One movie made them throw up

Instead of popcorn and soft drinks, these moviegoers on a Thursday afternoon are armed with clipboards and pens.

The venue is also somewhat unusual: A private theatre which can seat 50 people, at Fusionopolis, in Buona Vista.

The 35 moviegoers are from the Film Consultative Panel, a group of volunteers who take turns to help decide what ratings movies get here.

When we attend a screening at the Media Development Authority (MDA) theatrette to understand what goes into the process of rating a film, no one speaks as the Mandarin comedy runs. Everyone watches with rapt concentration, with some occasional scribbling in the dark.

There is no reaction when sexually explicit scenes are shown. An elderly woman watches without batting an eyelid.

The 66-member panel is a diverse group that includes a gynaecologist, a film-maker, a lawyer, a teacher. They are of different races and religious beliefs.

Madam Cheryl Ng, a lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, is the vice-chairman.

She has been on the panel for nine years and says the members are meant to represent Singapore's diversity.

Anyone above the age of 21 with a keen interest in films can apply to join the group.

Their passion for movies draws them together, and prompts them to set aside their Thursday evenings for film reviews.

As the credits start rolling, Madam Ng moves to the front of the room and begins to ask for input from fellow panel members.

This time, it is quite uniform, with members expressing concern over specific scenes. But it is not always so clear cut.

Madam Ng discloses that there was heated debate and a fiery exchange of views over the film Noah, which was released in April this year with an NC16 rating.

There have also been guttural reactions. Four years ago, several panel members threw up after watching the movie The Human Centipede.

"There was a scene where one character excretes into another character's mouth," Madam Ng recounts with a grimace.

Eventually, the panel's feedback is given to the MDA, which then works with the film's distributors for a final rating.

While the authority does not make the actual cuts to the films, the film distributors have to decide if sacrificing that shot or scene will help them reach a bigger audience with a more liberal rating.

In the past year, the Film Consultative Panel met 24 times and discussed a total of 29 films.

While some think it is a real perk to watch uncut movies before they hit the big screen, Madam Ng maintains that it is not all that exciting.

"We don't actually get to watch many blockbusters," she points out with a laugh. MDA decides which movies need the community's input.

Panel members however have to keep what they review secret till the movie is released and this means Madam Ng cannot always discuss the movies with her four daughters, aged 15 to 23, even if they ask about them.

As for the general public's perceptions of the panel as censors, she disagrees and says they merely point out what might be considered objectionable.

MDA says the panel was selected to reflect community values, so there should not be a gap between what it thinks and the general public.

Madam Ng says: "Sometimes, I ask myself whether I'm desensitised.

"But I think that while we're less shocked by graphic scenes, we're still able to objectively decide what's controversial and what's not."

Asked if she thinks whether guidelines will become more liberal, she says: "It all depends on the community. So I wouldn't say there'll be a liberalisation or a tightening.

"Rather, the norms and perceptions of the community, represented by panel members, are ever-changing, and ultimately that's what determines the ratings."

This article was first published on June 8, 2014.
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