Out Come the Scissors

It must be obvious then, that the regulations are designed to guide rather than suppress. Even so, the Censor still has to remove large portions of footage each year because of unsuitable material.

In 1957, the Censor noted that "up till now the spiral of films needing to be cut (particularly on the score of excessive violence) has been steadily rising." He further points out:

"One significant fact which emerges from analysis of this year's figures is the higher proportion of excisions which were made on the score of 'sex', a term including unduly suggestive or vulgar situations and dialogue, by comparison with those falling under the general heading of "violence," which embraces unnecessarily gruesome or terrifying, material as well as brutality for its own sake, dirty fighting, and over-emphasis on crime and killing. For several years past it has been a subject for comment in these reports that excisions made for reasons of "violence" heavily outweigh those made for reasons of "sex", the ratio having remained almost constant in the neighbourhood of six to one. "Violence" is still the preponderant reason for censorship in New Zealand; but last year the above ratio shifted to three to one ..."

"Closer analysis reveals that the chief reason why censorship action was necessary under the latter heading was a pronounced tendency for film producers in several countries to make scenes of kissing which were too uninhibited and intimate for common decency. More than half the excisions made under the broad subdivision of "sex" were of this sort. New Zealand experience in this matter parellels that of censorship authorities in several overseas countries."

But the trend still continues. Thus we see that the number of cuts made for violence have always exceeded those made for sex.

The Censor's remarks continually make this point in his annual reports from 1957 on:

"As has been customary in New Zealand for many years past, the preponderant reason for cutting films is that they contain too much 'violence' . . . This year 80 per cent, of all excisions were made on this score of violence, which was a slightly bigger proportion than in the immediately preceding year, but lower than the average figure recorded over the last six or seven years. The chief reasons for cuts in this category were scenes involving the use of knives and the beating up of defenceless adversaries in fights. There was also some increase in the number of scenes which the Censor had to tone down on account of their portrayal of violence on women." (1958).