Kitty Hawk bans some movies after complaints

[CommunityEditor]

Crew members aboard the carrier Kitty Hawk complained to the captain because they were offended by the language, gore and violence in a series of movies shown while the ship was underway, Kitty Hawk spokesman Lt. Bill Clinton said. As a result, skipper Capt. Todd Zecchin pulled three movies from the rotation, and according to some reports, he temporarily replaced them on the ship’s movie channels — with cartoons.

To be sure, it wasn’t as though viewers were upset over the subtle disquiet in the Merchant-Ivory classic “The Remains of the Day” — the films in question had also been controversial (and panned) among civilians. Clinton told Navy Times that sailors complained about “Soul Plane” — a raunchy 2004 Snoop Dogg/Tom Arnold vehicle, “Never Die Alone,” — a shoot-’em-up pairing rapper DMX with David Arquette, and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” about a chainsaw massacre in Texas.

Crew members don’t have as much time for leisure as perhaps they would in port: The Kitty Hawk is at sea participating in a joint U.S.-Japanese exercise. Still, off-watch sailors complained in anonymous e-mails to the newspaper Stars & Stripes that “we’re all adults here” and that “they might go crazy” if they were forced into a diet of cartoons and less-intense features.

Clinton said Zecchin imposed the movie restrictions only in response to sailors’ complaints, not because of any movie preferences of his own. The Navy doesn’t censor the movies it sends to ships, but commanding officers are authorized to decide which features are shown.


Article: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/1...ieban_071117w/


If you were the captain, what would you do?

[Measure Man]

Originally Posted by CommunityEditor

Crew members aboard the carrier Kitty Hawk complained to the captain because they were offended by the language, gore and violence in a series of movies shown while the ship was underway, Kitty Hawk spokesman Lt. Bill Clinton said. As a result, skipper Capt. Todd Zecchin pulled three movies from the rotation, and according to some reports, he temporarily replaced them on the ship’s movie channels — with cartoons.

To be sure, it wasn’t as though viewers were upset over the subtle disquiet in the Merchant-Ivory classic “The Remains of the Day” — the films in question had also been controversial (and panned) among civilians. Clinton told Navy Times that sailors complained about “Soul Plane” — a raunchy 2004 Snoop Dogg/Tom Arnold vehicle, “Never Die Alone,” — a shoot-’em-up pairing rapper DMX with David Arquette, and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” about a chainsaw massacre in Texas.

Crew members don’t have as much time for leisure as perhaps they would in port: The Kitty Hawk is at sea participating in a joint U.S.-Japanese exercise. Still, off-watch sailors complained in anonymous e-mails to the newspaper Stars & Stripes that “we’re all adults here” and that “they might go crazy” if they were forced into a diet of cartoons and less-intense features.

Clinton said Zecchin imposed the movie restrictions only in response to sailors’ complaints, not because of any movie preferences of his own. The Navy doesn’t censor the movies it sends to ships, but commanding officers are authorized to decide which features are shown.


Article: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/1...ieban_071117w/


If you were the captain, what would you do?

Show the movies. If you change the movies everytime someone complains, you might as well not even have movies.

Not all tastes are the same...there is a powerful tool to deal with movies you are offended by...the "off" button.

[ringjamesa]

You would think that titles like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Never Die Alone" would tell you that they are probably not Disney flicks.

As a former crew member of the Kitty Hawk I cannot believe what the U.S. military is coming to. Imagine what the enemy thinks when they here this stuff ("....bunch of soft Americans....we can beat those guys."). Come on, are we truely offended here or is someone just trying to mess with moral.

[FINKD]

Originally Posted by Measure Man

Show the movies. If you change the movies everytime someone complains, you might as well not even have movies.

Not all tastes are the same...there is a powerful tool to deal with movies you are offended by...the "off" button.

I agree, show the movies and let the sailors decide whether they'll go to them or not. They're basically a captive audience at sea with limited recreation choices. It's not like they can hop off the boat and catch a movie they like at the local theater. If they want to see the movie, they'll go; if they don't want to see it, they won't.

If I were the captain I would have just let the movies play. If you dont like what is showing...DONT WATCH!!! As a former carrier sailor, I know that see a variety of movies is very important to the crew. As long as all the movies being shown are obscene then what is the complaint? I cant believe a sailor would want to even disrupt the movies that are being shown on TV because out to sea you dont have any other source of television because the cable sucks!!!

Come on now. What has the US Navy come to? First it was TRADITION they did away with. Now as a group of honorable and dedicated men and women we can not choose what movies we watch and don’t watch. Play the movies Captain. If some of your crew members do not enjoy what is playing, tell them not to watch. I am sure there is a spades game going on in berthing they can watch, or wait there is more foul language during that, than any movie I have every seen. There comes a time when the Navy's Leadership needs to realize that you have to piss off a few people for the good of the rest. We can not be this soft. Our country was built and has lasted because we did what was right for the whole, not a few. Play the Movies Captain.

USN CHIEF

Another reason for me to thank God I'm in the Marine Corps. I only hope we don't become poisened by our Navy counterparts with this political correctness crap. Last time I checked we were warriors not ultra sensitive, metro sexual wusses. Let's remember the purpose of the military people. Train hard, play hard, FIGHT HARDER. I just feel bad for the salt dog Chiefs who have watched their Navy go soft on them.

I've done my fair share of deployments on carriers; The USS John F. Kennedy, G.W and most recently, USS Enterprise. These days, civillian MWR reps traveling w/ the ship, go above and beyond to provide recreational activities for the crew. This can range from xbox,chess and checker tournaments, karoke, basketball shootouts, bingo etc...If all else fails, crew members can break out their $1000 laptops or portable DVD players and play/watch their own movies in th privacy of their own racks. So, for the skipper to entertain the thought of banning movies is unreal. It's like saying I hate getting up at reveille and expect the C.O. to extend the ship's to late sleepers. As dumb as my example may sound, point being made, you can't become sensitive to every complaint.

[Funkymustafa]

It might lead one to ask why people who are "offended" by language and violence are in the military at all.