SM Cinemas and R-18

There is a current debate going on about what can be shown by a cinema chain.

It started when a large chain of malls gave a statement that they will only show quality movies or family oriented movies, meaning no Filipino movie with an R-18 rating. In good faith, the management stated that they would like to create and maintain a family-oriented atmosphere within their malls. With a total of more than 100 theaters in Metro Manila alone, the SM mall chain effectively cut off the knees the trend of Pinoy "bold" or sexy movies. This development prompted some female sexy stars, their handlers/managers/publicists and their producers to protest that this will do harm to the industry -- and, by the way, also harm their incomes.

The censors board, also called the MTRCB, has stepped in and asked the SM Theater management to reconsider their policy. Now all kinds of statement are being said, including "human rights violations," "freedom of expression," "repression," etc. There was even an accusation that the mall chain was trying to dictate to the film industry and to the government what movies should be made in the country.

What these people conveniently forgot is that SM is a private convern. It is a business which has made a corporate decision. Whether that decision will make money in the long run is none of our concern. As consumers, it is our right to request, but if the vendor does not want to sell, or even stock, what we want, if the vendor does not have what we want, then we can only go to the next vendor and check out if they have what we want. It may be financial suicide. It may work out in the long run. I say, good luck to SM, for making a stand.

What this means for a lot of persons, even they do not have an idea. The movie industry and government is looking at it, again from a very short-term viewpoint. The short-term is that the current trend might be curtailed somewhat. But I believe that if they continue making these movies, because there is a perceived demand, then people will still watch them. And for the theater owners which have long complained that nobody goes to watch in their cinemas, this will, hopefully, make more money for them.

For the industry, it is time for them to rethink their current fare. Is it worth the money to make this film genre? Is the old paradigm, of making a quicky sex movie for the big screen and recouping investments within the month, still a viable formula?

The Philippine government (with a hell of a lot of movie personalities) should now take steps to segregate movie making to protect the industry, the theater owners and the viewing public. There was a suggestion before to make a "red-light" district sort of segregation, where R-18 or even X-rated movies can only be shown in "special" theaters or screenings.

For the viewing public, as long as movies are made, they have the power to choose which ones to watch. With the SM move, there is a perception that this has been taken away from them. Which is false. Instead, it has given the viewing public more power in choosing which movie to watch, and where.

As the ancient chinese curse goes, "may you live in interesting times."

--andoy