It’s Sunday night in Cayman. Do you:
- Drink the six-pack of Ironshore you bought that afternoon from the gas station?
- Flick through Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and select from almost any movie ever made?
- Check out the new Brad Pitt blockbuster at the movie theatre?
Right now only the first two are possible. Despite far-reaching changes to Sunday trading laws that have liberalised liquor sales, the screening of ‘R’ rated movies remain banned for now.
Following inquires from the Compass, bosses at the Camana Bay Cinema, said they would like to see the rules relaxed, but it is not fundamental to their business.
Corey Randolph, manager at the theatre, said there are often inquiries from movie-goers who wonder why they can’t see their film of choice on a Sunday.
The Sunday Trading Act prohibits film exhibition on Sundays for content deemed unsuitable for children 17 years and under, which are films rated by the Motion Picture Association of America as R-rated.
Blockbusters like ‘Bullet Train’ – currently showing Monday through Saturday at the theatre and upcoming films including Olivia Wilde’s highly anticipated psychological thriller, ‘Don’t Worry Darling’, are among those impacted.
“It is unfortunate that our customer base is prohibited from the flexibility of viewing specific content due to the day of the week,” said Randolph.
“The cinema would welcome any changes from government to this law, as it would give customers a wider range of viewing options, especially those for whom Sunday is their only day available to attend a film.”
A Compass poll on our website suggests support for allowing all types of movies to be shown on a Sunday, with 86% in support.
The comments on our Facebook page were more evenly split.
“Hasn’t enough changed already or shall we just call ourselves little USA now?” questioned Taura Ebanks.
Paul Reynolds argued that banning certain movies on a Sunday smacks of “performative religion” rather than a genuine relationship with God.
“Don’t go, it is your choice,” she wrote.
The genesis of Cayman’s R-Rated movie ban is the Christian emphasis on keeping Sunday as a day of rest. Elements of commerce are still outlawed on Sunday, including some retail. Those businesses that can open, including the cinema, do so under the terms of an exemption list within the Sunday Trading Act.
R-Rated movies are not necessarily especially graphic but contain some content deemed by censors as ‘adult’.
Of the top ten movies of all-time, as ranked by the Internet Movie Database, four – ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘The Godfather I’ and II and ‘Schindler’s List’ – are ‘R’ rated.
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Let people decide what movies they and their families are going to watch. It is not a government facility. It is all available on streaming anyway. Political BS.