Fans who have been eagerly awaiting the status of “Fifty Shades of Grey” in Singapore can now breathe a sigh of relief as the movie has finally been given a rating of R21.
The Media Development Authority (MDA), the country’s media regulating body, had stated the film contains “Mature Theme and Sexual Scenes” and only those aged 21 and above are permitted to watch the film.
Explaining their justification of the film’s rating on their site, MDA reported that, “Given the film’s focus on a complex relationship, which is underpinned by an exploration of sexual practices, the film is more appropriate under a R21 rating where the Classification Guidelines permit “stronger and more explicit portrayal and exploration of mature themes.”
In the same report, more details about the film’s content are revealed with expected nudity.
“In one of the stronger scenes, the male protagonist undresses the woman and whips her with a belt as a form of punishment. The whipping is not enacted on screen with the impact conveyed through the woman’s pained expression. In another fairly prolonged scene, the male protagonist handcuffs the woman to a metal structure and hits her with a leather crop before tying her hands to a bed post and thrusting against her from behind. Female upper body nudity and sexual thrusting can also be seen in the sexual scenes.”
It also seems that film is not as visually graphic as depicted in the books, as most of the sadomasochistic acts in the film are depicted in a sensuous manner through film’s focus on facial expressions rather than the act itself.
“Overall, the sexual scenes are treated in a sensuous manner. While mild bondage and whipping are depicted, the scenes focus on the characters’ sexual arousal through their facial expressions and do not depict the sadomasochistic aspect of these acts.”
Recently, the movie received an 18 rating from the British Board of Film Classification, a considerably stricter rating compared to the R rating from Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) last month.
The movie was also recently banned in Malaysia after the local censorship board deemed its content unsuitable for Malaysian audiences.
Some of the more recent R21 movies that were shown in Singapore include last year’s South Korean erotic thriller film “Obsessed” and David Fincher’s “Gone Girl”, and there are two R21 movies currently showing, South Korean noir action film “Gangnam Blues” and Jennifer Lopez-starrer “The Boy Next Door”.
“Fifty Shades of Grey” will be released in Singapore this 12 February 2015.
Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com
