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The Golden Age of Censorship — Paul Hoffman
Dazzling, masterful and compelling, a novel that challenges our ideas about censorship, prejudice and the fine line between art and exploitation.
It is 1984 and video has just arrived in British homes. With it comes a widespread distrust and fear. The public dread a deluge of porn, violence, cannibalism and dismemberment. Eager to reflect the public mood, Parliament grants sweeping powers to the chief film censor, Nick Berg.
Every film ever made must be reclassified for home viewing. Berg contrives a grand plan. He will create an entirely new kind of censorship -- benign, thoughtful, and intelligent. But first, he must hire a team. Berg announces a competition to find a handful of the best and the brightest. Thousands apply. Interviews, tests and rejections follow, until only seven remain -- the “Magnificent Seven,” who will decide what others can see. Tasked to reflect the very best of what can be thought and said, they will encounter the great monuments of censorship -- The Exorcist, Cannibal Holocaust, and Reservoir Dogs -- as well as the obscure and unexpected: Rupert Bear and Little Yum.
Off-screen, all is not going well in the inner sanctum. Berg's prized rationale is flawed. Fault lines appear within his team of seven. A struggle for power is set in motion which quickly leads to betrayal, madness and, ultimately, death.
It is 1984 and video has just arrived in British homes. With it comes a widespread distrust and fear. The public dread a deluge of porn, violence, cannibalism and dismemberment. Eager to reflect the public mood, Parliament grants sweeping powers to the chief film censor, Nick Berg.
Every film ever made must be reclassified for home viewing. Berg contrives a grand plan. He will create an entirely new kind of censorship -- benign, thoughtful, and intelligent. But first, he must hire a team. Berg announces a competition to find a handful of the best and the brightest. Thousands apply. Interviews, tests and rejections follow, until only seven remain -- the “Magnificent Seven,” who will decide what others can see. Tasked to reflect the very best of what can be thought and said, they will encounter the great monuments of censorship -- The Exorcist, Cannibal Holocaust, and Reservoir Dogs -- as well as the obscure and unexpected: Rupert Bear and Little Yum.
Off-screen, all is not going well in the inner sanctum. Berg's prized rationale is flawed. Fault lines appear within his team of seven. A struggle for power is set in motion which quickly leads to betrayal, madness and, ultimately, death.
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