NOVEMBER 12 — What does Annabelle: Creation and The Nun have in common, other than the fact that they’re both part of the Conjuring universe (see Note 1)? 

They’re both PG-13. In other words, kids can go watch it in the cinema as long as they’re accompanied by an adult. 

Movies like Deadpool, Logan, A Star Is Born, The Predator and — most recently — Overlord, on the other hand, are rated SG-18 which, in theory, means that cinemas should bar teenagers from entering.

So here’s my question to the Malaysian Film Censorship Board or Whoever’s In Charge of Cinema Ratings: Why are movies about demonic possession almost always “open” to minors? Why is spiritual rape and violation something you don’t mind kids being able to watch?

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Because it’s obvious to even the deaf and blind that a movie is given an SG-18 rating for one reason and one reason only: Because there are more than half a dozen F-words in it. That’s it! Profanity, so it appears, is the only reason why a movie is deemed unsuitable for under-18 teens.

But what kind of logic is that? What exactly is so “over-18ish” about hearing people say “F**k” in public on a huge screen? Why is that so big a deal that you prevent Form 5-ers from watching even gems like, say, A Star Is Born?

How is it possible that, say, The Nun is “more suitable” for primary and secondary school kids than, say, Rampant, a Korean zombie movie which (surprisingly) discusses issues of authority and democracy? 

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In fact, you totally got to hand it to the Koreans. Only they can build in dialogue about the value of a King apart from the People (or vice-versa) in between scenes of blood-thirsty monsters biting off chunks from people’s faces.

But c’mon. By which rule book is the F bomb the key decider for whether someone below 18 can watch a certain movie?

As mentioned above, this kind of criteria not only deprives great movies from being experienced cinematically by the young, it also allows blatantly “pro-evil” films to be open to people of all ages. 

Right now, almost every movie about demonic attacks or spiritual darkness can be viewed by kids (even small ones) in the cinema. I’d say that’s a miscue even in a “secular” country, but for a religious nation like Malaysia that’s downright strange, isn’t it? 

How can a country of so many faiths be “fine” with kids watching movies about fiends from hell inhabiting the bodies of children (e.g. Annabelle: Creation) or about dark spiritual lords controlling religious institutions (e.g. The Nun) or about powerful and malevolent forces terrorizing families (e.g. The Conjuring, Poltergeist, etc.)?

What? Just because nobody uses the F-word in those movies it’s okay?! Seriously?!

And take A Star Is Born. Just because the movie has (quite) a bit of profanity, our young teens are “officially” barred from experiencing a wonderful love story about how two people can bring about the redemption of each other without being spared the ravages brought about by their personal weaknesses. 

The movie has tender, aching love put side by side with dreadful loss, all of it told in some of the best music ever to grace the big screen.

But our kids (even those already experiencing the pangs of romantic attraction) can’t watch it with us in the cinema. Isn’t this, in a sense, a form of treating all Malaysians like kids i.e. if the factors deciding PG-13 and SG-18 aren’t thought out well, so essentially everybody’s treated like their pre-13?

* Note 1: Speaking of which, I think Hollywood is proof that the Many-Verse interpretation of quantum theory is the correct one.

** This is the personal opinion of the columnist.