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Why censure blades in kdramas ?

Chikyu

Hi, 

I didn't find anyhthing on this topic on the forum. Nor anywhere else actually.

I've been looking for some time now, for an explanation as to why korean dramas censure blades but not, for example, guns.

Censuring cigarettes can be understandable as governments don't want to incite people to smoke. It's kind of ridiculous, You can clearly see the person is smoking something... But still, I understand the motive.

Now, blades ? They don't want to incite people to harm each others ? But using a gun would do the same job, if not worse. Or you can use a hammer, or even a pot, or a pen ! And they are not censuring those even when used with the actual intent to hurt someone in the drama.

If anyone had an idea, or a real answer to this (is there a law ?) I would be delighted.

And sorry if I'm not writing in the correct forum.

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zalcu VIP

The rules are kinda complicated (and someone can correct me if I'm understanding them wrong) as it totally depends on the scene and the drama you're watching. Guns follow the same rules as knifes, after all you could just be holding it to threaten but not harm or intending to smack someone over the head with the gun (in which case the gun would likely have to be blurred as it would be intending to cause harm/causing harm). 

Shooting it is a slightly different story. To my knowledge technically the bullet could be considered what you're intending to do the damage with, so you'd blur the bullet as it would be the thing causing the harm/you would be intending to harm the other person with not the gun. It doesn't make sense, but that's the logic. Because of it many dramas just leave the gun unblurred and avoid showing the person getting shot which often results in the person falling over dead unrealistically. 

There's also many other things that could cause the gun to not be blurred such as:

  • What channel the is drama is on. 
  • What time is the drama airing at.
  • The age rating of the drama.
  • How popular the drama is (more popular ones tend to get away with it more often).
  • How important the scene is to understanding the plot.
  • The network potentially taking advantage of a loophole.
  • The network being lazy and just paying the fine instead of blurring it.
  • And plenty more. 

Edit: I'd recommend the drama The Producers if you're interested in this type of stuff as it goes through a lot of actual rules dramas have to follow. This reddit thread is also a really good read for this.

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Chikyu

Oh wow, thanks for the recommendation.  I'll check it ^^

There were some discrepancies regarding the blurring of the weapon used in action. But looking at your list of reasons why it may not have been blurred I kind of understand why now ^^'

But then again, instead of making it apparent they are blurring a weapon (mostly blade obviously) why don't they only blur the point of impact. Sometimes you can see the bullet wound for example and sometimes it is blurred. As for knife wounds I suppose it's easier as you don't need to show the wound, only blood on the clothes and it will still be believable and not ridiculous.

Anyway, that's a personal reflexion and it's got nothing to do with my initial question.

Thanks for your help ^^

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zalcu VIP
 Chikyu:
But then again, instead of making it apparent they are blurring a weapon (mostly blade obviously) why don't they only blur the point of impact. Sometimes you can see the bullet wound for example and sometimes it is blurred. As for knife wounds I suppose it's easier as you don't need to show the wound, only blood on the clothes and it will still be believable and not ridiculous.

Yeah, that's why it's so complicated. The ruling is very case by case. The word "graphic" is also pretty open to interpretation. You could have 2 dramas with the exact same scene and one could blur out more despite it being the exact same scene because the person approving it had a different version of "graphic" to the other one.

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Chikyu

I've read the Reddit thread and it's really funny ^^'' 

There are so many exceptions ! 

What I understand is that, as in life, the more connexion, money, and acknowledgement from the public you have, the more 'risks' you can take. But that may not always be true either... 

I love korean dramas and their rules ^______^v So funny.

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zalcu VIP
 Chikyu:
What I understand is that, as in life, the more connexion, money, and acknowledgement from the public you have, the more 'risks' you can take. But that may not always be true either...

Yep, that pretty much is how it works. In the end you kinda just look at the blurred/not blurred weapon ruling and take it with a pinch of salt 'cause any exceptions generally tend to be money, connections and popularity related haha.

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