[PUBLIB:3847] "Tin Drum" seized as obscene in Oklahoma (fwd)

[PUBLIB]

Sender: "Karen G. Schneider" <kgs at bluehighways.com>
Subject: "Tin Drum" seized as obscene in Oklahoma

Forwarded from ALAOIF...

>Following is a report on The Tin Drum from the July Intellectual Freedom
Action News.  I will post the full issue later this afternoon.
>
>Cynthia Robinson
>Associate Director
>Office for Intellectual Freedom=20
>American Library Association=20
>
>
>The 1979 Oscar-winning film The Tin Drum has become the center of a
growing controversy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  State District Court Judge
Richard Freedom ruled June 25 that the film has scenes of child pornography
and is obscene under Oklahoma state law.  Based on his ruling, Oklahoma
City police seized videotapes of the film from video shops and homes. =20
>
>The Tin Drum is the story of a young boy who wills himself to stop growing
because of his anger over the behavior of adults in Nazi Germany.  The
film, which is widely regarded as a classic,
>was directed by Volker Schloendorff and won an Oscar for best foreign film
in 1979.  The scene which generated concern implies oral sex between a
young boy and a teenage girl.
>
>The controversy began when a local group, Oklahomans for Children and
Families, (OCAF) asked the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System to
remove the video from its collection.  The library refused, saying it did
not consider the film pornographic.  OCAF then had a member check out the
video, and turned over the library=A2s copy to Judge Freeman, who said he ha=
d
no choice but to deem the film obscene under Oklahoma=A2s law.  Based on his
ruling, the Oklahoma City police went to video stores to seize copies of
the film; they also sought the names of individuals who had rented the
film.  In at least one case, they were given names and addresses and
visited the homes of those individuals to seize the videos.  Michael
Camfield, development director of the Oklahoma ACLU, was one of three
individuals asked to surrender a video, which he had rented from a local
Blockbuster Video.
>
>While the police seizures occurred in Oklahoma City, some video-rental
stores across the state pulled The Tin Drum from their shelves until the
matter is resolved.  In Tulsa County, the state=A2s second largest, District
Attorney Bill LaFortune said he would not seize copies from the library or
video stores, saying he found the film *does not violate the state=A2s
obscenity statutes when general constitutional standards are applied.* =20
>A lawsuit has been filed by the ACLU on Mr. Camfield=A2s behalf, citing
violations of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.  The
Fourth Amendment guarantees the right to be free of unreasonable search and
seizure; the Fourteenth secures the right of due process.  The suit also
invokes the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits anyone
from obtaining or divulging information about customers=A2 rentals without
their explicit written permission. =20
>
>*No one disputes that child pornography is evil, but we cannot turn our
cultural decisions over to people who would put a fig leaf in front of a
Michelangelo statue,* said Michael Salem, Oklahoma ACLU co-operating
attorney.  Furthermore, he stated, *It is a violation of federal law to
acquire the records of a customer at a video store without a court order or
a search warrant.*
>
>The Video Software Dealers Association has said it is also filing suit,
focusing on violations of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Video Privacy
Protection Act.  It also contends that the film is not obscene under
Oklahoma law.=20
>
>The Video Privacy Protection Act was enacted in 1988, prompted by the
revelation that, during his contentious Senate confirmation hearings for
the Supreme Court, reporters had obtained a list of films rented by Robert
Bork and his family. =20
>
>Blockbuster video is undertaking it own investigation.  *It is a company
policy never to give out names... .  We=A2re in touch with our legal
counsel,* said Jonathan Baskin, senior vice president for corporate
communications.  *We take this very seriously.  This is not only a legal
issue for us =AF it=A2s a moral issue.  The employees know the policy.  We
don=A2t yet know what went on in the store.*
>
>The situation in Oklahoma City is still evolving, and all the facts are
not yet clear.  The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom is involved in
discussions with the Oklahoma Metropolitan Library System and ALA attorney
Bruce Ennis.  We will update Action News readers on this situation and
possible ALA involvement in the August issue.
>
>Additional information is available at=20
>http://www.state.ok.us/~odl/fyi/tdlaunch.htm.
>
>