Incest has been a topic for all of human history in the stories we tell each other, because incest has always been a part of life. The word "incest" can apply to the ugly reality of
assault and molestation or to the beautiful reality of consensual sex (consanguinamory). These days, consanguineous sex between consenting adults is often portrayed as something only troubled, disturbed people would do. Which of these is going on in Kim Ki-duk's movie "Moebius" I can't be sure, but it might be closest to the latter. According to
Pierce Conran at
twitchfilm.com, the Korea Media Ratings Board has a problem with the movie.
In
a letter sent to the KMRB, Kim stated that the mother-son incest
element of the film (which he believes is the cause of the agency's
restrictive ruling) is a necessary element to his story. He further
explained that when taken in context of the overall narrative, this
deviant relationship takes on a different meaning. Kim wrote that the
inclusion of the scenes was 'an inevitable choice' for him. If the film
fails to secure a more lenient rating, Kim said he will reimburse cast
and crew out of his own pocket.
On the reevaluation request, the director summarized the
movie as the story in which “The jealousy and anger of the couple who
lost faith are passed on to their son, making everyone live in guilt and
sorrow, which eventually leads to giving up of pleasure and desire.” I
know this summary doesn’t help much, and one would have to watch the
movie to get what he’s saying.
The director also added that, “Even though physically, the
son’s body is used, if you watch the movie carefully, the meaning is
different … it’s an important tool which was inevitable to express the
concept.”
Without arguing whether or not a ratings board should be able to effectively censor a movie, I'll just offer that I would be disturbed by assault or child molestation being depicted as positive. It should be depicted, and depicted as negative. It shouldn't be swept under the rug and ignored. Of course, I also support the depiction of consensual sex between adults in a positive light in general, and that includes consanguinamory. Yes, sometimes consensual sex happens for bad reasons or between people who aren't right for each other or it is unsatisfying, but it is
dishonest for consanguinamory to
never be depicted as a good thing. It shouldn't have to be a bad thing or done by disturbed characters within the context of a story for a depiction to be allowed.
stop believing the lies of consanguinamory!
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