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Vince Desi goes Postal on movies and censorship

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Contributed by: Jason M Snug on 6/9/2008

Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, some would say that censorship has caused more controversy than it has prevented. Vince Desi is one such person; his views on offensive media are as extreme as ever, due to the hoops he has leapt through recently to make sure the public will know (and laugh uproariously at) the "Postal" movie.

The "Postal" franchise started back in 1997 with the release of "Postal", developed by Running With Scissors, a small software company that stirs up big controversy. The game's high level of violence towards not only enemies but innocent people earned it high rewards, and more than its fair share of notoriety. "Postal" and "Postal 2" have made countless spots on "Most Banned Games" lists, as well being banned from sale in several countries. Once the game-based movie was presented to theater owners, the reactions did not change with the media. During an interview, Vince Desi revealed his insights on the nature of censorship:

Buffalo.com: "Mr. Desi, your gaming company, Running With Scissors, has confronted and overthrown every threat to your company's existence imaginable: games being pulled from store shelves, lawsuits from the United States Postal Service, Senator Lieberman... are there any major differences you've discovered in being censored from movie theaters, as opposed to being censored in the video game community?"

Vince Desi: "Censorship is evil in any form. While the players may be different, it's all the same, some individuals or parties have a common agenda and any small entity that threatens them will be harmed. Although I do believe that ultimately the love for greed and gain will overcome their pseudo moral positions. It's amazing what people will do for money, especially if they think they can get away with it. Fact is the movie is still playing and will continue to open in more theatres."

To casual moviegoers, the "Postal" movie would appear to be a nondescript link in a chain of video games becoming films. Closer inspection, however, would reveal this link to be covered in sharp political barbs, oxidized over with widely offensive humor, and teeming with tetanus-laced violence, all in the name of dark humor. Instead of branding this film with an "R" or "NC-17" rating and scheduling all showings of "Postal" after the kids have gone to bed, it was rejected.

"They were scared it would beat Indian Jones and Sex In The City. I truly believe that if it would have been presented as an action comedy, by another director, it would have been well received," reasoned Vince Desi. Major movie theaters simply decided they would not show "Postal" to the public; a twist that could have negatively impacted the success of the then film-festival champion and the upcoming "Postal" 3. Fans of the Postal franchise, however, had other plans:

Vince Desi: "Without even asking, there have been several efforts by fans to contact the theatre owners, local movie theatre managers, protests out front, and more, so its all the more encouraging to me to continue honoring our fans, and the best way for me to do that is to make 'POSTAL III' a truly great game."

Running With Scissors and CEO Vince Desi eventually got the knockout they wanted; theaters owners across the country folded to the pressure of "Postal" fans, and begrudgingly scheduled screenings on time with the movie's intended release date.

Whatever previous opinion a moviegoer may have held about director Uwe Boll, no matter if game fans didn't ruthlessly enjoy playing "Postal", and even if the movie seems downright offensive, hire a sitter for the kids, sneak some food into the theater, and check your preconceptions of decency at the ticket counter. "Postal" is nothing, if not a hysterical, gutsy and brutally original film that sees nothing wrong with hopping the line of decency for a guttural laugh, before setting said decency line on fire.

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