remnants of remnants

… via Twitter and Facebook have not only successfully drawn attention to this hilariously appalling Daily Mail web poll, but successfully distorted the results:

From the Grauniad today we learn that:

As Sweden disbands its censorship board, its British counterpart passes the entirety of Lars von Trier’s Cannes shocker for viewing with an 18 certificate. … The film, which caused consternation among many critics when it was screened in competition in Cannes last month, has received an 18 certificate from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), despite scenes featuring erect penises, violent sex and genital mutilation.

Later in the same article, a certain John Beyer is quoted as saying:

The BBFC no longer ‘cuts bits out of films’ but provides information about films so that members of the public can make up their own minds about what films they want to see or avoid.

Sounds sensible enough, I thought. Obviously a reasonable chap, this Mr Beyer. Then I realised that he’s in fact a spokesperson for the Mediawatch organisation — and was uttering those words in disapproval!

He went on to say:

In our opinion the BBFC has become far too lax in what it permits for public exhibition and there has been a gradual shift in what they regard as acceptable.

In other words — John Beyer is explicitly disapproving of the policy of providing information so people can make up their own minds. Cue the increasingly sarcastic mediawatchwatch.org.uk:

We can’t have the public making informed decisions for themselves, can we? That is a job for their moral superiors. Because they know best.