Malaysia bans most Western favourites

Think about movies that you could see being banned.

Which ones come to mind?

Movies by Michael Moore, maybe. The American Pie series... perhaps. Babe? Yeah... me neither.

Over the past couple of decades, the Malaysian film board has banned the most [seemingly to Westerners] random films that have been released. When looking through the list of banned films and TV shows that has been provided by the Internet Movie Database, it's hard to understand the motives behind some of the decisions to ban.

Among those banned, the list names movies such as Brokeback Mountian, I Know Who Killed me, Pokemon and Interview with the Vampire. (For a complete list, visit www.imdb.com/List?certificates=Malaysia:%28Banned%29&&heading=14;Malaysia:%28Banned%29)

Confused? Me too. The titles of the movies and TV shows that have been banned vary to the point of randomness, and rarely do the ideas that have placed them on this list make any sense. Movies, such as Babe, and it's sequel Babe 2: Pig in the City, which are both rated "G" in Canada, are yet to be released within the Malaysian boarders.

With children's movies being banned, good luck finding any films that star popular actors such as Seth Rogen or Sacha Baron-Cohen, as well as most horror movies that have been released within the past decade.

Michael Moore is at it again...

Michael Moore’s controversy check list:

√ Flint Michigan’s depression – Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint (1992)

√ Gunfire culture – Bowling for Columbine (2002)

√ The Bush Administration – Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

√ The American economic crisis – Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Michael Moore is the king of controversial documentaries. He doesn’t care who he offends, who he exploits, and who he tramples over to give his viewers the truth about whatever has been bugging him.

This time around, with his newest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, Moore continues to explore the impact of corporate dominance upon the every day American citizen.

For a complete summary of the movie, visit www.imdb.com/title/tt1232207/plotsummary.

Before his movie was even released, Moore was suffering for his past ridicule of General Motors, from his ’92 movie Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint. Over 10 years ago, Moore explored his hometown of Flint, Michigan and exploited the GM automotive plant for their role in the depression that the town is now facing.

Present day, Moore was banned from his own screening of his 2009 movie, as all four of the theatres in which the screening took place are owned by GM. The screenings were able to take place, but Moore was not able to enter the buildings in which they occurred.

Thus far, Moore's newest film has not circulated as much controversy as his previous films, but give it time... we are talking about Michael Moore, after all.