RTUK has issued a 13,600 TL (5,440 USD) fine to the Moviemax Premier channel that broadcasted the movie “The Normal Heart” about the HIV epidemic in 1980s.
Source: “RTÜK’ten “Normal Kalp” filmine ahlâksızlık cezası!”, (“Immorality penalty to the movie “Normal Heart” from RTUK”), kaosGL.org, 4 February 2015, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=18635
The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) issued a 13.600 TL fine to Moviemax Premier channel broadcasting via Digiturk for featuring the Emmy awarded movie “The Normal Heart” using an “+18” smart sign and screening the film after 01:00 am.
RTUK: Media Sponsor of “public morality”!
RTUK’s expert report, which considers this movie as “damaging society’s sense of shame and forcing the limits of public morality”, contains the following statements:
“In the film, two men appear kissing lip to lip and nude. Clips of the love and sexual life of gay men, who are hardly accepted in the social living space, are displayed on screen and are considered cases of damaging society’s sense of shame and forcing the limits of public morality.”
Actors such as Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo and Matt Bomer star in the movie adapted from the play with the same name. The movie presents a campaign started against the HIV epidemic that didn’t attract any media attention initially since it was thought that it only affected gay men. The New York Times shared news concerning the epidemic in 1981 with the headline “Rare Cancer Seen In 41 Homosexuals“. The movie “The Normal Heart” draws attention to the fact that information unshared due to social prejudices prevents access to the right to health.