Hello Friends!
Shylock wanted a pound of flesh.
But it was BBC viewers who got a little more skin than they bargained for when they tuned into a lunchtime film of the Merchant Of Venice.
Some were taken aback by repeated scenes of topless women in the 2004 Hollywood version of the story starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons.
The 2004 adaptation of the Merchant of Venice had 15 shots of bare breasts
and scenes of a sexual nature.
As well as around 15 shots of bare breasts there were scenes of a sexual nature. One viewer described it as ‘Shakesperian porn’ while another suggested it was ‘strange’ to have shown it at 1.45pm.
A campaign group insisted the movie should not have been aired before the watershed and the BBC received four official complaints.
The film was just two minutes in before the first sign of nudity – a woman walking down some steps with her breasts out over the top of her dress.
Just a minute later another scene showed a woman on a boat with her breasts exposed as she flirted with men.
Then at about 45 minutes in there was a prolonged segment showing topless women, as well as sexual scenes which included a man groping a woman in a brothel. Just before this a group of topless women were shown on a balcony, calling out to passing men: ‘Come taste my Christian flesh.’
Just a minute later another scene showed a woman on a boat with her breasts exposed as she flirted with men.
Then at about 45 minutes in there was a prolonged segment showing topless women, as well as sexual scenes which included a man groping a woman in a brothel. Just before this a group of topless women were shown on a balcony, calling out to passing men: ‘Come taste my Christian flesh.’
The Merchant of Venice has always been a controversial play because it is deemed anti-semitic
While the scenes are thought have been included in the film for reasons of historical accuracy, some viewers were still surprised by BBC2’s decision to air the content in the middle of the day.
The film, watched on Saturday by 250,000 viewers, was given a PG rating by censors. The Merchant Of Venice has always been a controversial play, chiefly because of concerns that Shakespeare’s treatment of Jewish money-lender Shylock is anti-semitic.
Writing about the nudity on the BBC’s message-board, one viewer said: ‘Personally I have no problem with it but I’m mildly amused at seeing bare knockers not just once but six or seven times on BBC2 at 2pm on a Saturday.
‘I know it’s supposed to be historically accurate as Venetian prostitutes actually dressed like that, but what are the rules with nudity?’ Another remarked on Twitter: ‘Merchant of Venice on BBC2 showing ladies with their ***s out. At 14:30. Pre-watershed Shakespearean porn.’
Vivienne Pattison of Mediawatch UK said: ‘It is incumbent on broadcasters to check what the content is. This should not have been shown at this time of day.’
The BBC was showing the film as part of its Shakespeare season but it could have opted for a less racy version made in 1980. It defended its decision to air the film saying it had been rated PG.
Yet on the BBC’s iPlayer service the website warns: ‘Contains adult themes.’ Other viewers defended the broadcaster. One wrote on the BBC’s Points of View site: ‘Why worry. This was a good film version and better fare than flog your granny’s house in the country or whatever we had been getting on Saturday afternoons on BBC2.’
A BBC2 spokesman said it didn’t feel the content went beyond what was acceptable for a daytime audience, adding the film had been shown at a similar time of day before without viewer concerns.
Culled from The Daily Mail UK.
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Simply Cheska...
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