‘ET: The Extra-Terrestrial’ was given an 11+ rating in Sweden, with the country’s chief censor citing the film’s ‘threatening and frightening atmosphere’ as the reason. Getty
‘ET: The Extra-Terrestrial’ was given an 11+ rating in Sweden, with the country’s chief censor citing the film’s ‘threatening and frightening atmosphere’ as the reason. Getty
‘ET: The Extra-Terrestrial’ was given an 11+ rating in Sweden, with the country’s chief censor citing the film’s ‘threatening and frightening atmosphere’ as the reason. Getty
‘ET: The Extra-Terrestrial’ was given an 11+ rating in Sweden, with the country’s chief censor citing the film’s ‘threatening and frightening atmosphere’ as the reason. Getty

Delving into the bizarre world of censorship: 6 times films got cut or banned


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Disney's Christopher Robin could be the latest victim of China's ongoing battle with Winnie the Pooh, the portly, honey-loving bear created by A A Milne. The film has been denied a release in Chinese cinemas, with censors in the country giving no official reason for the decision.

China does operate a strict quota on how many foreign films are allowed to be released in cinemas each year, which could explain the film’s absence, but equally, the film could have fallen victim to an ongoing campaign to keep the bubbly yellow bear out of the media ever since memes began to surface comparing Milne’s loveable ursine buddy to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In 2015, political analyst Global Risk Insights declared a photo of President Xi in a motorcade, with Winnie in a toy car riding alongside, as ­"China's most censored photo", and ­China's opposition has since taken to comparing the two figures with some gusto, resulting in a de facto ban from Chinese state media on images of the bear, including on China's equivalent of Twitter, Weibo.

Disney has also declined to comment on the decision, perhaps understandably – the company has already taken billions at the Chinese box office, which briefly overtook the US to become the world's biggest earlier this year, with its tent-pole properties such as the Marvel franchise. Avengers: Infinity War alone took US$360 million (Dh1.32bn) in China in May, so it's predictable that the studio wouldn't lose too much sleep over a niche film dealing with century-old British characters that are probably unknown to Chinese audiences outside of the emergent political discourse.

We will probably never know the full story behind Christopher Robin-gate, but if "Pooh-­ranoia" is involved, it wouldn't be the first time a movie or TV show had been censored or restricted for unusual reasons. Here are some examples from around the world.

'ET: The Extra-Terrestrial’ – Sweden, Finland and Norway

Most people consider Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic ET: The Extra-Terrestrial to be not only a children's movie, but also one of the greatest children's movies of all time. Spielberg's tale of a stranded alien who befriends a group of children in his efforts to return to his home planet had the audience at its Cannes premiere on their feet for a 15-minute standing ovation, and none other than Princess Diana reportedly had to have her make-up fixed after witnessing the movie's weepier moments.

Nordic censors are not "most people," however. In Sweden, the film was given an 11+ rating, not because of those weepy bits, or because young viewers might perhaps be scared by ET's wrinkly alien features, but because, according to the censor's report at the time, the mission to outwit government agencies and return ET home "portrays adults as enemies of children."

Sweden's chief censor at the time, Gunnel Arrback, elaborated further to AP following the decision, citing the film's "threatening and frightening atmosphere". Sweden wasn't alone. Norway's censors went even further, rating the film as suitable for children ages 12+, while Finland opted for an 8+. Much of the rest of Europe gave the film a more predictable "universal" rating, and the Nordic press at the time was awash with reports of children sneaking into screenings with their parents by pretending to be of the requisite age.

‘Leave It to Beaver’ – United States

There's an urban myth that has gained popularity with pop-­culture geeks and fans of personal hygiene alike that 1950s family sitcom Leave It to Beaver was the first show on US TV to show a toilet.

Even as recently as the 1970s, just a bathroom, let alone an actual toilet, was a rare site on US TV, thanks to the major networks' standards and practices groups. Right up to 1974, The Brady Bunch all bathed in a bathroom that was strangely devoid of such a device. It's no surprise that the Leave It to Beaver claims aren't entirely factual then. They have some basis in truth, but the toilet in question was actually censored.

The intended first episode of the long-running show, in 1957, was pulled from the air, then reshot because of its original plan to show a toilet in which the show's protagonists, Wally and Beaver, were keeping a baby alligator hidden from their parents. After much debate with the network, CBS, and in light of the limited viable alligator hiding places in the average American home, the scenes were reshot with the alligator hidden in the cistern, and only the top of the tank shown.

Every movie not made in Uganda – Uganda

Of the many atrocities of Idi Amin's regime, it's probably fair to assume that banning foreign films is low on the list of the average Ugandan who lived through the era. Nonetheless, in 1972, Amin did just that, ruling that only films made in Uganda could be shown in the country's cinemas as the rest were full of "imperialist propaganda". Given that the first Ugandan film is generally cited as Ashraf Ssemwogerere's 2005 Feelings Struggle, cinema didn't exactly thrive during the era.

An unexpected side effect of Amin's decree was that theatre began to flourish in the country, though presumably working on the basis that all art is political, it wasn't long before Amin and his supporters then embarked on a string of killings and exiles of playwrights and actors, beginning with Byron Kawadwa, after his tale of high-level corruption, A Song of a Chicken, in 1973.

‘Monkey Business’ – Ireland

A scene from the Marx Brothers film 'Monkey Business.' Getty
A scene from the Marx Brothers film 'Monkey Business.' Getty

The Marx Brothers' classic 1931 comedy Monkey Business sees the bumbling quartet causing mayhem aboard an ocean liner, having stowed away on board for reasons unknown. There's no real plot to speak of, and the brothers' characters aren't even given names, aside from "The Stowaways", as they embark on an hour-and-a-half of surreal comic mayhem in their own inimitable style.

Harmless enough, you would think, but not for the Irish Film Board, who banned the film on the grounds that it would "promote anarchic tendencies". Admittedly, it was a time of high tensions in Ireland, with fascism and communism both on the rise across Europe, and both the Irish Civil and Independence wars still a recent memory, but the idea that four grown men acting like children on the open seas might spark an armed insurgency seems a little extreme. The ban was eventually lifted in 2000, by which time the competition for comedy audiences included Scary Movie and O Brother, Where Art Though? Times, and audiences, had moved on.

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Read more:

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Every movie starring Claire Danes – The Philippines

Brokedown Palace stars Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale as two western tourists who are arrested in Thailand for drug smuggling. The film was fairly critical of the Thai government, and producers couldn't obtain permission to shoot there. So they opted for the neighbouring Philippines instead. No one was surprised when the film was banned in Thailand on its release in 1999, but more surprising was then-Filipino president Joseph Estrada's decision to ban the film, and all other films starring Claire Danes, from his country's cinemas, in perpetuity, for a series of negative remarks she had made about Manila leading up to the release.

Danes described Manila as a "ghastly and weird city", and her time staying in a five-star hotel while shooting on a tropical island as "just so hard" in interviews with Vogue. Danes issued a half-hearted apology that was clearly drafted by 20th Century Fox's PR team, and Estrada didn't buy it. A government spokesman stated: "We know if an apology is true or not... We will lift the ban only if we are satisfied." That was in 1999, and the ban appears to remain in place, although Terminator 3 did sneak on to screens in 2003. Danes also remains banned from entering the Philippines.

‘Special People’ – UK

The UK currently has one of the most liberal film censorship regimes in the world, a far cry from the censors' 1980s heyday, when public panic over "video nasties" led to mass bans on some great horror films.

In contrast, today's censors allowed Tom Six's 2011 exploitative torture-fest The Human Centipede 2 to pass with a mere two-and-a-half minutes of cuts, while it was banned in much of the world. Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi's 2000 revenge flick Baise-Moi, too, was allowed to screen with 12 seconds of cuts, unlike in its homeland. The usually liberal French censors initially outright banned the film.

In place of bans, the very British censors seem to like to issue polite warnings about what you're about to see. Usually, this makes sense, with labels warning of violence, bad language, drug use and so on.

We're bewildered by what happened with 2008's Special People, though. The film features a majority disabled cast, and aimed to promote the inclusion of disabled actors in films. The British Board of Film Classification's response to this noble effort? They issued the film with a warning that it contains "disability themes". We have no idea what that is even supposed to mean.

Lowest Test scores

26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955

30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896

30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924

35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899

36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932

36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902

36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020

38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019

42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946

42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888

The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50

Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)

The%20specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDual%20permanently%20excited%20synchronous%20motors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E516hp%20or%20400Kw%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E858Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E485km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh699%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Lamsa

Founder: Badr Ward

Launched: 2014

Employees: 60

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: EdTech

Funding to date: $15 million

How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers

Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.

It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.

The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.

Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.

Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.

He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”

A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.

Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.

Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.

Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.

By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.

Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.

In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”

Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.

She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.

Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.

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How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20%E2%80%93%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

WHY%20AAYAN%20IS%20'PERFECT%20EXAMPLE'
%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Bob%20Marley%3A%20One%20Love
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The biog

Siblings: five brothers and one sister

Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota

Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym

Favourite place: UAE

Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera

What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books

ASHES SCHEDULE

First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)

The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Milkman by Anna Burns

Ordinary People by Diana Evans

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Circe by Madeline Miller

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Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)

Tips to keep your car cool
  • Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
  • Park in shaded or covered areas
  • Add tint to windows
  • Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
  • Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
  • Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat