Southeast Asia is another common place where censorship occurs in various media such as internet, publishing, music, and film. Television censorship in Southeast Asia is common in many channels, and in some channels more strict than in most other territories.
Censorship on most channels
Strong language is muted, but some channels are selective about it. Swear words that are censored include "fuck", "cunt", "cock", "bitch", "bastard", "n*gga", and "tits". However, swear words that are rarely censored include "ass", "balls", "shit", "piss", "twat", and "whore".
Graphic violence, blood, and gore is never usually censored except in rare cases where the graphic violence is at its strongest. That is usually the main reason for the "16" or "18" rating for series and movies.
Sex and nudity is a definite no-no, and such scenes are censored in series and movies that have them. As many Muslims frown upon sexiness, even revealing clothing and exposed skin never private parts are often censored in some channels.
Homosexuality is illegal in Southeast Asia and therefore unacceptable. Same-sex romance and kissing is strictly censored. In fact, mouth-to-mouth kissing is considered as indecent as sex, so there are limits to how that kind of kissing is accepted or prohibited.
Because Muslims consider pigs and pork forbidden "haram", such images used to be censored in early 2000s, but they are apparently allowed now in most channels. Some drugs such as morphine were also censored resulting in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers being banned in 1995.
Some shows such as South Park and Family Guy were banned due to excessive vulgar and sexual content and higher-level violence, but those bans were lifted while those series remained heavily censored. Shows like Glee, Ally McBeal, and Friends each had an episode blacklisted.
While censorship occurs in pretty much every channel in Southeast Asia, below is a list of channels where censorship is different and more strict, or where there is no censorship.
HBO
This channel started off as one of those channels that mainly censor just strong swearing and nudity. However, recently a few films end up airing uncensored and leaving the swearing intact, causing controversy among many viewers. Those movies include Bridget Jones's Baby, Patriots Day, Baywatch, and Escape Plan 2: Hades. However on Astro, English subtitles are available on HBO for some reason, and the word "fuck" is censored in the subtitles but not the movie itself. In older movies, swearing is cut out before a character says the swear word. Also, some scenes in family movies that show killing were censored, such as in Daddy's Home 2, when Megan shoots two turkeys.
FOX Family Movies
While not a children's channel, this channel has been made to be more family-friendly. Swearing is more strictly censored, either muted, cut out, or replaced with a cleaner word. Violence is toned down to be less graphic and less prominent. Scenes with nudity are still removed. Some scenes with lingerie are censored. Once again, kissing same or different sex is censored, for example when Wendy kisses Peter in the 2003 Peter Pan film.
Nudity
In the upcoming airing of Shaun The Sheep Movie the scene with the farmers butt was blurred out
Violence
During "Pororo To The Cookie Castle" the scene where Poby hurts himself was cut
MTV
Since 2015, MTV is most likely one of the most strictly censored channels in Southeast Asia.
Violence
Once again, violence is not usually censored in some videos that show it, but music videos that show excessive violence are outright banned.
Swearing
Once again, some swear words are censored and some are not, with the same list as the one mentioned above. Sometimes, the singer's mouth is blurred when he or she says the swear word to avoid lip-reading. However, several other words are censored that are related to strictly censored topics.
Nudity
Nudity is strictly censored (mostly blurred but sometimes covered by a black bar). It is not just the main private parts, but also breasts whether or not showing the nipple (cleavages) and buttocks whether or not showing the butt-hole or butt-crack. This includes side-boobs and under-boobs. Nude mannequins are also censored. Clothing censored because of this includes pasties (such as the seashell pasties worn by Lady Gaga in her "Applause" music video), wet or transparent tops that show the nipples, and thongs. Even short-shorts that reveal a bit of the buttocks are censored. The vulva area is also censored in some thongs or outfits that are close to exposing the vulva itself. The music video for "Fade" by Kanye West is one of the most infamously censored videos on MTV Southeast Asia; Teyana Taylor's buttock-exposing thong is covered by a black bar that makes it look as if she is bottomless, and any scene that shows her fully nude were blacked out, making the video difficult to watch. Even the word "naked" is censored in the music video for "Small Talk" by Katy Perry to remove the pornographic reference despite the word "naked" being used in any other channel with no problems.
Homosexuality
Once again, homosexuality is unacceptable. Same-sex romance and kissing is strictly censored. Even the word "gay" is censored.
Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages are sometimes censored, but it is mostly alcohol labels and alcohol company names that are also censored in lyrics.
Drugs/smoking
Drugs are censored in videos and the lyrics. Cigarettes are sometimes censored because smoking is frowned upon and illegal in public places.
Religion
Since Southeast Asia worships Islam, references to other religions are sometimes censored. In the music video for "Starboy" by The Weeknd, the diamond-encrusted cross and the neon cross are both blurred out. The word "Hallelujah" is censored in "Mother's Daughter" by Miley Cyrus.
HGTV
HGTV rarely uses swearing in their shows, but in some commercials, the word "God" in the phrase "Oh my God" is bleeped out or muted to avoid using God's name in vain.
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon is never commonly censored in some Southeast Asian countries, despite being a children's channel, but there are some exceptions.
End credits
This might or might not count as censorship, but since 2015/2016, many of the old series no longer show their end credits. Instead, the copyright company and year appears at the bottom of the screen at around the last 10 seconds of the episode. The newer series showed the credits but cut out the end logos in most episodes. Since the 2017 revamp, almost every series and film and Nickelodeon cut out the end credits, and the copyright company and year appears at the bottom of the screen at around the last 10 seconds of the show.
Swearing
Obviously there would never be actual swearing, but strangely, even some of the more suggestive words remain intact including God's name in vain, "sucky" (used in an iCarly episode), and "freaking" (used in the line, "She's freaking awesome!" in the Dora and the Lost City of Gold movie trailer shown in the 2019 Kids Choice Awards special).
Nudity
Obviously there would never be actual nudity, but the normally acceptable cartoon nudity would sometimes get censored, like in a couple Spongebob Squarepants episodes; any scene with the David statue in "Artist Unknown", and in "SpongeGuard on Duty" when Patrick accidentally looks at his own butt. Cleavages are blurred out in the 2018 and 2019 Kids Choice Awards specials.
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is another Children's channel in which some shows get censored.
Violence
Obviously there would never be actual graphic violence, but reckless violence in series like Adventure Time and Regular Show gets toned down.
Swearing
Obviously there would never be actual swearing, but due to younger viewers, some rude insults and minced oaths are often censored. Series like Adventure Time and Regular Show have moderate swearing, with words like "sucks", "screw", "freaking", and "pervert", but those do not get censored so much. Still there are more offensive words in Regular Show such as "crap" and "piss" that are strictly censored.
Nudity/sexuality
Obviously there would never be actual nudity, but scenes that give the impression that one of the characters is naked are often censored. Once again, kissing is censored.
Homosexuality
Any instances of homosexuality is unacceptable and therefore censored in series like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Clarence.
Smoking
Smoking is removed in series like The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.
Vandalism
Some scenes that show destruction-like vandalism is removed, such as breaking windows. Window-breaking also occurs when a character is jumping through it off a high building, which is also censored to prevent younger viewers from imitating those scenes and seriously injuring or killing themselves.
Vomiting
Vomiting is often censored, but most of the time, it is not the vomiting that is censored but the repulsive vomiting sound is muted.
Disney Channel/XD
Disney Channel and Disney XD are two very strictly censored channels in Southeast Asia, for the pleasure of Muslim viewers and the safety of younger viewers.
Violence
Obviously there would never be actual graphic violence, but higher-level violence in movies is toned down. Killing is often censored in shows like The Owl House. Slapstick violence is never usually censored, except when it has dangerous results in real life, such as kicks in the testicles or pokes in the eyes. Scenes with blood are often cut or blurred out, even in minor wounds such as in "Phineas and Ferb Saves Summer" when Stacy gets bitten by a spider. Weapons are also blurred out such as guns and explosives. In "Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars" during the "Tatooine" montage, The Tusken Raider's weapon was blurred out because it resembles a hunting gun.
Swearing
Obviously there would never be actual swearing, but due to younger viewers, some rude insults and minced oaths are often censored. In fact, before the 2012 launch of Disney XD in Southeast Asia, most of the censorship on Disney Channel was just removing suggestive words. The rude insults and minced oaths include "jerk", "sucker", "idiot", "moron", "heck", "dumb", "freak", "rats", "stupid", and "dang" (though the latter two became more acceptable recently). Another one of those censored words is "curse", and the most common usage of that word is the catchphrase from Dr. Doofenshmirtz (from Phineas and Ferb), "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!", resulting in half of the amount of that episodes with that phrase being censored (partially or fully cut out or muted). The Cross Fight B-Daman eS episode title "What a Jerk! Basara!" was censored, leaving out "Basara!". Swearing is still censored in movies that containing swearing. In some acquired shows such as Ninja Warrior, words like "damn" and "hell" are censored when spoken and/or subtitled. However, "Hell" does not usually get censored when describing the literal place (the opposite of Heaven). Once again, some moderate swearing such as God's name in vain or "sucks" do not get censored often.
Nudity/sexuality
Obviously there would never be actual nudity, but cleavages and butt-cracks are often blurred out. Revealing clothing is often censored such as Princess Leia's slave outfit; Most scenes in Return of the Jedi that show the outfit are cut or cropped out, and in Phineas and Ferb Star Wars the Twiliek wearing the outfit in the "Hutt's annual swimwear sale" was blurred out. Some scenes that show bras are cut, and while scenes that show a male character is his underwear are never usually censored, it would get blurred out if there is a visible bulge. (covered) Breasts hanging over suspenders are sometimes blurred. The flower pasties on Lillymon (from Digimon Fusion) were blurred out. Kissing often gets censored.
Homosexuality
Once again, homosexuality is unacceptable. The Disney Channel series Andi Mack was banned in Southeast Asia because of a gay main character, Cyrus Goodman, and because of the word "gay" said by Cyrus when coming out to Jonah. Any instances of the homosexual relationship between Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland (from Gravity Falls) were removed. In the Ollie The Ostrich Episode. “No Taxi No Fuss”. Tyson is edited out
Alcohol
For the sake of both Muslims and younger viewers, alcoholic beverages are blurred out.
Smoking
For the sake of younger viewers and country laws, cigarettes are blurred out.
Gambling
Gambling is frowned upon and illegal in Southeast Asia, so most instances of gambling, casinos, and lotteries were removed.
Pork
Because pork is considered forbidden (haram) by Muslims, references to pork and lard were removed, with pork and lard being blurred out. This results in the Milo Murphy's Law episode "Murphy's Lard" being heavily censored. The suckling pig in one of the Right Now Kapow "Magic Chair" was blurred out in most of the scenes that show it, but it could also be because of its disturbing nature.in a Ollie The Ostrich Episode “The Last Stand” the word “Pork” is changed to "Meat"
Race
Some racial references were removed, like in the Phineas and Ferb episode "Act Your Age", the "Nosh Ole Mexican Jewish Cafe" sign was blurred out, leaving out "Nosh Ole".
In The Ollie The Ostrich Episode Seollal Vs Ramadan. The “Kim's Fried Chicken Korean-Arabic-Australian Cafe” sign was blurred out, leaving out "Kim's Fried Chicken
Religion
Since Southeast Asia worships Islam, references to other religions are sometimes censored. Crosses on graves and cross necklaces are blurred out.In the Ollie The Ostrich Episode "Girl's Night Out” Tilly's line “ Just Like A God” was cut. And In The Episode “Bat-Alien” The word "The Church Was Like A God” was cut. And The Episode "Cricket's Back Luck” was banned from the airing in Malaysia due to Cricket's line “I Hate Ramadan” however in “Vietnam” “Philippines” And “Indonesia” It was changed to “I Hate Chip”
Vandalism
Some scenes that show destruction-like vandalism is removed, such as breaking windows.
Jumping
Scenes that show a character leaving higher platforms (by jumping or being pushed or thrown off), such as buildings, bridges, cliffs, ships, down wells, or a staircase to slide down the railing are censored to prevent younger viewers from imitating those scenes and seriously injuring or killing themselves. However, most of the time, it is only the moment where the character leaves the platform that gets cut out and not the falling or crash-landing.
List of notable censored shows (shows without articles not included)
- Simpsons
- South Park
- Big Bang Theory
- Adventure Time
- Regular Show
- Steven Universe
- Teen Titans Go!
- Harvey Beaks
- Spongebob Squarepants
- The Loud House
- Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race
- Gravity Falls
- Daria
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise
- Yo-kai Watch
- American Dad
- Family Guy
- Pokémon
- The Amazing World of Gumball
- Tom and Jerry
- Digimon Fusion
- Game of Thrones
- OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
- Kaitou Joker
- Chowder
- The Tom and Jerry Show
- Uncle Grandpa
- We Bare Bears
- Phineas and Ferb
- Shaun The Sheep