TV dramas have become increasingly popular in recent years with hundreds of dramas aired each year.

TV dramas are not censored by state management agencies, which helps film producers be more creative. However, this poses challenges for management.

Under the Cinema Law, television directors are responsible for the censorship of TV dramas. This decentralization allows films to be examined quickly and ensure screening on schedule. However, in many cases, hot scenes not suitable to general audiences escape the censorship net and appear on TV.

A film critic told VietNamNet that 90 percent of TV films have one or more hot scenes. The number of such scenes depends on the amount of time as well as the different purposes of film directors and producers.

The question is whether hot scenes are necessary or are just a trick to attract audiences and improve film ratings.

“There is a fine line between artistic hot scenes and vulgar hot scenes. In my opinion, for primetime TV dramas, sensitive scenes need to be restricted,” he said. 

Some television stations and film distributors consider social networks an effective film advertisement tool. 

Hot scenes and previews can catch millions of views on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. This creates interactions between film makers and audiences, but raises doubts about the loose film content management.

The mushrooming of online film platforms also raises worries. Film content is distributed free of charge or for low fees in order to reach large audiences. 

There are numerous websites providing thousands of pirated films. This makes it difficult to detect and control films.

Film labeling a necessity

Le Thanh Tuan, director of Vinh Long Television, affirmed that all firms have to go through harsh examination by the censorship council. Many scenes are cut to suit general audiences.

“We impose strict control on films, from script approval, production to post-production. We warn partners that if they deliberately show sensitive scenes to draw views, the scenes won’t be accepted. If the scenes have been broadcast, they will be removed and partners will take responsibility for this,” he said.

Tuan stressed that because the major audiences of TV dramas are families, the censorship council always carefully selects films for broadcast. Leaders of television stations listen to the audience’s opinions. Control will be tightened in the time to come to be sure that content bears educational and aesthetic characteristics.

Phan Gia Nhat Linh, a well known film director, said the purpose of the labeling and rating of films needs to be clarified. In foreign countries, film ratings are implemented to protect children from unsuitable scenes.

The director of ‘Em va Trinh’ (You and Trinh) believes that ratings will increase parents’ responsibility when their children watch films.

“TV dramas need labels shown at a corner of TV screen like HBO and Netflix do, so that parents can easily supervise the content when their children watch the products,” he said.

“Also, it is necessary to specify the reasons for labeling films, for example, the films contain sex and violence."

Meanwhile, director Charlie Nguyen thinks the labeling of TV dramas is not feasible as every family has a TV. It would be better to control film content by considering scripts carefully. If films are not labelled, television stations can show warnings and adults can decide whether to allow their children to watch the films.

Nguyen Van Tan, deputy chair of the Vietnam Cinema Association, said state management agencies regularly remind television stations to strictly follow film censorship and broadcasting procedures.

“The Cinema Law is applied, but as a management agency, we continue collecting opinions via seminars. The purpose is ensuring that the movie market is on the right track, and that filmmakers have space for creativity."

As for the OTT platform (internet), many problems still exist. Amid arguments about censorship solutions, the state management agency is inclined to believe that online film distributors have to classify films themselves and take responsibility for this.

Tuan Chieu