Clip snip cuts heat out of steamy video ("Sun Herald" - Australia)Time of publication: 13.02.2003 |
A CONTROVERSIAL music video starring two Russian teenage "lesbians" was heavily censored by Channel Ten before screening on Video Hits yesterday.
The video clip for All The Things She Said by Tatu has already created a storm in the UK and Europe because it features extended kissing scenes between the two lead singers, Julia Volkova and Lena Katina, aged 17 and 18 respectively.
The girls have become instant stars in the UK because of their provocative music and video clip, which features them in school uniform. (The fact that they have declared their love for each other hasn't hurt record sales either.)
But some parent groups have raised concerns about the role of the girls' manager, a former child psychologist called Ivan Shapovalov, in shaping the band's erotic image.
He has admitted that Tatu are an "underage sex project" designed to appeal to men in search of "underage entertainment".
"Nobody actually knows whether they're lesbians or not, but it's being viewed as one of the best marketing ploys ever used in pop," said one UK insider.
"They're making a lot of money by pushing this image," he said. "A lot of parents are upset, but TV audiences can't get enough of it."
When the video clip was screened on Channel Ten yesterday the station was careful to edit the scenes labelled as the most controversial.
"There are two instances of very passionate kisses where the scenes have been edited," confirmed a spokeswoman for Channel Ten. "In the version which was screened, it's only implied that they're going to kiss.
"But the editing has got nothing to do with the lesbianism, we edit passionate heterosexual kisses too because of our G rating," she said.
Despite the editing by Channel Ten - mainly out of concerns for their younger audience - the clip will be played regularly before the single is released for sale in March.
"The producers of the show feel it's a great clip, and a great song," said the spokeswoman. |
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