Constitutional Law: Guilt Despite Association

If an allegedly obscene film is the work of a famous author, does his repu tation make the work “socially impor tant” and, therefore, not obscene? No, ruled the California District Court of Appeal in the case of Jean Genet’s Un Chant d’Amour. The French scatologist’s literary fame “does not provide a carte blanche when he ventures into the fields covered by the film,” which is a searing, silent 30-minute portrayal of a sadistic prison guard alternately beating and spying upon four convicts engaged in various homosexual acts. Worse, said the court, Chant itself has no redeem ing artistic merit. The film is devoid of theme, plot or character development.

“The erotic scenes recur with increasing intensity and without direction toward any well-defined, wholesome idea.” As of now in California, declared the court, Chant d’Amour is “nothing more than hard-core pornography, and should be banned.”