Arrowman

No problem; sorry to be come across snitchy in the first place.

As regards church and state; we do have a clause (116) in our Constitution which Americans will find familiar:

"The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth."

- No prizes for guessing where we borrowed that from.

The church-state issue as such, is not as big a deal in the public arena as it is in the US. I think this is because in Australia the predominant churches are Anglican, Catholic and Uniting - ie, the more mainstream, liberal churches whose leadership and congregations by and large are not looking to take over the country - whereas in the US you have a very prominent and aggressive fundamentalist community which we don't have to the same extent.

This means we are less "vigilant" by and large, and to some extent that is justified - yes, I know, price of liberty and all that, but really I think the "threat" is less here.

Anyway - I have e-mailed the Office of Film & Literature Classification with some questions. Just for the heck of it.

Ysabella

On the lighter side, when the Exorcist was re-released last year, a new system of <a href="http://www.filmladder.nl/images/kijkwijzer/kijkwijzer.gif" target="_blank">little round icons</a> on movie posters and fliers was introduced here in the Netherlands. There is a little spider meaning "scary," and little stacked-up feet for "sex." There was one on the Exorcist poster for "bad language" of this guy with stuff coming out of his mouth, and I thought it was specifically for vomiting (you can see the icon on the link above)!

Toto

Those icons! The one for sex (or seks, as you call it) looks really familiar - did Mad Magazine use it? I think that icon would be banned in some parts of America.

Euromutt

Not really, Toto; you see, that icon got slapped on American Pie, just to give you an example. If it wasn't for the fact that those icons were only introduced last year, Basic Instinct or Showgirls would have got it as well. We're not talking hard-core raunch here.

So from left to right we have: "Violence", "Sex", "Fear/Suspense", "Drugs and (/or) alcohol abuse", "Discrimination" and "Crude language"
At least we don't have one for "thematic elements" yet.

mongrel

Arrowman, It's obviously not a direct threat to Oz, but imagine if the US became a fundy nation. It scares me to think of what could happen in the world, if the only remaining true superpower becomes a fundamentalist Christian nation, given that we have the worlds largest Muslim population sitting next-door in Indonesia. Right now, I reckon we could do a decent job of defending ourselves. But what's going to happen in the future? If the fundies get a grip on US politics, where the hell does that leave us?

Sorry, a bit OT.

ohwilleke

Obviously, it leaves you relying on your elite military allies the Kiwis along with their militia of prepubescent girls in neo-maritial outfits. I don't see how you can have any fear of an Indonesian invasion with allies like that!

Oresta

Those icons! The one for sex (or seks, as you call it) looks really familiar - did Mad Magazine use it? I think that icon would be banned in some parts of America.

Oh, I don't know about being banned. It looks like the church-sanctioned missionary position to me.

Arrowman

Oh, I always thought the Israelis had the best "women in uniform". Those shorts...

On a more serious note - don't knock the ANZACs. As close to a "secular religion" as you get, down here.

mongreldog, you are right. We must stand with our US friends in BOTH fights against fundamentalist lunacy - whether in Afghanistan or Alabama.

mongrel

The girls would probably be more use than their military!

But seriously, I'm not really concerned about Indonesia invading Australia now-I don't believe they have the capability(yet). I'm more concerned about the future(15-20 years or more).

Imagine a Christian fundy US. Would wars involving the US be more or less likely? I would think more likely, given the amount of tolerance typically shown by fundies. Holy war with those heathen Chinese? Who cares if a few million get themselves killed? They'll all go to heaven(not the heathens, though)!

While this is happening, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore team up(not very likely at the moment, I know, but this is a hypothetical future), to obtain vast tracts of unused land to the south. Considering the population density in much of their region(particularly Indonesia), and the natural resources in Australia, and I guess the option of invasion could become attractive. I wonder whether or not a fundy US would honour the ANZUS treaty with such a secular nation(especially if they're involved in a major conflict elsewhere). I couldn't imagine any effective help coming from anywhere else.

I suppose we could line up and throw empty beer bottles at 'em!

I'm not sure if this makes any sense to anyone else, but I can't think of a better way to put it. Also, I apologise for ranting about this, but I think that what happens in the US can have dire consequences elsewhere.

Lex Talionis

Don't worry -- even the fundies know that nothing gives you popular support like a war. If anything, a fundy government in the US would make military assistance more likely and vicious as they'd be fighting "heathens".