Smutty comics breed mind pollution

Media

Part of The Cross

Title
Smutty comics breed mind pollution
Creator
De Castro, Benito S.
Language
English
Year
1971
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Fulltext
SMUTTY COMICS BREED Mind fcouufriobi THE ONSLAUGHT of pollu­ tion today is alarming. The air we breathe and the water we tap in our lakes and rivers are shadows of the grim rea­ per, silently driving to extinc­ tion thousands of humans and other creatures, including ma­ rine and plant lite, everyday. But this problem, though it wreaks a heavy toll on the world’s treasures, is a speck in the dust compared to the im­ pact of mind pollution which, if not checked soon enough, might turn our country into a sanctuary of beasts, lunatics and criminals. This mind pollution triggered by k-wJ films and pornographic pic­ tures and literature knocks heavily on ihe youths and adults and has gone deeper into intoxicating even young children who now take to smutty comics as their second book inside classrooms. Publishers of legitimate comics maga­ zines agonize over the abrupt decrease in their sales. Civic and religious organizations must rush to their aid by making war against smut reading matter. Instincts Whetted Scores of smutty comics maga­ zines are in the newsstands and thousands are peddled, selling like hot cakes. These comics magazines are on sale everyday—each kind has a weekly frequency—and they hit the streets one after the other. While heretofore young boys and girls and even adults have been choosy in buying comicB magazines, today they pick any of the various titles from the racks and get what they want—heart-tugging sex sto­ ries complete with telling and ghast­ ly illustrations that whet their in­ stincts of lust and curiosity. It is disheartening that in spite of the watchful eyes of civic organ­ izations primarily organized to guard the youths from corruption, not to mention the Board of Cen­ sors and law enforcement agencies, the sale of pornographic pictures and literature goes on unabated, bringing fortunes to some. But what is to be abhorred is the fact that these publishers are out to profit and destroy. The laxity of our law enforcing agencies in dealing with smut deal­ ers is common knowledge. Anyone who treads along Rizal Avenue in Manila after eight o’clock in the evening will see groups of young men including boys engrossed over smut magazines and pictures spread on the concrete sidewalk. Also, it is not seldom that males waiting for their rides along the downtown area at night time would be tapped on the shoulder by young boys who of­ fer for sale some mini pocketbooks which, they enticingly whisper, are bedtime stories. What adds to the discomfort of sensible persons is the fact that several vendors shout their smut wares like any other commo­ dity under the very nose of police­ men. And for some time now, the same shabbily clad urchins con­ tinue peddling smutty pocketbooks with utmost freedom. Publishers' Agonies The popularity of smutty comics nowadays can be seen from the fact' that puolishers of legitimate comics magazines agonize over the abrupt decrease in their sales. A publisher of a legitimate comics magazine conducted a cross-country survey of vendors and was bluntly told that if he wished to catch up with the rest of the comics magazines, he should also print “bomba" scripts. This temptation to rake in a for­ tune out of smut led to the change in format and contents of some for­ merly solely-for-entertainment co­ mics magazines. Today* the popu­ larity of smutty comics has trebled —narrow cubicles offering comics magazines for rent have mush­ roomed in the vicinity of universi­ ties and colleges and eyen elemen­ tary schools. Everyday, students and school children peruse various kinds of comics magazines in these nooks as part of their daily activ­ ity. Some even forget their classes while being engrossed in their read­ ings. Just what kind of stuff most co­ mics magazines today offer to read­ ers doesn’t merit repetition. Suf­ fice it to say that they tickle the May-June, 1971 Page 10 curiosity of teenagers and kids. Af­ ter reading a smut magazine, would it be surprising if the teenagers will seek •‘places" and the children be infatuated and bewildered? It is noteworthy, however, that some civic groups and associations have manifested their bounden duty to help cut short or minimize the production and indiscriminate sale of smut literature and pornographic pictures and the exhibition of in­ decent films. Wholesome Reading In view of the fact that Filipinos are avid readers and because of the dearth of reading materials espe­ cially those written in the vernacu­ lar, as compared to those in other countries, they always take to what­ ever cheap literature they can get hold of. Thus comics magazines easily get to their laps because they are cheap, even a school boy can have one for the price of a cheap snack. But what disturbs our ima­ gination is the inevitable conse­ quence that will crop up when our young boys and girls grow tall with experiences broached by improper and unwholesome literature. In a measure seeking to repeal Sec. 10 of the Copyright Law, au­ thored by Congressman Jose B. Lau­ rel. Jr., he deplored the scarcity of wholesome beneficial products of the Filipino intellect in literature and in the arts and sciences, especially printed materials. The government, Laurel contended, should make avail­ able these products of human intel­ lect at a price that every man in the rural area will not hesitate to pay, because these reading materials are also food for their intellect. “These kinds of literary and artis­ tic printed works will help reorient the people’s mind and encourage the fans of smut and pornography to seek better reading matter. Our youths will benefit most from whole­ some reading because their impres­ sionable minds can assimilate the best that good literature can offer, to replace the sex, crime and im­ moral information that now grip the minds of the curious who can af­ ford to buy only this kind of read­ ing materials,” Laurel explained. Vigilance The Citizens Council for Mass Media (CCMM) which has gained prominence due to its vigilance over the proper use of the mass media in communications has been up to its neck in shielding the youth from May-June, 1971 These youngsters, engrossed in their reading, are a conunon sight in .omicsforrenl cubicles found in the vicinity of schools and colleges. exploitation by unscrupulous pub­ lishers and movie producers greedy for money. Unfortunately, however, it is not clothed with police powers so that al) it can do is to encour­ age the production of wholesome movie and TV entertainment shows and programs and the publication of similarly palatable reading mat­ ter. This mission is achieved through the CCMM’s annual recognition awards. Another commendable effort was the recent dramatic expression by the Reading Association of the Phil­ ippines of their war against smut literature and indecent films. In a spirited demonstration that took them to the Malacanang grounds, the members of the associa­ tion composed of parents, teachers, students and children, challenged the administration to “save the country from pollution." The demonstrators said the entertainment field is be­ ing flooded with smut books and magazines. Citizens’ Fight They also appealed to the parents in their campaign against smut. Concerned parents can do much to improve the reading habits and at­ titudes of their children by helping them distinguish between pornog­ raphy and art, they said. They declared that the readilig habits taught in schools, our at­ tempts to refine taste, instill higher values and upgrade instruction are futile in the face of the cheapening quality and coarseness of the en­ tertainment world. They cited the glaring fact that even the vocabu­ lary of the children at play is loaded with smut. The fight against smutty comics and pornographic pictures and lite­ rature and lewd films should not only be a government, but a citizen affair as well. The government rep­ resented by the Department of Edu­ cation and the law enforcement agencies shotlid seek the banning of smut magazines and the enforce­ ment of the law to the later. The ci­ tizens, especially parents and teach­ ers, should be doubly watchful over the weaknesses of the young and keep them from reaching a point of no return. • Page 11