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Iraqi Porn Boom
EFL:Outside the cinemas on Saadoun Street, groups of men loiter round film posters of naked women, whose private parts are crudely super-imposed with underwear drawn in colored pen. Behind doors in Baghdadâs main movie strip, there is no such teasing. Barely a seat is empty as hundreds of men, most puffing cigarettes, sit in total silence and darkness to enjoy scenes of nudity and sex for 1,000 Iraqi dinars ($0.50) a time. I think this is a good thing. The fall of Saddam Hussein liberalised Iraqâs cinema industry overnight. Pornographic movies which had circulated only secretly before suddenly came into the open. The smuggling of films from abroad became overt importing. And demand has proved high despite Iraqâs With no Ministry of Information censorship department to get round any more, most Baghdad cinemas are now showing primarily "romantic" and "sexy" films as Iraqis euphemistically call soft- and hard-core movies respectively. So thatâs what that Iraqi meant when he cheered; "Democracy, Whiskey, Sexy!". The open proliferation of mainly U.S. and European-made porno films, and the pavement posters advertising them, has shocked Iraqâs religious leaders. "Iâm shocked at how popular these films are! I mean, I canât hardly find a good seat anymore." They hope the novelty factor will wear off and a new Iraqi government -- which the postwar U.S.-led occupiers are struggling to get in place -- will re-impose restrictions such as age-limits for cinemas and a ban on nudity. I donât think the Iraqiâs are going to give up their porn without a fight. Some among the majority Shiâite Muslim community are already taking matters into their own hands. In the mainly Shiâite south, for example, Basraâs three cinemas closed for two weeks after young men on motorbikes turned up warning that if they showed "sinful" movies they would be burned down. When they re-opened, sex was off the agenda and it was back to Arabic movies and U.S. action films -- the staple of prewar cinema bills. I think Iraq needs a good "protection" program, someone who can protect these theaters for a piece of the action. Faris Sami, who owns a shop selling films on CDs -- including a fair sprinkling of "romantic" and "sexy" films -- is worried about the corrupting effect on teenagers and would like to see some restrictions back. But he is relieved not to be running the same risks as before when he and his business partner would secretly sell sex films to trusted clients and friends. "Uday (Saddamâs son) had a big campaign a couple of years ago. They put my partner in jail for three months," Sami said in his Baghdad shop. "For them, everything was allowed. For the people, everything prohibited." Exactly. Posted by: Steve 2003-09-11 |
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