Regulation and Control

how different types of media are regulated and controlled
the reasons for media regulation and control and the problems of regulating within an increasingly global media environment
the way individuals can manage their own media.

You will look at specific examples of violence in film, TV and games and consider the issue from an audience point of view.
Key Terms: Desensitised. Watershed. Censorship.

“A lot of people in the movie industry tend to run and hide from it like ostriches. Movie industry people are definitely in denial right now, but you do become desensitised to violence when you see it on the screen so often. Let's face it, violence exists for one reason in movies, and that's to get an effect, create an emotion, sell tickets.”—Madeleine Stowe

Madeline Stowe was one of the founders of Artists for Peace and Justice which supports communities in Haiti through programs in education, healthcare, and dignity through the arts.

Task 1:

Discuss the above statement by Madeline Stowe.

Recall three texts that you have seen which contain violent content.

Classify the texts in order of violent content, most violent at the top of your list.

Measuring aggression and its causes has always been an important focus for social psychologists, partly because excessive aggression isn't tolerated in our society, and overly aggressive individuals often find themselves in jail because of their behaviour. The first experiments on the impact of media violence on human behaviour were conducted by psychologists and sociologists who applied theories of social learning and modelling behaviour i.e. they thought that people saw violent behaviour on TV and copied it. The more violent behaviour they saw, especially violence that went unpunished, the more likely they were to behave in a violent manner themselves.

Since the 1960s and Albert Bandura's Bobo Doll experiments, there have been many studies by social psychologists attempting to establish a causal relationship between media violence and aggressive behaviour.

Censorship is essentially an issue of responsibility. Are we responsible for processing and filtering the images that we see and the lyrics we hear, or is someone else (parents or government) responsible for processing and filtering for us?

Should the creators of media texts censor themselves, and take responsibility for the effects their texts may have on an individual? If there are going to be legal restrictions on the depiction of violence, who writes and enforces them?

These are difficult questions, and they have been debated for centuries. There's a broad consensus that some censorship is necessary — although in the Internet age it may be impossible to enforce.

Most people would agree that not all media texts are suitable for all audiences. It is generally agreed that there need to be some limitations placed on the type and content of texts which young children are exposed to, for instance. It is also agreed that the texts which are accessible to a wide and largely involuntary or non-selecting audience (billboards, television commercials, music broadcast on the radio, terrestrial TV before the watershed) should not contain elements which might be offensive.

Therefore, rules and regulations and systems have been set up to filter the content of certain media texts in certain situations. This is the practice of censorship.

Issues facing producers of factual programming.

Under 18s must be protected from potentially harmful and offensive material.

One of the main ways of achieving this is through the appropriate scheduling of programmes.

Anything unsuitable for any viewers must be shown at nine pm or later.

Nothing unsuitable for children should, in general, be shown before 9pm or after 5.30 am.

There should then be a gradual transition to more adult material, generally, the more adult in nature a programme is, the later in the schedule it should appear.

Ofcom

The Office of Communications commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.

Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the television, radio, telecoms and postal sectors. It has a statutory duty to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from harmful or offensive material.

It is Ofcom's job to protect the under 18's from seeing harmful content.

The creation of media texts and their content is complex but Ofcom is concerned about the issues listed below.

Task 2:
List the issues below in order of issues that young people need to be protected from.
Put the most 'dangerous' at the top.

Drugs, smoking, solvents and alcohol

These activities should not be condoned, encouraged or glamorised in programmes likely to be widely seen by under 18s unless there is editorial justification.

Violence and dangerous behaviour

Violence, its after-effects and descriptions of violence, whether verbal or physical, must be appropriately limited in programmes broadcast before the watershed (in the case of television) or when children are particularly likely to be listening (in the case of radio) and must also be justified by the context.

Offensive language

The most offensive language must not be broadcast before the watershed (in the case of television) or when children are particularly likely to be listening (in the case of radio).

Sexual material

Material equivalent to the British Board of Film Classification ("BBFC") R18-rating must not be broadcast at any time.
In addition, measures must be in place to ensure that the subscriber is an adult.

Nudity

Nudity before the watershed must be justified by the context.

Exorcism, the occult and the paranormal

Demonstrations of exorcisms, occult practices and the paranormal (which purport to be real), must not be shown before the watershed (in the case of television) or when children are particularly likely to be listening (in the case of radio).

Below is also taken from a page on the OFCOM website:

Television

What is the watershed?

Protecting children from harmful material on TV and radio is one of Ofcom’s most important duties.

Our Broadcasting Code sets standards for television and radio shows and broadcasters must follow its rules.

There are strict rules about what can be shown on TV before the 9pm watershed. But what exactly is the watershed and how does it work?

The watershed means the time when TV programmes which might be unsuitable for children can be broadcast.

When is it?

The watershed begins at 9pm and material unsuitable for children should not, in general, be shown before 9pm or after 5.30am.

What do you mean by unsuitable material?

Unsuitable material can include everything from sexual content to violence, graphic or distressing imagery and swearing. For example, the most offensive language must not be broadcast before the watershed on TV or, on radio, when children are particularly likely to be listening. Frequent use of offensive language must be avoided before the watershed, and must always be justified by its context.

Can TV channels show whatever they like after 9pm?

No. The transition to more adult material must not be unduly abrupt and the strongest material should appear later in the evening. But even then Ofcom’s rules protect viewers from offensive and harmful content.

What happens if broadcasters break the rules?

Since 2003 Ofcom has taken action on more than 300 occasions when broadcasters have scheduled unsuitable content before or immediately after the watershed. In two recent cases inappropriate music videos — including Rihanna’s S&M — were shown early in the afternoon.

Does the watershed still matter?

The watershed continues to help parents protect their children from material that might be unsuitable or even harmful for them.

Twice a year, every year, we ask parents and the wider general public what they think about standards on TV. Almost everyone (93 per cent) understands the watershed and 74 per cent think 9pm is the right time. If you just ask parents, that number rises to 76 per cent.

Task 3:
Research the content of the following programmes and construct a timetabled schedule for them with consideration given to the watershed and the law.

Eden Lake. Feature film.