Channel 4 Banned season
Encyclopedia
There have been two Channel 4 Banned seasons. The first aired in April 1991 over three weeks and saw the broadcast of a number of films and documentaries which had previously been banned from British television or cinema. The second was in 2004/2005 and consisted of a series of documentaries concerning the history of explicit and controversial material on British television.
(which was edited to remove some of the violent gang rape scene and the subsequent gory suicide of the victim), Monty Python's Life of Brian
(which was preceded by a warning that viewers may find the film's treatment of religious themes upsetting), the controversial documentary feature The Animals Film
and Derek Jarman's Sebastiane
and Jubilee
. There was also a second broadcast of the controversial 1988 Thames Television
documentary Death on the Rock
which investigated the shooting of three members of the IRA
by the SAS
in Gibraltar
. The season proved to be controversial and Channel 4 was investigated by the Obscene Publications Squad and referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions
.
documentaries
on the UK's Channel 4
in 2004
-2005
, examining the history of explicit and controversial material on British television, and its infiltration of the mainstream
.
These documentaries included (original airdate if known):
1991 Banned season
Banned was a series of programmes shown over a three week period in April 1991. The idea for the season was conceived as a statement about the censorship of broadcasting at the time. The season included network television showings of ScumScum (film)
Scum is a 1979 British crime drama film directed by Alan Clarke, portraying the brutality of life inside a British borstal. The story was originally made for the BBC's Play for Today strand in 1977, however due to the violence depicted in the film, it was withdrawn from broadcast...
(which was edited to remove some of the violent gang rape scene and the subsequent gory suicide of the victim), Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
(which was preceded by a warning that viewers may find the film's treatment of religious themes upsetting), the controversial documentary feature The Animals Film
The Animals Film
The Animals Film is a feature documentary film about the use of animals by human beings, directed by Victor Schonfeld and Myriam Alaux, and narrated by actress Julie Christie. The film was first released in 1981.-Synopsis:...
and Derek Jarman's Sebastiane
Sebastiane
Sebastiane is a controversial 1976 film written and directed by Derek Jarman and Paul Humfress. It portrays the events of the life of Saint Sebastian, including his iconic martyrdom by arrows. Most of the controversy surrounding the film derives from the homoeroticism portrayed between the soldiers...
and Jubilee
Jubilee (1977 film)
Jubilee is a 1977 cult film directed by Derek Jarman. It stars Jenny Runacre, Ian Charleson, and a host of punk rockers. The title refers to the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977.-Plot:...
. There was also a second broadcast of the controversial 1988 Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
documentary Death on the Rock
Death on the Rock
Death on the Rock is a British Academy Television Award-winning episode of Thames Television's current affairs series This Week, first aired by the British television network ITV on 28 April 1988. On 6 March 1988, three Irish Republican Army members, Danny McCann, Sean Savage and Mairéad Farrell,...
which investigated the shooting of three members of the IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
by the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. The season proved to be controversial and Channel 4 was investigated by the Obscene Publications Squad and referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
.
2004/2005 Banned season
The Channel 4 Banned season was a series of televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on the UK's Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 2004
2004 in television
The year 2004 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2004.For the American TV schedule, see: 2004–05 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:...
-2005
2005 in television
The year 2005 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2005.For the American TV schedule, see: 2005–06 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
, examining the history of explicit and controversial material on British television, and its infiltration of the mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
.
These documentaries included (original airdate if known):
- X-Rated: The Pop Videos They Tried to BanX-Rated: The Pop Videos They Tried to BanX-Rated: The Pop Videos They Tried to Ban was a 2004 British one-off television documentary examining controversial music videos. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 on Sunday 24 July 2004 as part of the Channel 4 Banned season.-Videos Featured:...
, 24 July 2004 — Music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s (IMDB page) - X-Rated, 9 December 2004 (possibly a.k.a. X-Rated: The Sex Films They Tried to Ban) — About films given the X certificate by the BBFC. (IMDB)
- X-Rated: The TV They Tried to BanX-Rated: The TV They Tried to BanX-Rated: The TV They Tried to Ban was a 2005 British one-off television documentary examining controversial material on British television. It was first broadcast on Channel 4, at 10pm on Sunday 6 March 2005, as part of their "Banned" season, and was approx...
, 6 March 2005 — A history of television programmes that caused controversy, pushed boundaries or were banned in some way. - X-Rated: Top 20 Most Controversial TV Moments, March 2005 — Similar to the above, but measuring the number of complaints that programmes received (IMDB)
- Banned in the UK, 7, 8, 9, 10 March 2005 — Four-part series demonstrating different kinds of censorshipCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, such as censorship by the government or of artArtArt is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. (IMDB) - X-Rated: The Ads They Couldn't Show — TV advertisementsTelevision advertisementA television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
that were controversial, or banned from UK broadcast due to their content.