David Simpson On TeleVision

Big Brother Africa, said one of the show's organisers, did not set any new trends, it simply reflected existing trends. While this is partly true, I think it did set parameters for Zambia in terms of what is accepted by society - in particular the young in society. Their enthusiastic reception of the show, and of Cherise's success, strongly contrasted with the complaints of the pastors. There is no doubt which view is in the majority. There may be a need for legal reform on related matters. Let's learn from Big Brother on this.

And yet, while I like to think I am no longer shocked by anything I see, "Monster's Ball" (16, VSNL), which won Halle Berry a well deserved Oscar, surprised me by its frankness. She gets together with Billy Bob Thornton after each has suffered a personal tragedy, and the getting together leaves almost nothing to the imagination. Billy Bob played the prison warder who supervised her husband's execution. Occasional reminders of this impinge upon Halle's consciousness, but there is little else to call a plot. The film depends on character tensions and irony.

The explicit sex is not, however, just gratuitous - two earlier encounters with some anonymous woman emphasise that for Billy Bob the act has become a meaningless mechanical routine, in strong contrast with his later passionate encounter with Halle.

But is the cinema's present frankness just a passing phase, to be replaced by a returning squeamishness that will lead to many films of our era being unwatchable or even banned? Perhaps not - perhaps the spread of the Internet, where anything goes, heralds a permanent change of attitude. If so, it may be welcomed as a contribution to a more open society.

It does not necessarily lead to licentiousness. Sweden's open society is indicative. Even if that degree of openness (and the concomitant tolerance of pornography) prompts occasional attacks on unprotected public figures (last month's murder of foreign minister Anna Lindh), these can be seen as unfortunate blips in a generally progressive social system.

Several classic Woody Allen movies have been screened recently on MGM (only available on DStv services on W4 satellite. It is frustrating to miss them. However MNet screened Allen's 2001 offering "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" during September. The film had very mixed reviews, some saying Allen has lost his touch, and is merely fulfilling contractual obligations. Others have described it as delightful though inconsequential.

I find Woody Allen always worth watching. In contrast to the macho heroes that audiences seem to go for, his self-deprecatory diffidence is refreshing, and is spiced with typical one-liners ("Keep on with the carrots - they seem to be working", he tells a supposedly blind informant who shows signs of being able to see). Some of these interjections are so subtle that you need to pay close attention or you miss them.

The plot is hackneyed - an insurance investigator and his upstart colleague (Helen Hunt) are subjected to the routine of a stage hypnotist. Allen is persuaded to bypass the security systems which he installed, and steal his clients' jewellery. He and Hunt loathe each other but under this hypnosis can be triggered into believing that they adore each other. This antipathy, supposedly, masks a real affection, and at the end Hunt, who had been about to marry her boss, switches her attentions to Allen. The closing shot - Allen's facial expressions as he realises that the switch is "genuine" and is not triggered under hypnosis - seems (despite the total implausibility) to make the whole film worthwhile!