Holland now has a "civic integration examination" for some would-be immigrants. One of the requirements: View a video with scenes of a topless beach and gay men kissing. There will be a test on the material. Seriously.
On the one hand, it's easy to see the point of the immigration minister that those expecting to immigrate should be made aware of Holland's many socially libertarian facets. On the other hand, forcing immigrants who might be offended by these scenes to watch them seems unnecessary. The point that open homosexuality and public nudity are more common in Holland than other places could surely be made in other ways.
Forcing the Maine Christian Civic League to watch Brokeback Mountain would be about as pointless as their campaign to have Maine movie theatres drop it. (By the way, guys, hardly anybody's going to see it, in Maine or elsewhere, these days. The theatre where I work had it for three weeks, and apart from a decent first weekend, attendance was puny. And that's in superduperliberal Belfast.)
Peace,
Tor
Hat Tip to PC for the Holland story.
