4922 No. 197

NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

CONTAINS EXPLICIT SEXUAL MATERIAL.

7. The board is of the unanimous view that without the cuts and for the reasons outlined above that the video Inches is injurious to the public good and should be classified as Indecent.

K. WEATHERALL, Acting Chairperson.

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Video Recordings Board of Review

Hot Rockets

1. A review was sought of the Video Recordings Authority's classification of the video Hot Rockets by the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards (the applicant) pursuant to section 36 of the Video Recordings Act 1987 (the Act).

2. The Video Recordings Board of Review (the board) has re-examined the video in accordance with section 38 of the Act. The board reached its decision without having to consult with the applicant or the authority.

3. The plot is about a married couple Liz and Herb Adam whose marriage does not appear to be sexually satisfactory. Herb, the husband spends a lot of time at a tennis club and Liz goes to the club to see what the attraction is. She finds more sexual activity than tennis at the club. The activities of Liz and Herb's maid and the chauffeur provide a sub-plot for the sexual fantasies portrayed. In the opening scene of the film the maid services Herb in the shower after he has been rejected by his wife. While Liz and Herb are at the tennis club indulging in sexual activities the maid and the chauffeur engage in similar activities at home and in a greenhouse on the way home from the supermarket.

4. The plot is no more than a flimsy vehicle for detailed and prolonged displays of various types of sexual activity. Apart from a lesbian sequence and a brief encounter between Liz and Kelly, the tennis club's masseuse, and a brief close-up of Liz masturbating using a vibrator, the activities depicted are on a one man/one woman basis. There is one scene at the end of the film which shows group sexual activity at a swinging pool party. The activities portrayed include fellatio, cunnilingus, vaginal sex, and vaginal sex with rear entry. There is a brief scene where a man ejaculates over a woman's face. When ejaculation takes place for the most part it is portrayed as being over a woman's belly.

In some of the scenes there are crude attempts at humour where the camera shows breasts and penises popping out of clothing during tennis games. Some of the action is farcical and much of it is silly.

The dialogue contains coarse language and often is difficult to hear. The sound track is of poor quality and in places drowned out by noise of a jacuzzi, a generator in the greenhouse and an aeroplane.

5. The board considers that:

(a) The dominant effect of the video is a sexual fantasy which attempts to titillate heterosexual viewers.

(b) The video recording has no artistic, social or cultural merit.

(c) The video recording is likely to be viewed by adults.

(d) The board finds that the video contains no bondage, horror, violence or crime. The explicit sexual acts displayed are between consenting adults. The video contains offensive language.

There is a particular scene which the board regards as extremely cruel, the maid and the chauffeur are shown having sexual intercourse in a greenhouse. A blind man approaches and thinks they are in trouble or in pain. He fumbles around outside the glass and finally manages to enter the greenhouse. He trips and collides with the naked chauffeur and then with the naked maid. She strips him and performs an act of oral sex. The blind man in climax calls out "I can see". The board regards the cruel mockery of a person's disability in this manner as being beyond merely tasteless. It is indecent.

(e) The board agrees that the particular purpose for which the video is to be available for private viewing is for entertainment.

(f) The board considers that parts of the video could denigrate women by reinforcing sexual stereotyping attitudes that the role of women is to sexually service the male. In one scene a young woman is paid for sex. The masseuse is depicted as working full time at giving sexual satisfaction. The maid who dresses in a short frilly uniform reminiscent of the French farce has the principal role of sexually servicing the men in her life.

6. Once again the board is aware of the public health concerns. The public is becoming more conscious of sexually transmitted diseases and in particular AIDS. When sexual activities with multiple partners take place the danger increases. There was no condom in sight in this video.

The board is aware that prophylactics are freely available to adults. If videos such as Hot Rockets which show sexually explicit scenes are to be available for adult viewing then it ought to be able to be assumed that adults will take proper precautions. Despite this, the board sees value in some sort of health warning being issued with the video. It has recently reviewed a video which began with a promotion for safe sex and which recommended that condoms be used. The board is aware that neither it nor the authority has the power to make additions to videos by issuing health warnings. The board sees this as a deficiency in the Act which should be remedied.

7. The board considers that if certain cuts were made in the scene that takes place in the greenhouse with the blind man it would classify the video to be indecent in the hands of persons under the age of 18 years with the description CONTAINS EXPLICIT SEXUAL MATERIAL.

8. The board is of the unanimous view that without the cuts and for the reasons outlined above that the video Hot Rockets is injurious to the public good and should be classified as indecent.

K. WEATHERALL, Acting Chairperson.

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Justice

Criminal Justice Act 1985

Christchurch District Prisons Board Appointment of Member

Pursuant to section 132 (2) (b) of the Criminal Justice Act 1985, the Minister of Justice has been pleased to appoint

Nicola Hornby Pavey, staff nurse of Christchurch

to be a member of the Christchurch District Prisons Board for a term of 3 years on and from the date hereof.

Dated at Wellington this 10th day of November 1988.

D. OUGHTON, Secretary for Justice.

(Adm. 3/83/14)

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Wanganui District Prisons Board Reappointment of Member

Pursuant to section 132 (2) (b) of the Criminal Justice Act 1985, the Minister of Justice has been pleased to reappoint

Huia Mere Arihi Reweti, supervisor of Wanganui

to be a member of the Wanganui District Prisons Board for a term of 3 years on and from 1 October 1988.