Technoglitch
Core Member
With Game of Thrones set to be simultaneously telecast around the world when the fifth season starts on April 12, HBO India's offices are probably very busily going over the first episode right now, to ensure that not a single frame has any offensive content. That should mean an episode that ends in just 22 minutes of the one hour slot, so maybe Indian viewers will see the climax of the episode before the rest of the world.
Yes, this really happened. Two characters in Downton Abbey - aired on Star World - were having a conversation about traveling to Switzerland to cover up a pregnancy. In the background, there is a marble statue - a female nude. The statue is small, in the background, and bereft of detailing. But the channel decided to blur its chest and groin regions just to be safe, a move that did nothing but draw attention to the statue, and away from the rest of the scene.
There's another scene from the recent season of House of Cards that bears mention too, because a very short moment of censorship completely changes the meaning of the scene, and strips it of context. In the original scene, US President Frank Underwood is standing in a church alone, talking about his lack of faith. He spits at the statue of Jesus on the cross, and then reaches out to the statue with a handkerchief. This topples the statue forward, nearly hitting him, and shattering the statue in the process.
In the censored version of the scene, you see Underwood talking to the statue, and then you see it pitching violently forward. You don't see him spit, or touch the statue with his handkerchief. Instead of falling because of Underwood's actions, in the Indian version, it looks like an act of God, displeased with the President's lack of faith.
Despite all this, as Game of Thrones fans, we've ponied up the extra 90 bucks for HBO, over all the various fees that we pay to Tata Sky. We'll be up first thing on Monday morning to watch the show along with the US audience watching on Sunday night. If we're getting a censored version though, then we promise to share spoilers for every scene we watch.
How Self-Censorship Is Ruining Game of Thrones and Other TV Shows in India | NDTV Gadgets
Yes, this really happened. Two characters in Downton Abbey - aired on Star World - were having a conversation about traveling to Switzerland to cover up a pregnancy. In the background, there is a marble statue - a female nude. The statue is small, in the background, and bereft of detailing. But the channel decided to blur its chest and groin regions just to be safe, a move that did nothing but draw attention to the statue, and away from the rest of the scene.
There's another scene from the recent season of House of Cards that bears mention too, because a very short moment of censorship completely changes the meaning of the scene, and strips it of context. In the original scene, US President Frank Underwood is standing in a church alone, talking about his lack of faith. He spits at the statue of Jesus on the cross, and then reaches out to the statue with a handkerchief. This topples the statue forward, nearly hitting him, and shattering the statue in the process.
In the censored version of the scene, you see Underwood talking to the statue, and then you see it pitching violently forward. You don't see him spit, or touch the statue with his handkerchief. Instead of falling because of Underwood's actions, in the Indian version, it looks like an act of God, displeased with the President's lack of faith.
Despite all this, as Game of Thrones fans, we've ponied up the extra 90 bucks for HBO, over all the various fees that we pay to Tata Sky. We'll be up first thing on Monday morning to watch the show along with the US audience watching on Sunday night. If we're getting a censored version though, then we promise to share spoilers for every scene we watch.
How Self-Censorship Is Ruining Game of Thrones and Other TV Shows in India | NDTV Gadgets
