MPAA Rejects Taxi Poster, Gibney Charges Hood Removal "Is The Ultimate Cover-Up"

The MPAA has rejected THINKFilm's initial poster for Alex Gibney's TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, one of the year's most acclaimed films, over a Corbis photograph of a two US soldiers leading away a hooded prisoner.

In an interview yesterday afternoon, Gibney relayed that he'd been told by THINKFilm that the MPAA claimed to be following set standards regarding hoods, stating that they'd refused to approve hoods for other films, including horror films.

"In some ways, (TAXI) is a horror film," Gibney said, "but it also happens to be a documentary."

Last year, the MPAA rejected the poster for Michael Winterbottom's ROAD TO GUANTANAMO, which was a narrative/nonfiction hybrid over similar issues. But Gibney notes an important distinction:

"The ROAD image was a manufactured image. This one is real. It's a real image."

Calls to the MPAA for comment were not returned, although in a statement to Variety's Anne Thompson, they said, "We treat all films the same. Ads will be seen by all audiences, including children. If the advertising is not suitable for all audiences it will not be approved by the advertising administration."

But Gibney doesn't buy the "protecting the children" argument. "There's a lot that my kids see daily on the front page of the NY Times. They're offensive images. But they're real images."

Gibney, who spoke to me as he was putting finishing touches on his Sundance-debuting doc on Hunter S. Thompson said that the hood has become a symbol worldwide of US prisoner abuses, the topic of TAXI, which is a seering look at the Bush administration's torture policies. He likened the MPAA's desire to eliminate the hood to political figures denying that torture or mistreatment occurs in US facilities.

"Removing the hood is the ultimate cover-up. (The U.S.) didn't use to do that sort of thing. Removing the hood sends the same message as the Bush administration with the CIA tapes. It's OK to do it, it's just not OK to show it."

TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE opens in theaters next month. It's been nominated for both the Gotham and the IDA Awards and has been shortlisted by the Academy.

Comments

[Aaron C.]

That is a great poster. Hopefully it survives.

[Tom]

Clearly, not all images are treated the same at all. What about classics like

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN

or the ultimate torture movie

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

which actually features the bloodied head wearing a crown of thorns?

Besides, the hood is not at all a "symbol of torture". It is a symbol of concealment. It has become associated with torture precisely because of the issues that Gibney examines in this film. How is continuing to properly acknowledge human suffering caused by our policies overseas protecting the children from anything other than an undeserved clear-conscience? And why do we spend our adult lives eliminating ideas that threaten the fantasy of childhood innocence? This ruling is predicated on a ridiculous argument perfectly suited for this ridiculous time in which we live.