What the hell were they thinking?
Some interesting examples that really make me wonder about the thought processes of some people.
Example #1
The editors at Chinese magazine New Travel Weekly decided to do a nice tasteful photographic shoot, with underwear models posing among the ruins from the earthquake in Sichuan. They pose in front of and draped across fallen beams in ruined buildings, singly and together. Some appear to be wearing fake bloody bandages. Lovely! Tasteful? Respectful of the earthquake victims and survivors?
Chinese officials don’t stuff around in these cases. The magazine has been temporarily closed down and its managing editor, editor and deputy editor sacked.
The propaganda department in Chongqing, where the lifestyle magazine is based, issued a statement condemning the publication’s editors for “severely violating social morality, and causing extremely negative social effects”.
It said the magazine itself would be subject to “rectification”, although the editors in charge have gone for good. Wonder if the “rectification” involves rapid application of lead to the back of some former employees’ heads?
Example #2
An exhibition of photographic art by Bill Henson, due to open in Sydney last night, was cancelled after police visited the Paddington gallery to investigate child pornography claims. The future of the exhibition at the Roslyn Oxley9 gallery, which featured images of a girl and a boy, aged 12 and 13 - some of which also appear on the gallery’s website - is now in doubt.
Henson said last night he was determined the exhibition should go ahead. One artist who attended the exhibition opening, Eugenia Raskopoulos, said the cancellation was “censorship of the worst kind”.
“I cannot believe that they have cancelled this opening which features pictures that are honest and beautiful and in no way pornographic,” she said.
Maybe, but to contemplate exhibiting such pictures publicly demonstrates a serious absence of sensibilities about what should be acceptable in terms of the sexualisation of children. Beautiful the images may be, but they are portraying children in sexual terms, and that is wrong. Repeat after me …. children are children, and they are NOT sex objects.
Example #3
This one was around a couple of weeks ago and I thought about posting something then, but was too busy. Another “what the hell” moment from the modelling/fashion industry. Russh Australia, a lifestyle and fashion magazine, hired Zippora Seven, a 16 year old model from New Zealand, to do a provocative 18-page editorial fashion spread alongside 16-year-old male model Levi Clarke. Shot in March, one of the images depicts the pair sharing a bubble bath nude with Seven topless and Clarke’s eyes closed as if he is passed out. In the foreground are four bottles of champagne.
Again, maybe the photos are pretty, but I question the judgement behind using such young models to pose in such sexually suggestive scenes. (Mind you, I’m sure that if the magazine hadn’t been able to use 16 year olds, they’d have found some child-like waifs just on 18 years old to give the shoot that jailbait look.). What is it with the fashion industry that wants to make children adults and sexually attractive? Is it overrun with pedophiles or something?
And what sort of name is Zippora Seven? Progeny of hippies? Offspring of science fiction fanatics (it sounds like the name of an android off Battlestar Galactica or something like that)?
Example #4
Tania Zaetta may or may not have screwed the Australian army detachment at Tarin Kowt in Afghanistan, but what the hell was going through some public servant’s mind when he/she decided the Minister needed to be briefed about what was rumoured to have happened? And then, what the hell was going through someone’s mind, and this someone would be someone in either the Defence Department or Minister Joel Fitzgibbon’s office, to leak this briefing note to the media?
Zaetta, who was taking part in a 17-day concert tour performing for Australian troops in the Middle East, has called the claims “ridiculous” and “vicious”.
Clearly there are people in Defence and/or the army that don’t have enough to do. Time for some deeper budget cuts it seems. Why on earth someone would feel the need to bother a minister with what is basically scurrilous gossip, god only knows? Do they do debriefings after office farewells and Christmas parties, too? And then to name names, and then leak it into the public domain … beggars belief.
Opposition defence minister Nick Minchin today issued a statement demanding Mr Fitzgibbon take immediate action.
“How did these stories reach the newspapers? Mr Fitzgibbon must immediately investigate who in the Department of Defence or his office leaked this story. And then he must explain how that person has been dealt with and what will be done to stop such slurs being leaked in the future.”
Too right! Heads should roll over this type of shit … but they won’t. This is just business as usual at Fort Fumble, ie Defence Department headquarters. Someone fucked up, now there will be an inquiry, no-one will be found to be responsible for anything, and no-one will be held accountable.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Extremely poor taste of the Chinese magazine, shows what lengths some editors will go to. Wouldn’t put it past them to be found with a pill behind the ear. Bill Henson should know better. It is not art when kids are sexualised, only paedos would see it as art. Sickos, which then we come to the 16 year old models being used in provocative shoots. Who wants to see young ones displayed in that manner? Same as previous answers. LOL really, like the everyday Aussie don’t care if Zaetta screwed around, it shouldn’t have even made the news. Sounds like good old neighbourhood gossip at best.
May 24th, 2008 at 5:53 am
I do not mind a tastfully done risque photo, but I cannot stand those that abuse the form just to see someone without their clothes. And the photographer taking the pics of the girls at the ruins, if he was bored he should have been helping his countrymen dig out of the disaster.
May 24th, 2008 at 11:30 am
False kiddie porn complaints closed Henson’s exibition- and my blog was suspended by my webhost after another false kiddie porn complaint, oddly enough by a neo-nazi/white-supremacist pornographer and sex-toy merchant, regarding my criticism of the Henson affair.
May 25th, 2008 at 12:32 am
For example 1: This photo shoot was done in poor taste. A lot of people were still unaccounted for and many people had lost family members from the earthquake.
There were also a lot of after shocks - so why the heck would you also be making models pose near the epicenter of the earthquake?
May 25th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
the #1 shots are Nice - but that does seem to show a lack of respect* If the Photos were being used to Raise Money for the EarthQuake Victims then I would fully approve of it*
2: I’ll have to checkout Bill’s shots* I posted an Art show on Flickr which had Photos of Naked Kids but artistically stylized by the Artist - to my mind i felt it was Art + didn’t see anything Pornographic about it - however there were some who felt otherwise + thass fine they are entitled to an Opinion*
3: Wow! Zippora Seven is Hot!! Wish I was 15 or 16 again + Inviting all the Hotties over to the Folks Jacuzzi + Pool + Grotto at the Folks Mansion in Rosedale + breaking out the Veuve Clicquot + Pot + Hash + Ecstasy + Coke fer Fun + Giggles*
;PPP
4) Sign Me Up! Where do I Enlist!!
Peace*
May 26th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
If one wants to use kids photos as art, why are they naked, use them clothed. Common sense in this day and age . People should know better. It may not be pornographic as such but it is still inappropriate. Would you want sleazy perverts drooling and wanking over photos of your 12 year old daughter who was naked? Think not.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Where are the parents of these children who posed naked for Bill Henson? I can only assume they’re too busy out at a class .. “How to package and exploit your child 101″
June 2nd, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I’m shocked at the Chinese magazine, I can’t imagine what went through the editor’s head when he/she decided that it would be a fabulous idea to let the photoshoot be published.
June 8th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Well, I would have to agree with you on most of those issues. The mainstream media is becoming increasingly disgusting in an attempt to compete with online forms. The Bill Henson issue we might disagree on though but it is one of issues that is right in on the borderline and further discussion probably won’t help. Hello,