| Ice Princess
Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5,220 Gender:  Location: Eastern Tranquinity
Total SGC$: 1,225.47 |  It was really disturbing
SHE had gone to the World Book Fair at Suntec Convention Centre, hoping to pick up some good bargains.
But what Miss Rachel Chan, 24, saw last Sunday at the children's section stunned her.
It was a graphic novel, 'How To Make Money Like A Porn Star', stacked next to The Simpsons comics.
Then, a boy and a girl picked up a copy each and were engrossed in it for the next 10 minutes. They looked to be in their pre-teens and their parents were not with them at that time.
Miss Chan flipped through the novel as well but did not alert anybody at the fair about it.
Inside was a two-page spread of a naked woman in a suggestive pose. She took some pictures of the comics using her handphone camera.
The freelance writer later wrote to The New Paper saying: 'It was really disturbing. There was frontal nudity throughout the comic book and some disturbing passages that were definitely not suitable for children.'
CONTROVERSY
The graphic novel, written by American journalist Neil Strauss and illustrated by Asian American Bernard Chang, had been imported from the US.
A check with the Media Development Authority (MDA) showed that it had listed the novel as 'disallowed', yet it was being sold at a booth manned by Times the Bookshop and was also being sold at its bookstores.
In the graphic novel, Strauss tells the tale of Claudia Corvette, a fictional character who starts from humble beginnings and then enters the world of porn. It blends dark humour and even darker reality to give a 'morality tale' of the world of adult fantasy.
The book - intended for mature readers - involves gunplay, breast implants, violence, abuse, nudity, and comedy. It also sparked controversy when it was first released in the US last year.
Strauss also wrote How To Make Love Like A Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale, an autobiography on real-life sex actress Jenna Jameson.
He has also co-written books with rock stars and bands that include Marilyn Manson, Motley Crue and Dave Navarro.
REMOVED FROM SALE
Times has expressed regret that How To Make Money Like A Porn Star, published by Harper Collins, was included for sale at the book fair, reports said.
It has since removed it from its shelves.
Books like these have upset some parents, who also complained that some graphic novels, clearly intended for mature readers, were available at the National Library.
Mrs A Chen, 40, a housewife and mother of three boys aged 8, 11 and 15, said such books should be kept in a separate section which is not accessible to children.
Another parent, Madam Haslinda Putri Harun, 36, a mother of two daughters, aged 7 and 4, said: 'If this happens to me, I will be shocked. I think the library has to play its part and have more stringent guidelines.'
However, the director of a dental clinic added that 'parents should also be more pro-active and check the books and programmes their children are reading and watching'.
Mr Roger Ong, 42, a counsellor with Care Corner Service Centre, agreed that parents must take an active role in supervising their children, and not just leave it to the authorities.
He said his daughter was only 2 1/2years old when she asked him: 'Daddy, can I have sex with you?'
She had learnt the words from television. He and his wife had left the TV on and had left her unsupervised for a few minutes.
Mr Ong said: 'With the proliferation of the Internet, it is impossible to cut off their access completely. So it is even more important to instill in them a value system.'
WARNED TO SELF-REGULATE
So how did the graphic novel end up on local bookshelves?
Times added that it assumed the distributor had got the green light from the local authorities.
When contacted, the MDA said that the comic book had been submitted for review by an importer in January this year.
As there was 'excessive and explicit nudity and sexual scenes', it was disallowed.
The information was then updated on the MDA database, which all registered importers had access to.
But it was left up to the importers to self-regulate.
Such a practice enables faster clearance of publications into Singapore, said Mr AR Madeei, senior assistant director (Publications), of the media content division in MDA.
Preliminary investigations by the MDA revealed that it had been imported by another distributor.
MDA declined to name the distributor as investigations are on-going, but said that the distributor had agreed to pull them out from all retail outlets.
Under the Underdesirable Publications Act, anyone who imports, distributes or sells undesirable publications can be fined up to a maximum of $5,000 and jailed a year.
A spokesman for the Media Development Authority (MDA) said that there are stringent guidelines on comics which can be sold here.
The spokesman said: 'As a rule of thumb, guidelines on comics are generally more stringent than books, as comics are illustrative in nature and target the young.'
Since the beginning of this month, comics carrying adult content must be shrink-wrapped, according to the MDA.
They must also carry the consumer advice: 'Unsuitable for the Young'.
MDA added that it has briefed the industry on these revised guidelines.  To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. |
Linear Mode
