Globalisation doesn’t mean that everyone has to think the same way. What is acceptable in one culture might not be so in another. In fact, it can be downright offensive.
This is particularly true in the UAE, which attracts people from all over the world. The culture here is rooted in the values of Islam; by the standards of some places it may seem conservative.
It would certainly seem so in Hollywood, which has always enjoyed pushing back the barriers of taste in almost any direction you care to mention. But people enjoy going to the cinema and have always wanted to see the latest international hit.
This is where the Ministry of Information and Culture comes in; or at least it did in 1976, when this photograph appeared in Al Ittihad, our Arabic-language sister newspaper.
The man pictured is cutting out sections of a newly released film that it is felt would cause offence to viewers in the UAE. The name of the film is not given but releases in 1976 included Fellini’s Casanova, Logan’s Run and Taxi Driver, all of which might have needed the occasional snip.
* James Langton
