Freedom from political control
Office of communication - regulator
Freedom of speech
Representation & plurality
Propaganda
Dunkirk - no women or ethic minority characters - but accurate to the time
Matt Lucas - Little Britain - wouldn't make it nowadays
- Since the early days of photography / film - visual media potentially dangerous to viewer's morals
- Written word also subject to moral scrutiny
- During the industrial revolution (late 1800's) these notions became particularly widespread - Victorian morality was the pre cursor to widely held beliefs
Case Study: Lady Chatterly's Lover
- first published in 1928 and almost immediately banned
- Penguin's 1960 re issue became first big prosecution under Obscene Publications Act (1959)
- Caused outrage because of its graphic descriptions of sex
- It became a test case for the Obscene Publications Act. Stated that publishers could escape conviction if they could prove the literary merit of the work.
- Jury decided not guilty.
- Within a year sold 2 million copies
- Verdict led to greater freedom to publish explicit material
Mary Whitehouse Vs TV
- Formed the 'National Viewers and Listeners Association' in 1965 (now called media-watch)
- Doctor Who "contains some of the sickest, most horrible material"
- Campaigned against what she perceived as the media's negative influence on moral standards
- "For Family Values in the Media"
- www.mediawatch.com
- The media inevitably shapes the moral, ethical, social and political values of our culture
- Campaigns for socially responsible media and against content which is potentially harmful
- What media watch do: Lobby government and campaign against violent, sexually explicit and obscene material in the media. Initiate and stimulate debate. Educate in media literacy & provide advice on how to respond to and protect children from potentially harmful material. Achievements - images of child pornography illegal, encourages people to talk about and think about the effects of violent entertainment and pornography on society.
Is controlling 'the media' desirable?
- is the watershed irrelevant now? People create their own schedules
OFCOM - regulating the media
- www.ofcom.org.uk
- government approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the UK
- transmissions should not include anything which offends against good taste or decency or likely to encourage or incite to crime or to lead to disorder or to be offensive to public feeling
Censorship and film
- in terms of cinema, the Hollywood Production Code 1930s
- In 1922, The Hays Office was set up to police Hollywood. If filmed in a bedroom, a man and woman must have one foot on the floor.
- Conception vs perception - layers of intervention. In books - audience's interpretation. In films - producer's / filmmaker's interpretation.
- The British Board of Film Censors cannot assume responsibility for the guardianship of public morality. Cannot refuse exhibition to adults films
- 1960's - Michael Powell's Peeping Tom - remained an 18 until 2007 - then changed to a 15 - damaged his reputation
- 1990's - Trainspotting - classified 18 for strong language, sexual images and violence. The depiction of drugs was to cause the most contention to its certification. More mindful of the under age sex scene. However, when passed onto the BBFC for TV - the legislation warned was that the video would become instructional. 3 cuts demanded to be removed - shots of needle piercing skin, blood drawing into the needle, needle in body shot. Same things demanded of Pulp Fiction.
In 2002 resubmitted for uncut certification - examiners felt that the arguments about "fetishisation or glamorisation of needles and drug use [were] somewhat outdated"
BBFC in 21st century:
- depiction of drugs and drug use was the cause of greatest concern
In 2012 - Teen Film 'The Hunger Games' had to make cuts to achieve 12A
BBFC Timeline
The Index on Censorship is Britain's "leading organisation promoting freedom of expression".
How can you incorporate the impact and implications of media freedom or censorship in your own work?
- more freedom with literary work than visual media e.g. IT - leaving out scene in book to conform to today's society's moral standards
- If broadcast in different countries - may affect which scenes can be transmitted
- Watershed controls what is transmitted as what time
What censorship laws / organisations can you explore with reference to your own research / essay?
- federal communications commission (FCC) - US
- OFCOM - UK
What are often the hidden cultural contexts which might impact upon what is possible in terms of both drama or news journalism?
What themes can you explore? Differences in the written word and moving image?
Find sources to utilise and add to your reference list
Find examples - individual case studies - which can support this
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