Too Sexy For the City
Artist:
Year: 2008
Date of Action: 5/20/2008
Region: Middle East
Location: Israel
Subject: Explicit Sexuality, Religion
Medium: Commercial Advertising, Film/Video "Film/Video" is not in the list (Commercial Advertising, Dance, Design, Installation, Journalism, Literature, Mixed Media, Music, Online, Painting, ...) of allowed values for the "Has medium" property.
Confronting Bodies:
Description of Artwork: The "Sex in the City" Poster featuring Sarah Jessica Parker was banned from two Israeli cities, Petah Tikva and Jerusalem, due to its sexual content and use of the word "Sex."
The Incident: Forum Films, the Israeli distributor of the "Sex and the City" movie, opposed advertising posters and billboards for the film in Jerusalem and Petah Tikva because officials there don't want the word "sex" on display. Both regions have a high population of religious individuals, and thus they find such depictions of both women and sexual activity apprehensible.
Results of Incident: While municipal officers attempted to have the word “Sex” removed, Arye Barak, Forum Films spokesperson argued that the word was essential to the title of the film, and should not be tampered with. Barak argued that the way you don't remove the word "Coca" from "Coca-Cola" and just leave "Cola," we can't do it in this case," he said. "It's ludicrous."
The posters were not allowed to be hung, but alternative advertisements on television, the internet and radio.
