I find part of the problem with censorship here in Ontario, Canada is the inconsistancy of both rules and enforcement. We have a number of films which are banned in the province, WR - Mysteries of the Organism for example, which we use in teaching. The Ministry of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Theatres Branch, Film Review Committee (the Ontario Censor) has given us permission to use them in "teaching situations" but we can't use show them to the public. The theory being that in a "teaching situation" the films are not exploitive etc because of the presence and guidance of the teacher, while a public screening has no such analysis. In the case of the Trent University problem, if the Razutis film had been restricted to the classroom there would have been no problem, its the act of showing it to the public that caused the charges to be laid. Unfortunately even if a film has been cleared by the censor, the Crown Attorney or the police still can lay obscenity charges and most people charged "voluntarily" stop showing the film rather than go through the hassles of defending their rights. As to students complaining about being "forced" to watch unpleasant films in the classroom, I suggest they get a portion of their fee for the class returned and be kicked out. They are obviously not capable of meeting the intellectual requirements for a university education and should vacate a place for someone who is there to learn. We had a situation here where one of our professors wanted to generate a discussion on gender relations and stereotyping. We chose a film that showed woman as object, Fugue In D Minor, specifically because it would offend. The film was introduced in the context of the class and discussed afterwards. When we do have problems, there very frequently tends to be either an ignorance of what learning is about or a hidden agenda that relies on the publicity generated. Education is not served by the "duck and cover" mentality shown by too many administrators and academics. This is not new, despite the rhetoric the paycheck comes before academic freedom in more cases than not. Show Marco Leto's Black Holiday. Be intolerant of intolerance. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Mark Ritchie | Tel: (519) 888-4070 Media Librarian | Fax: (519) 888-6197 Audio-Visual Centre | University of Waterloo | Internet: [log in to unmask] "I was just out of college and still believed in classifications and catagories" - Jean Renoir -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-