Indecency Endures Transcontinentally
Yesterday was a big day for either freedom of speech or the right to offend, depending on how you look at it.
Here in America the 2nd Circuit court (there are two circuits, in case one blows) ruled that a new Federal Communications Commission policy penalizing accidentally aired expletives was invalid, saying it was “arbitrary and capricious” and might not survive First Amendment scrutiny. It stemmed from a couple of incidents of the “f-bomb” being dropped by celebrities on the Billboard Awards show in 2002 and 2003. The FCC decided that the word was inappropriate, citing another appearance of the word when Bono uttered it at the Golden Globes in 2003. Which they didn’t prosecute.
And of course, there were enormous fines involved. From the majority opinion of the ruling:
“We are sympathetic to the networks’ contention that the FCC’s indecency test is undefined, indiscernible, inconsistent and consequently unconstitutionally vague.”
The court said it could understand why the networks argue that the FCC’s indecency policy “fails to provide the clarity required by the Constitution, creates an undue chilling effect on free speech and requires broadcasters to ’steer far wider of the unlawful zone.’”
Meanwhile across the pond, shadowy media watchdog Ofcom has rejected complaints about comedian Russell Brand’s routine in the Brit Awards. Full disclosure: I am American and I have never heard or Russell Brand, don’t know what the Brit Awards are, and only have a vague idea of what Ofcom does. And I’m reporting it to you now.
The host’s risque jokes and drug-related references to singer Robbie Williams and Conservative leader David Cameron were investigated. But Ofcom ruled Brand’s comments were acceptable in the context of an established music awards ceremony. “A certain amount of controversy was likely to be expected by the audience,” the regulator decided.
Ofcom did, however, rule that some of Brand’s comments had been “on the edge of acceptability”. Some 262 viewers complained about the comedian’s remarks about intimate body parts, drugs, the Iraq war, the Queen and Robbie Williams.
I’m down with the body parts and Iraq War jokes, but keep your bloody pie-hooks off Robbie Williams mate!
We all need to learn some lesson from this - to me, clearly, it’s that the V-Chip must always be set to keep children away from awards shows. Indeed, who shouldn’t be?
June 6th, 2007 at 5:32 am
You raise some good points in your post. Here are some facts that you might find interesting. An overwhelming majority of Americans (91%) object to government deciding what they are able to watch on television. When activists talk about protecting children instead of parents—here’s what they’re talking about: sixty-eight percent of the country’s 110 million television-viewing households do not include children under age 18 and households with children have different challenges to face due to the varying ages of kids within each family. Currently, there are 11 million households with children age 6-11, 15 million households with children age 0-5 and 9 million households with children 12-17.
TV has come a long way from the days of three channels and rabbit ears antennas. Today’s TV audiences are putting to use broadband, DVRs, TV video on demand, iPods and cell phones to greatly expand their choices about what, when, where and how to watch TV. New technology means consumers have more selection than ever and more control than ever over what they see on TV. We all have more choices and parents have more tools to ensure their kids only see what’s right for them. Let’s let parents decide—not government, for all of us.
There is more information to be found at http://www.TelevisionWatch.org
June 6th, 2007 at 7:05 am
The things the FCC defines as indecent are absurd on their face. Janet Jackson’s nipple? Certain words? Both these things would not cause trouble on European television, and yet European civilization is still standing. Meanwhile the things that really might cause trauma to young people, such as mangled body imagery on CSI or people screaming at each other on roundtable news shows, are not even questioned.
It’s complicated. The FCC can only pursue a case if a viewer complains about it, but how they decide what complaints are valid is, well, let’s just say mysterious. They’ve yet to address my complaints about Sanjaya on American Idol, for example.