Convicted of obscenity
The filmmaker up on charges of obscenity for making bestiality and poo movies had been convicted. So much for nullification.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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May 2nd, 2012 at 9:55 am
Long ago in an era different from now, when I was but an undergraduate sprout at a small Southern Baptist college in SC, the editor of the student newspaper asked me to review a new movie, just out in theaters, for the paper.
It was Caligula, the Penthouse production of a decadent Roman ruler and just how indecently decadent he could be, along with a cast of many women with silicone implants and a rather small costume budget. The film was originally rated very, very X, with all the hardcore sex that implies. I knew this from reading the articles about the movie in a copy of Penthouse. Pictures? In that magazine? What pictures?
This being SC, the movie had been trimmed severely to attain the rating of “R” instead of X. Edited to within an inch of its life. Edited so that sentences were sometimes cut in half, as I recall.
My review concluded with the statement that the movie was horrible, and would have been better if at least it had included some sex scenes. The editor thought I did a good review.
I tell you this long story to tell you this short one: The movie opened with a black screen on which appeared the words, “What profit it a man to gain the world if he lose his soul?”
Having this statement open the movie turned a porn film, which back then might have had problems with the law in some states, into a work of art, with serious questions about morality being addressed, despite the actresses being mostly undressed.
Did the movie maker have such a tag on his movie opening? I’m older and wiser enough to know my friend the paper editor was having some fun with the authorities at the school when he had me review Caligula way back when, and using me as a cat’s paw to stir things up. So I plan never to find the answer to my question personally.
And I doubt anyone reading this blog will ever know either, which speaks to the high quality of readers of this blog.
May 2nd, 2012 at 10:04 am
With a jury, the disgust factor counts a lot more than libertarian philosophy or, even, “would you want the government to do this to you”, because the jurors will refuse to identify with the perv or perp.
May 2nd, 2012 at 10:25 am
If at first you don’t convict, try, try again.
May 2nd, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Nullification only works if the defendant gets a not guilty verdict instead of a hung jury, or if the prosecutor does not want to retry.
Anyone can be retried if the jury hangs.
The last SCOTUS ruling on this issue allowed obscenity prosecutions for child porn involving actual children, bestiality, and films where the producer instigated real violence. This case met those qualifications, so I don’t see him having a successful appeal once it gets past the 9th.