'Compliance' stays on Toronto library shelves despite complaint

A screen shot shows Dreama Walker in the trailer for 'Compliance.' (YouTube / Cineworld Cinemas)

A 2012 thriller will remain on Toronto library shelves despite a complaint that the film is "disturbing and implausible."

The film was one of five items that library patrons asked to be pulled in 2014. The list of library materials for reconsideration was part of a document presented at the library board's monthly meeting on Monday, along with the action taken following the request.

"Compliance," which stars Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker and Pat Healy, was inspired by the true story of a McDonald's waitress who was stripped and abused as part of a prank.

The 2012 film has a rating of 7.5 out of 10 on film review site Rotten Tomatoes, but at least one Toronto viewer didn't appreciate its plot.

The library user asked the TPL to remove the movie from its collection, calling it "disturbing and implausible." In February 2014, the complainant wrote to library staff that the film depicts men and women as unintelligent and willing to facilitate sexual abuse.

After an investigation, library staff decided to keep the movie on the shelves because most reviews had been positive.

"Critics agreed that the film was difficult to watch but that the message was important and timely," the library report said.

Also on the list was a book called "Zheng Jiu Wang Yin Shao Nian (Save Internet-Addicted Children: 48 Ways to Guide Children in Proper Internet Use," written by Huafang Cui. Last August, a library user asked that it be removed from the collection, and recommended the library "take more care that similar books are not purchased."

The complainant wrote that the book "incites hatred" against those who practice Falun Gong, a combination of meditation and exercises that draws from both Buddhism and Taoist tradition.

Upon investigation, library staff wrote that a translator was hired. The translator reported that the book aims to provide parents with strategies to navigate the Internet with their children. One of the scenarios is a boy telling his father he's going to die by suicide based on the teachings of a Falun Gong website.

Falun Gong is referred to as an "illicit organization," the translator said.

The library wrote: "According to both Amnesty International and the U.S. State Department, the Chinese government has a history of abuse of Falun Gong members and the negative depiction in the book reflects this view. The publisher of the book is state owned."

Ultimately, reviewers decided that the reference was "inaccurate and misleading" in a book described as a parental guide to Internet use. They decided to remove the book from the general collection to the Toronto Reference Library.

The library also fielded a complaint about the 2014 movie "Camp Harlow," starring Aj Olson, Monique Hurd and Andrew Dwyer. The complainant said that the movie's packaging didn't reflect its religious content, and complained that its plot suggested joining the Baptist Church was the "best way to overcome struggles."

The movie was moved from the children's DVD section to the adults section because library staff agreed that the subject of a teenager's religious conversion is complex and so was not suited for young children.

Visitors to the library also requested two Chinese children's books, "Cheng Shi Zhen Quing Hui Ben" and "Shui Na Zou Wo De Liu Liu Qui," be removed from the collection due to grammatical errors.

The library decided to remove the first book, saying it contained errors that would make it difficult for reader comprehension, but kept the second on shelves because they felt the language was appropriate for being read aloud.