Fox movies: Censorship gone wild

We are used to censorship from government owned or patronized television channels in the Arab world, but what we were never prepared for was the kind of heavy handed 'overkill' censorship practiced by Western entertainment channels broadcasting to an Arab audience. Whether they follow State-supplied guidelines of what to censor and what not to censor, or whether they follow their own overzealous censorship guidelines, the end result is annoying and it detracts from the viewers enjoyment of the movie.

In the scene from ‘Night at the Museum 2’ where Larry and Amelia are speaking to ‘The Thinker’, the Rodin sculpture that came to life in the Smithsonian, a very visible smudge is seen over where the statue’s private parts would be. In the uncensored version, no offending dangly bits are visible. My question here is what exactly was the censor smudging over, an offending bit of thigh or abdomen? In fact the viewer would have been totally oblivious to that particular portion of ‘The Thinker’s’ anatomy had the smidge never existed.

What is concealed is always speculated about, thought on; it acts as a prod to the human imagination, an aspect of personal freedom untouched by the censor. In fact all that is hidden and forbidden will always be desired all the more. The whole scene from the film would have passed unnoticed, except that now everyone will focus on the smudge. Nice going Fox Movies, as subtle as a sledgehammer.

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