Did India’s TV Censors De-Gay Dustin Lance Black’s Acceptance Speech?
For every questionable Oscars moment requiring the host to poke his head through a gloryhole and belt out a song about pubic hair, there was another demonstrating genuine emotion and class.
Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black’s acceptance speech provided the most vivid example of the latter: A tearful testimony of what it meant to live life openly as a gay man, ending with a comforting reassurance to the millions of fledgling gay boys—and smattering of girls—out there in the Oscars audience. Echoing a similar Harvey Milk speech that inspired Black himself to come out of the closet, the writer promised these bullied Beyoncé fans that they too have worth, and will one day escape the small towns in which they’re trapped (whether by wheelchair, or some other, less literal-minded literary device).
Beautiful, right? Surely a sentiment with universal appeal, and one that would bring a tear to even the most child-blindingest of Mumbai slumlords. That is, if it hadn’t been edited out of India’s Oscars broadcast. A tipster writes:
It is my understanding that Dustin Lance Black’s acceptance speech was edited for the rebroadcast of the Oscars in India such that the mention of being gay was removed. The actual broadcast began at 630a.m., so it’s aired in real time and also taped and rebroadcast later in the day. My source for the info saw both broadcasts of his acceptance speech, so there you are.
If that’s true, it’s an unconscionable act of censorship and a giant step backwards for what was touted as the most global Oscars in history. We mean, how would they like it if every time A. R. Rahman or an adorable Slumdog Millionaire orphan took to the stage to praise their country and culture, The Abbey’s Official Viewing Party cut to more “acceptable” footage of Baz Luhrmann mouthing the words to his big musical number?
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
It seems Australia’s Channel Nine also cut out Black’s acceptance speech from their 9:30pm broadcast, but did play it in their original live broadcast. It makes you wonder if the ABC feed was repackaged for them into the nighttime viewing slot, rather than India and Nine doing it themselves.
That being said, Black’s speech was a historic and highly emotional speech. It is one of the few that got a number of thunderous applause from the audience.
Dear Channel Nine – Did you deliberately ‘bone’ the pro gay marriage and pro gay rights speech by Oscar award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black? Could you please outline the basis on how you chose to not broadcast this moving, emotional and historic image to the hundreds of thousands of viewers during your primetime rerun of the Oscars? Will you issue an unequivocal apology to the offended gay & lesbian community for inadvertently saying this speech was not worth of being broadcast? Will you apologise for the pain caused to those outraged at the perceived homophobia? Finally, if as I anticipate you will say, it was all inadvert and had nothing to do with the content of his speech, will you put a segment on your prime time shows to discuss the implications of your action and explore the reasons for Mr Black’s speech. I can see The Morning show replaying this speech and panellists discussing its implications. I can see A Current Affair, doing an expose into the movie Milk and the background to the speech made by Mr Black. There are many ways Channel Nine could make up for this mistake. I look forward to hearing from you how you think most appropriate to address this issue.
Regards
Corey
Hear, hear! I mean what year are we in again? I don’t know what is to be achieved by censoring this important speech. I know a few teenagers and young kids and they have already been exposed to far more than this speech, so it can’t be to protect them. It could be to protect people like my mother who gasped when seeing two men kiss in the romance montage. And what about Sean Penn’s speech? Was that censored also? I didn’t see the re-broadcast so I don’t know. I for one am tired of the “flying ignorami” (thanks Bring It On) of this world. Get a clue people! Live and let live!