Tonga

Konai Helu Thaman

One of the media that really concerns me is, in the Pacific especially, the films. The movie industry is really affecting the South Pacific and no matter where you go or

– 50 –

how isolated the village or the island is, somewhere, on a Saturday night, there's a movie.

Some of the media we have some control of, for instance you can ring up the broadcasting station or you can write a letter to the editor and make your criticisms, but you have no control whatsoever over the films coming out from Hollywood, or wherever the films come from.

I am very much concerned about film censorship. In most of the Pacific islands, more than half the population is female. What percentage of the film censorship is made up of women? I am concerned about the representation of women on film censorship boards.