4th Lecture: Censorship

Examine implications of 'freedom on British Media.

Independent Media:
-Free from political control.
-is anything we read or watch REALLY free from opinion and conjecture?
-Is it REALLY possible, or even DESIRABLE to have a network of media platforms which are 'FREE'?
-And if so, what is the price of FREEDOM and who does that benefit and disadvantage?

Office of Communication- OFCOM

-Ever since the early days of photography and film, people have viewed the visual media as potentially 'dangerous' to viewer's morals.
-the written word also been subject to moral scrutiny- obscenity is, relatively speaking, a modern invention.
-During the industrial revolution in Britain (late 1800's) such notions become particularly widespread- Victorian morality.

-Lady Chatterley's lover was first published in 1928 and almost immediately banned.
-Penguins 1960 re-issue became the first big prosecution.
-Caused outrage because of its graphic descriptions of sex.
-Becae the test case for the 1959 Obscene publications Act. Could avoid conviction if merit of literature was approved.

Mary Whitehouse:
-Became a voice of censorship
-Formed the 'national Viewers and Listeners Association' (now called Media Watch UK) in 1965.
-She had the BBC firmly in her sights.- Doctor Who was see to be too obscene.

What Mediawatch UK do:
-Lobby government and campaign against violent, sexually explicit and obscene material in the media.
-Initiate and simulate debate on the effects of television, video games and the internet.

Therefore- Is controlling 'the media' desirable?
-Implications
-Examples

Media Watch- stated achievements and aims:
-Legislation which made images of child pornography illegal.
-Encourages people to talk and think about effects of violent entertainment and pornography on society.
-Regularly called upon for comment by the media.
-Much of their current focus is online content and they created the website 'safeonline.org.uk' in response to a government consultation.

OFCOM- Regulating the media?
-OFCOM (the Office of Communications) is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.

Censorship and film: Some cinema history:
-In terms of the cinema, The Hollywood Production Code- 1930s is an interesting case study n moving image censorship.

'CONCEPTION VS PERCEPTION'