBT couple — resident reaction

(journalistic piece: interview)

Highly anticipated horror franchise continuation is nally here with new Scream VI movie. A
lot of fans of horror were exited to see what new movie will bring to popular Scream horror
franchise, horror movies that began in 1996 with the release of the rst lm, directed by Wes
Craven. The franchise consists of six main movies and a TV series adaptation. The lms center
around a masked killer known as "Ghostface" who terrorizes the ctional town of Woodsboro,
California, targeting high school students and other young adults. The franchise is known for its
self-referential and meta approach to the horror genre, as well as its blend of horror and comedy.
The movies have been praised for their clever writing, suspenseful scenes, and iconic characters,
including the franchise's lead protagonist, Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell. The latest
installment, Scream VI, has faced controversy due to its portrayal of LGBT characters. Scream VI
has been banned in the Middle East because of LGBT characters. It was initially delayed to April
13, and now has been o cially banned. Paramount refused to censor anything. We interviewed
former resident of one of the Middle East countries, he is 18 year old gay man and he wished to
remain anonymous.

— What is your reaction to the news that ScreamVI has been banned in the Middle East due
to LGBT characters?

— My initial reaction was disappointment, in a society such as this one you’d think that even in
places like the Middle East, where I used to live, they would start having more leniency towards
LGBT characters and topics since it really doesn’t cause any harm. It’s so disappointing and news
like this make me very happy that I no longer live there.

— Do you believe that it's fair for a movie to be banned solely because of LGBT
representation and not blood killings and other horrible things, that usually happen in horror
movies?

— I believe it’s not fair, especially in a horror movie where many other things are more harmful
than a kiss between two girls. And even in general, there are topics in which it’s understandable
for bans to happen; extreme violence, extreme sex scenes, etc. But banning a whole movie for a
single kiss is ridiculous.

— Paramount Pictures reportedly refused to censor anything in the movie. Do you think
that's the right approach, or should studios be more willing to make changes to ensure their
lms are shown in certain countries?

— I think it’s a really good approach, as it shows that Paramount is proud of having included that
moment in the movie, and that it is an important part of the movie itself. It proves to the world that
they believe in keeping their movie however they chose to make it instead of censoring it for other
audiences. This is huge, seeing as certain countries might stop having a lot of movies shown, and
maybe have the government change their views, even if that is extremely unlikely and if it ever
happens, it’ll take years, maybe even decades. But it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
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— In your opinion, what impact do bans like this have on the representation of LGBT people
in media?

— Seeing someone like you in a movie or a TV show helps people be happier with themselves, it
creates a sort of connection to this show too, so when LGBT representation is being banned,
there will no doubt be higher depression rates in youth, as they will be treated like anomalies.
Representation doesn’t only help the people it is representing, it also helps normalise it for other
people too.

— What role do you think lm censorship plays in society? Should governments be able to
dictate what can and cannot be shown in movies?

— While it’s important that content in movies is looked over, I do not believe that governments
should be able to go and ban movies. They’re not stopping people from watching them, they’re
only encouraging to watch these movies illegally. Film censorship has always been a real issue
that a lot of people heavily dislike, as it completely ruins the original vision of the director and
writers, it will completely change the viewing experience. And again, it only encourages illegal
movie websites.
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