COMMUNICATIONS-BRAZIL: Judge Censors Soap Opera

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 15 2000 (IPS) - Brazil’s leading TV network publicly protested restrictions slapped by a judge on a soap opera that has stirred heated debate over the controversial issues it deals with, the numerous scenes of violence, and the fact that it is aired at prime-time.

Referring to a decision by juvenile court Judge Siro Darlán in Rio de Janeiro, scriptwriters, actors and executives of the Red Globo TV network say they are witnessing a return to the censorship that was widely resorted to by Brazil’s 1964-85 military dictatorship.

Darlán ordered the producers of the soap opera “Family Bonds” to send the courts recordings of future episodes.

He also prohibited the participation of actors under 18 in the soap opera, which has drawn fire for its treatment of controversial themes like prostitution and impotence, and for its excessive reliance on violence, including a rape scene.

The judge also ruled that the soap opera could only be aired after 9:00 PM, the cut-off for programmes considered unsuitable for minors under 14.

Darlán’s decisions were handed down in the framework of legal action brought on Oct 27 by the Public Ministry (Brazil’s public prosecutor’s office), and are based on local laws designed to defend the rights of children and adolescents.

Although the Red Globo appealed the ruling, it began to comply with the judge’s orders Tuesday evening, after its plea was dismissed by the courts.

The TV network issued a communique complaining that the judge’s order to send future episodes of “Family Bonds” to the courts amounted to “prior censorship.”

It also protested that the measures “affect Brazil’s cultural production,” and violate the freedom of TV-viewers to choose what they want to watch, as well as the authority of the parents who allowed their sons and daughters to act in the soap opera.

The scriptwriter of “Family Bonds”, Manoel Carlos, used even harsher terms, complaining of “open censorship,” and stating that he feared a return to the times of the dictatorship, when censors were present in all of the communications media.

Carlos received the support, couched in similar terms, of fellow scriptwriters, actors, soap opera directors and other personalities of the world of television and the arts.

But there was indignation on both sides of the fence. Judge Darlán said Red Globo frequently violated the norms designed to protect children, and not only in the soap opera in question, in which 11 actors under 18 participate.

The judge’s ruling also responded to pressure from several sides, especially Catholic Church authorities in Rio de Janeiro. The city’s Archbishop, Cardinal Eugenio Sales, prohibited local churches from allowing “Family Bonds” scenes to be filmed in their interiors, and a chapel that violated his orders was banned from holding religious ceremonies.

Besides the scenes of violence and the fact that one of the main characters maintains the living standards of her parents and son by working as a high-class prostitute, the Church was also upset by the fact that the central characters are a mother and daughter who have relationships with the same man, although not simultaneously.

Justice Minister José Gregori has been trying since two years ago, when he served as National Human Rights Secretary, to curb what he considers excessive sex and violence on Brazilian TV.

After Gregori’s proposal for a voluntary code of ethics to be drawn up and applied by TV broadcasters, similar to one already adopted by the advertising industry, fell flat, he decided this year to revise the classification of age-based guidelines and special time slots for TV programmes deemed to merit discretionary viewing.

According to Gregori and academics, studies show that TV programming is one factor contributing to the rise in crime, especially in Brazil’s big cities, by exposing youngsters to excessive scenes of violence.

But the Justice Ministry, legal authorities and social groups have not only targetted “Family Bonds”, which was aired at prime- time, at 8:30 PM. Other Red Globo soap operas face even louder criticism because they are broadcast in the afternoon or early evening, viewing times limited to shows appropriate for the entire family.

One of the programmes, “Uga Uga”, which is aired at 7:00 PM, shows a young blond man raised by Indians — an excuse, according to the show’s critics, for displaying scantily-clad actors and actresses.

Adding their voices to the protests in this case are several indigenous groups who accuse the producers of the programme of selling a distorted image of Indians, and of fomenting violence against them.

Programmes produced by other networks are also considered overly violent or erotic, especially shows that are aired on Sundays, when many lower income families gather around the TV set. One example of that was a game in which men and women in skimpy bathing suits fight for space in a large bathtub.

The battle continues to pick up steam. The Red Globo, which has enormous influence over public opinion in this country of 168 million as the network with the highest ratings, has once again turned to the courts to seek annulment of the restrictions imposed on “Family Bonds”

The network also has backing in the legal arena. The president of Brazil’s bar association, Reginaldo de Castro, termed Judge Darlán’s decision “illegitimate,” because in his view, it “violates rights guaranteed by the constitution” with respect to freedom of expression and artistic creation.