Liberal Canada allows for riskier sex scenes in homegrown productions: CFTPA panel

Canada’s more liberal attitudes are allowing producers here to push the envelope more than Americans when it comes to depicting sex on television, agreed panelists at the "Is TV Getting Too Sexy?" session at a producer’s conference earlier this month. During the session held at the Canadian Television and Film Production Association (CFTPA) annual conference, the panelists stated though that the sex scenes always had to be integral to the storyline. They didn’t touch on the fact that sex also normally helps draw audiences. "In the U.S., the religious right and moral majority is driving the FCC’s (Federal Communications Commission) policies. But that doesn’t fit into our value system…Our treatment of gay marriage is another example of how we have a different culture," said Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting executive VP of programming Norm Bolen. Canadians enjoy programming with sexual elements, he added, and complaints against sexually explicit programming are small in number. Contrast that to the United States, where the FCC was flooded by complaints after Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed during last year’s SuperBowl half-time show. Panel member Janis Lundman, executive producer at Back Alley Films, noted that she had sold the production Bliss, which contains sexual elements, to five Canadian broadcasters and the U.S.-based Oxygen cable TV channel. "The Americans can be more uptight, certainly about sexuality," she noted. One of the scenes in her show contained frontal nudity – that had to be cut by a minute for the American channel. Oxygen seemed fine at first, but the Janet Jackson incident changed their attitude, she noted. "The channel was worried about what the FCC would say. They started requesting more and more changes to the show (because of the sexual content), but had no problems with the stories," she stated. "U.S. moral values are affecting everything, and creating uncertainty down there." Anne-Marie Varner, head of original productions at CanWest MediaWorks, noted that more sexual content has emerged on TV screens as society’s morals have evolved. "There are challenges with standing on both the edge and meeting viewer expectations," she noted. Michael MacLennan, co-executive producer of Showtime/Showcase’s Queer as Folk, also suggested that Canadians were more liberal when it came to sex on the TV screen. "Showtime let’s us do what we want, and our characters have a lot of sex…but it’s in the service of a larger story. I strongly feel that the truth about 20-year-old people is that they are having sex and thinking about sex more than anything else…" Another show that MacLennan is involved with called Godiva, which will air on CHUM’s Bravo specialty channel on March 16, is also sexually explicit. "There are more restrictions because (Godiva) is set in a restaurant. We’re tired of traditional sex scenes so we’re doing things that have never been done before," he noted. He added that after spending half a year in Los Angeles, where there’s a different moral environment, he finds working in Canada exciting. "The Americans are nervous about sexuality," he stated. Michelle Marion, director of Canadian independent productions at The Movie Network, cautioned, however, that producers don’t just add sex. "It’s got to flow from the characters. Just because you can (do something), doesn’t mean you should," she stated. Bolen emphasized that Canadian mainstream channels weren’t producing smut and noted that sexual content could be depicted in subtle but enticing ways. "Pornography isn’t drama. But at Showcase, we’re not afraid of sexual content. The tag line (of the station) is TV without borders," he noted. Varner agreed, "You do portray the sex in context, and the story is still the most important."

Liberal Canada allows for riskier sex scenes in homegrown productions: CFTPA panel

Broadcast | February 25, 2005

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