My meeting with the censors
Anthony Larme
Office of Film and Literature Classification, late August
2002...written in the interests of better informing the
Australian public about the realities of censorship in
this country:
* Their old address (perhaps they changed in c. 2000?)
= in the Sydney CBD on a main, very wide street. They
occupied the first floor of a huge glittering glass
skyscraper.
* Their new address is perhaps a kilometer to the south
in a neighbouring suburb. The street where they are now
located is little more than an alleyway. It is not visible
from any main road and is far from being a skyscraper.
It's location is very obscure, out of the way, and
quite hard to find. There is no sign anywhere on or
near the outside of the building to identify it as the home
of the OFLC. The only indicator is the small writing on the
building's directory on the far wall of the ground floor.
The building is mainly used for some sort of NSW
Teacher's organisation. Although the floors have high
security, the ground floor does not. There is no guard
or visible camera.
* As you can see on the building directory, the OFLC
occupies two floors - what I suspect are the top and
second from the top floors. I did *not* visit Level 5
(for payments and deliveries)....
sigh.....I never even thought of it for some strange
reason, but it was clear to me from visiting Floor 6
that it would have been just as high security, perhaps
more so.....after all, there are many sensitive business
and $$$ dealings that the OFLC and their clients want
to keep confidential.
* Level 6 =
- two elevators.
- As you emerge, the OFLC reception area is on your left
and a couple of secure thick locked glass doors on your right.
- The reception area has carpet, unlike the lift area, plus
a very small table and two small but comfortable chairs.
Next to this area is a wall. The wall has two openings....
one for a secure card controlled (or was it combination
controlled?) glass door. The other is a small counter
with a receptionist. Behind her is the OFLC logo (at last!...
I didn't see it anywhere else!). Through those two openings
in the wall (door and reception counter) one can see a very
very modern, very bright office that contains some stairs
to the floor below (thus decreasing the need for the staff
to exit their secure environment). Everyone has a very high
standard of dress, way exceeding anything I've seen at a
university! The overall atmosphere was
one of quite professional efficiency.
* Human interaction? This is rough how it went:
- I photographed the building from the outside for a few minutes.
- ....entered the building via the ground floor and looked at the
building's directory.
- entered the lift along with a short middle aged woman.
- we both went to the 6th floor.
- she make a casual comment about the weather (it was
very rainly that day). I just nodded politely.
- the woman entered the secure area on Level 6
near the OFLC Reception.
- I sat down in the reception and looked through 2
items on the table....their 2000-2001 Annual Report
and some sort of standards statement. I then asked
the receptionist if I could take them. She agreed that
I could.
- I looked around the reception area for a minute and
then went to leave.
- For some flippent, daring, reckless reason, I tried
the locked doors near the lift (not the single door
next to the reception) to see if they would open.
I think I was just temporarily disoriented from stress
and excitement. I'm sure the receptionist saw me
do this.
- Then an idea came to mind....would they agree to me
taking pictures of their reception area? I asked the
receptionist and she told me to wait a minute. She was
always very smiling and very polite and professional, but
I got the impression she didn't trust me....after all, I was
dressed scruffily compared to her and her coworkers (I save
lots of $$$ by rarely buying new clothes!), but I look just as I
always do at, say, university.
- Anyway....she came back after a couple of minutes
with a surprise....none other than the Director/Chief Censor
Des Clark himself!
- I was taken aback when I saw him! I've never spoken in
person with someone in his position before!
- DC didn't identify himself to me, but I recognised him
immediately and I think he knew I realised who he was.
- DC was not rude, and spoke in a soft, slow voice, but the
coldness and firmness was there and it was clear
I was meant to leave.
- He asked me who I was and why I wanted to take pictures.
I just said I was a member of the public interested in
"censorship" (damn! wrong word!), and that I wanted some
proof that I'd been there. I was fairly vague, coming to
think of it. I did not identify myself....I wonder if he
knew who I was? I wonder if he'd have known if I'd asked
him to recall the SMH a week beforehand (which quoted me
making various anti-censorship comments).
- DC said that the receptionist had told him I'd already
been allowed to take the annual report and the brochure and that
he thought that was enough. He then specifically forbade photos.
- I wasn't going to disobey him (even though I wanted to),
because I had too much of my holiday ahead of me to
worry about the police! Also, I wanted to keep my camera
and film!
- I thanked everyone and then went back to the ground floor.
- As I was leaving (and no one was around), I improvised
and photographed the OFLC name on the floor directory!
- Also, as I was leaving, I had a funny thought....what would
have happened if I'd asked DC to autograph my OFLC
annual report?! :-)
Surely they must have felt the need for greater security?!
That's why they moved?
I just couldn't get over their obscure location
and all the barriers to the public!
Who threatens them?
- Robbers because of the high $$$ for classification fees,
thus the OFLC is known to have lots of $$$ to rob?
- Disgruntled consumers of products they ban?
......I wonder what they thought I might do? Actually,
I have lots of reasons to support them....without their
banning of Phantasmagoria in 1995, I wouldn't have "met" so
many online people, nor been able to
complete two new university degrees! :-) Also, I would
likely not have been motivated to design so many
Web pages. In many ways, I suppose, yes, I am
thankful to the censors!
I was and am still not any threat to them at all!
This information is *not* to be used for illegal
purposes!
Lastly.....
* They are very, very professional. I haven't seen such
a high standard of office decoration, structure, and
dress standards anywhere else apart from, say,
a city office filled with lawyers or accountants!
So, that's it...our censors...like them or loathe
them, that is what it is like to visit their
offices as an uninvited visitor!
Sincerely,
Anthony Larme
http://anthonylarme.tripod.com/gc/index.html
la...@hotmail.com