Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
Encyclopedia
The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards (SPCS) is a conservative Christian-dominated organisation in New Zealand
. The Society's objectives include the encouragement of "self-respect and the dignity of the human person, made in the image of God", the "recognition of the sanctity of human life and its preservation in all stages", and the promotion of "wholesome personal values, including strong family life and the benefits of lasting marriage".
who was formerly a nun of the Roman Catholic Order of the Sisters of Mercy
. In 1996, she retired from the organisation, and lived quietly in Upper Hutt until her death in November 2000. Membership of SPCS rose to a peak of 25,000 in the 1970s. Since then, membership numbers have declined to its present steady level of about 400.
Its current President is John Mills, businessman and Elder of the Kapiti Christian Fellowship, and the Executive Director is David Lane. David Lane is the most active figure in the Society researching current issues in NZ society with the information gathered being used for press releases and submissions.
SPCS has issued media releases opposing civil unions, hate speech
bans, the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act, and the decriminalisation of sex work. The SPCS has repeatedly criticised Bill Hastings
, New Zealand's Chief Censor, the Office of Film and Literature Classification
(OFLC), and the Film and Literature Board of Review for what it believes to be their liberal application of censorship law. It has sought interim restriction orders (temporary injunctions) to prevent the screening of films it considers to have objectionable sexual and violent content such as Baise-Moi
, Irreversible
, Visitor Q
, Bully
, Kill Bill
, The Piano Teacher
and Y Tu Mama Tambien
at the Beck's Incredible Film Festival and the New Zealand International Film Festivals. It succeeded only with respect to Baise-Moi
, although after several appeals this film subsequently went on to general commercial release. The SPCS has also sought permanent bans of the films Kill Bill
, Baise-Moi
, Irreversible
, Visitor Q
, Bully
, Ken Park
, Anatomie de l'enfer, Twentynine Palms, Y Tu Mama Tambien
, 9 Songs
and The Piano Teacher
, again on the basis of what the SPCS believes is their objectionable sexual and violent content. It has not succeeded in obtaining permanent bans of any of these films. In 2005, the SPCS unsuccessfully sought an R18 classification of the computer game Playboy: The Mansion
.
The SPCS campaigned to have the rating of The Passion of the Christ
reduced to permit its exhibition to children provided they were accompanied by a parent despite criticisms of the film's graphic violence. This stance was criticised as being weak or even hypocritical. As a result of a review brought by Hoyts
, the distributor of The Passion of the Christ
, the film's classification was reduced from R16 to R15, which meant that most fifth-form (15 year old) students could view it.
Since 1995, the SPCS has taken 16 appeals to the Film and Literature Board of Review and succeeded in three of them. In 1995 the SPCS succeeded in having one porn video banned and in 1996 it had scenes cut from another on appeal. Since then every appeal that the SPCS has sought has resulted in the same or a lower classification. Interestingly Bill Hastings
, whom the SPCS campaigns to remove from Office, was a member of the Board that allowed the two successful appeals.
In 2006 the SPCS began to criticise the financial management of the OFLC. It complained to the Auditor General that the OFLC was inefficient and mis-managed taxpayer funds. The Auditor General dismissed the SPCS' complaint, stating that "no evidence of waste was found during the course of the audit" of the OFLC.
SPCS is also strongly opposed to promotion of special rights for lesbians and gays. In 2000, the Court of Appeal of New Zealand
ruled that the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 could not be interpreted to ban two American anti-gay videos produced by Jeremiah Films
. The SPCS was not the originator of the appeal over the videos but was a strong supporter of the Court's decision.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The Society's objectives include the encouragement of "self-respect and the dignity of the human person, made in the image of God", the "recognition of the sanctity of human life and its preservation in all stages", and the promotion of "wholesome personal values, including strong family life and the benefits of lasting marriage".
History
It was founded in 1970 by Patricia BartlettPatricia Bartlett
Patricia Bartlett was a New Zealand conservative Catholic activist of the 1970s and 1980s.She was born in Napier to Bertrand and Ivy Bartlett . She attended Sacred Heart school in Napier and failed her University Entrance examination. In 1947, she became a primary school teacher...
who was formerly a nun of the Roman Catholic Order of the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
. In 1996, she retired from the organisation, and lived quietly in Upper Hutt until her death in November 2000. Membership of SPCS rose to a peak of 25,000 in the 1970s. Since then, membership numbers have declined to its present steady level of about 400.
Its current President is John Mills, businessman and Elder of the Kapiti Christian Fellowship, and the Executive Director is David Lane. David Lane is the most active figure in the Society researching current issues in NZ society with the information gathered being used for press releases and submissions.
Campaigning
Initially, the organisation campaigned against pornography in films, videos and magazines. However, Howley v Lawrence Publishing [1986] (Court of Appeal) initiated a string of anti-censorship court and regulatory decisions that came to rely on evidence-based social scientific proof for censorship policy decisions. This culminated in passage of the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Act 1993, and marginalised their campaign.SPCS has issued media releases opposing civil unions, hate speech
Hate speech
Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic....
bans, the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act, and the decriminalisation of sex work. The SPCS has repeatedly criticised Bill Hastings
Bill Hastings
His Honour Judge William Kenneth Hastings was New Zealand's tenth Chief Censor, from October 1999 to July 2010. He is currently a District Court Judge and Chair of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal.-Biography:...
, New Zealand's Chief Censor, the Office of Film and Literature Classification
Office of Film and Literature Classification (New Zealand)
The Office of Film and Literature Classification is the government agency in New Zealand that is responsible for classification of all films, videos, publications, and some video games in New Zealand...
(OFLC), and the Film and Literature Board of Review for what it believes to be their liberal application of censorship law. It has sought interim restriction orders (temporary injunctions) to prevent the screening of films it considers to have objectionable sexual and violent content such as Baise-Moi
Baise-moi
Baise-moi is a French film co-directed by Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi, released in 2000. It is based on the novel by Despentes, first published in 1999. The film received intense media coverage because of its graphic mix of violence and explicit sex scenes...
, Irreversible
Irreversible
Irreversible may refer to:*Irreversible process, in thermodynamics, a process that is not reversible*Irréversible, a 2002 film*Irréversible , soundtrack to the film Irréversible...
, Visitor Q
Visitor Q
is a controversial 2001 film directed by Japanese director Takashi Miike. It was filmed as the sixth and final part of the Love Cinema series consisting of six straight-to-video releases by independent filmmakers via a brief but exclusive run at the minuscule Shimokitazawa cinema in Tokyo...
, Bully
Bully (film)
Bully is a 2001 independent American drama film, based on actual events, starring Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner, Michael Pitt, Leo Fitzpatrick and Nick Stahl. The story concerns the plot to murder a mutual friend of several young adults in Southern Florida, in revenge for his continual...
, Kill Bill
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
, The Piano Teacher
The Piano Teacher
The Piano Teacher is a 2001 film directed by Michael Haneke, starring Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel. The film is based on the novel Die Klavierspielerin by Elfriede Jelinek who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2004.- Plot :...
and Y Tu Mama Tambien
Y tu mamá también
Y tu mamá también is a 2001 Mexican comedy-drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film is a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys taking a road trip with a woman in her late twenties; it stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García...
at the Beck's Incredible Film Festival and the New Zealand International Film Festivals. It succeeded only with respect to Baise-Moi
Baise-moi
Baise-moi is a French film co-directed by Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi, released in 2000. It is based on the novel by Despentes, first published in 1999. The film received intense media coverage because of its graphic mix of violence and explicit sex scenes...
, although after several appeals this film subsequently went on to general commercial release. The SPCS has also sought permanent bans of the films Kill Bill
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
, Baise-Moi
Baise-moi
Baise-moi is a French film co-directed by Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi, released in 2000. It is based on the novel by Despentes, first published in 1999. The film received intense media coverage because of its graphic mix of violence and explicit sex scenes...
, Irreversible
Irreversible
Irreversible may refer to:*Irreversible process, in thermodynamics, a process that is not reversible*Irréversible, a 2002 film*Irréversible , soundtrack to the film Irréversible...
, Visitor Q
Visitor Q
is a controversial 2001 film directed by Japanese director Takashi Miike. It was filmed as the sixth and final part of the Love Cinema series consisting of six straight-to-video releases by independent filmmakers via a brief but exclusive run at the minuscule Shimokitazawa cinema in Tokyo...
, Bully
Bully (film)
Bully is a 2001 independent American drama film, based on actual events, starring Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner, Michael Pitt, Leo Fitzpatrick and Nick Stahl. The story concerns the plot to murder a mutual friend of several young adults in Southern Florida, in revenge for his continual...
, Ken Park
Ken Park
Ken Park is a 2002 drama film. The screenplay was written by Harmony Korine, who based it on Larry Clark's journals and stories. The film was directed by Larry Clark and Ed Lachman....
, Anatomie de l'enfer, Twentynine Palms, Y Tu Mama Tambien
Y tu mamá también
Y tu mamá también is a 2001 Mexican comedy-drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film is a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys taking a road trip with a woman in her late twenties; it stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García...
, 9 Songs
9 Songs
9 Songs is a 2004 British film directed by Michael Winterbottom. The title refers to the nine songs played by eight different rock bands that complement the story of the film...
and The Piano Teacher
The Piano Teacher
The Piano Teacher is a 2001 film directed by Michael Haneke, starring Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel. The film is based on the novel Die Klavierspielerin by Elfriede Jelinek who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2004.- Plot :...
, again on the basis of what the SPCS believes is their objectionable sexual and violent content. It has not succeeded in obtaining permanent bans of any of these films. In 2005, the SPCS unsuccessfully sought an R18 classification of the computer game Playboy: The Mansion
Playboy: The Mansion
Playboy: The Mansion is a business simulation video game for the PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows and Xbox consoles, developed by Cyberlore Studios, published by Groove Games and ARUSH Entertainment and licensed by Playboy Enterprises....
.
The SPCS campaigned to have the rating of The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
reduced to permit its exhibition to children provided they were accompanied by a parent despite criticisms of the film's graphic violence. This stance was criticised as being weak or even hypocritical. As a result of a review brought by Hoyts
Hoyts
The Hoyts Group is an Australian company consisting of Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Distribution and Val Morgan.Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand cinema complexes; making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the...
, the distributor of The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
, the film's classification was reduced from R16 to R15, which meant that most fifth-form (15 year old) students could view it.
Since 1995, the SPCS has taken 16 appeals to the Film and Literature Board of Review and succeeded in three of them. In 1995 the SPCS succeeded in having one porn video banned and in 1996 it had scenes cut from another on appeal. Since then every appeal that the SPCS has sought has resulted in the same or a lower classification. Interestingly Bill Hastings
Bill Hastings
His Honour Judge William Kenneth Hastings was New Zealand's tenth Chief Censor, from October 1999 to July 2010. He is currently a District Court Judge and Chair of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal.-Biography:...
, whom the SPCS campaigns to remove from Office, was a member of the Board that allowed the two successful appeals.
In 2006 the SPCS began to criticise the financial management of the OFLC. It complained to the Auditor General that the OFLC was inefficient and mis-managed taxpayer funds. The Auditor General dismissed the SPCS' complaint, stating that "no evidence of waste was found during the course of the audit" of the OFLC.
SPCS is also strongly opposed to promotion of special rights for lesbians and gays. In 2000, the Court of Appeal of New Zealand
Court of Appeal of New Zealand
The Court of Appeal of New Zealand, located in Wellington, is New Zealand’s principal intermediate appellate court. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in the Supreme Court...
ruled that the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 could not be interpreted to ban two American anti-gay videos produced by Jeremiah Films
Jeremiah Films
Jeremiah Films is a media production and distribution company founded by Christian conservative Patrick Matrisciana, based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida and has been managed by his son since 2009....
. The SPCS was not the originator of the appeal over the videos but was a strong supporter of the Court's decision.
See also
- Office of Film and Literature Classification (New Zealand)#Criticism
- Censorship in New ZealandCensorship in New ZealandCensorship in New Zealand has changed over the years to reflect the demands for a more liberal application of the law on contentious publications....
External links
- Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
- http://www.censorship.govt.nz Office of Film and Literature Classification (NZ), the government censorship agency.