Mar 22 2019

Iran’s state TV channels are well-known for their creative censorship of “un-Islamic” scenes in movies, but Iranian internet users said they took it to another level on Tuesday night. IRIB TV5 took care to cover up the nipple of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson when it appeared in a hospital scene in the science fiction monster film “Rampage.”

TV5 broadcast the film on March 19, the first day of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. When Johnson appeared in a hospital bad, chest bared, with his broken arm resting on a pillow, the censors apparently used editing software to “stretch” the pillow to hide his right nipple. A tattoo on the left side of his chest was also blurred.

In a country where bootleg copies of Hollywood movies are often available before they are shown on TV, the trick did not go unnoticed. Fans posted sarcastic and mocking reactions on social media.

This Twitter user posted a sarcastic message, writing, “Another historic moment in state media. The people who work in the censorship section of state TV have a strange idea of sexuality if the sight of a male nipple turns them on.”

Another user wrote: “Another achievement by state TV: censoring Dwayne Johnson’s nipples. If they’re afraid wolf teats are erotic, they must think this guy is Kim Kardashian. God, why did we have to be born in Iran?”

Iranian viewers regularly criticise the country’s TV censors. While producers and filmmakers say there are no specific rules, state TV generally follows the country’s strict hijab laws when determining the body parts that women can show in public. It’s rare for male bodies to be covered in the same way.

In April, IRIB TV3 blurred the logo of Italy’s AS Roma football team during the UEFA Champions League in an effort to cover up the teats of the she-wolf on the club’s badge.

An Iranian user also posted photos from the state-owned Namayesh channel showing how a dog being fed at the table was covered by adding a door. For some conservatives in Iran, allowing a dog inside a house is a symbol of Western lifestyle.

Source » france24