Dear Mr. Gemidopoulos, thank you very much for your mail to the BPjM. It is obvious that you have read a lot about the work of the BPjM which we appreciate very much. It is not an every-day occurrence that we receive mails from abroad regarding our decisions.
The reason for the indexing of the RAMMSTEIN CD was the song “Ich tu dir weh” which according to the Board of the BPjM contains a positive view of the mixture of sex and violence. In Germany, it is now forbidden to sell the CD to people under age. Public advertising for the CD is also no longer allowed. People over 18 are still able to buy the CD, though, since the decisions of the BPjM are a means of youth protection. The decision of the Board of the BPjM is a final one. The distributor of the CD and the band themselves have the right, however, to appeal this decision in a German court. Former CDs by RAMMSTEIN have not been deemed harmful to minors. The Board of the BPjM has stated in those former decisions that these other CDs did not contain any descriptions of sexual acts involving violence. However, the new CD “Liebe ist für alle da” did contain exactly these descriptions, particularly the song “Ich tu dir weh”. The mixture of sex and violence is one which youth protection in Germany regards as a highly harmful content.
If adults choose to pursue this variation of sexual activity, they are free to do so. However, people underage should not be presented with depictions of sexual acts which promote that one party freely permit others to hurt or vilify themselves. Depictions of this sort will also encourage or strengthen sadistic tendencies. The song “Ich tu dir weh” does not, as the Board has come to find, contain any critical aspects of these descriptions.
The song “Pussy” was not relevant in the decision of the Board. This is something that has falsely been stated in the news. The video for the song has been indexed because it contained pornographic pictures. The lyrics alone, however, have been discussed by the Board, and the lines in which the band sings about sex without any feelings involved or as a meaningless act was considered to be problematic, but the song was ultimately found to be more of a satirical description which adolescents would not “take to heart”. The video for the song, however, has also been indexed because it contained pornographic pictures. In Germany, pornography is considered to be severely harmful to minors (= people under 18). The video is now only allowed to be shown on internet sites that feature an age verification system which prohibits the access of minors. We do know that in our modern day media age the indexing of an item does not 100% guarantee that a minor will not get access to the content. Nevertheless, the decisions of the BPjM are meant to be a means of help to those parents who want to keep harmful material away from their children. Furthermore, the decisions are signals back into the producing and distributing world so that the people in charge know where certain limits are reached.
Thank you again for your mail and for the effort you have taken. Best regards, Mit freundlichen Grüßen i.V. Petra Meier Stellvertretende Vorsitzende (vice-chairwoman)
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Nikos Gemidopoulos
Hi, I found very sad the ways you are taken about the band and his last album. Wrost things are on T.V and the teens can´t choose to look it or not, otherwise, all this boys, girls and adults who like the band, they choose to hear the songs, they feel identificated with the band and the lyrics. Censorship is another way to prove ignorance and deaf ears to another way of thinking.
Thanks for your time.
xD jaja
