Presentation about censorship and its relationship with the classification of productions by OCR from my school's files.

2. Media Regulation: Debates and
Perspectives.
Dr. Richard Berger.
The Centre for Excellence in Media Practice.
Bournemouth University.

3. • Historically, from the 1909 Cinematograph Act onwards,
censorship in the UK has been medium specific.
• The internet and new media has changed that.
• Harder to regulate the internet – global nature etc.
– Differences in US and UK law regarding ‘impartiality’.
– In Sweden it’s not an offence to possess what in the UK would be
deemed unlawful child pornography.

4. • Move towards self-censorship/regulation.
• BBC guidelines for its online writers:
• “Swearing is not big and it’s not clever, so avoid it as
much as possible. If it’s in a quote, always star the
following: c**t, f**k, w**k, F**ing and w**ker. If you
really have to be foul mouthed, these words can be
written in full: shit, bastard, bollocks, arsehole, twat,
piss, sodding etc (eg, “He’s a c**t, that bastard.”).
Obviously all slurs on race and minorities are a
complete no-no.”
• From BBCi’s Style Guide for writers and journalists (Sept 2005).

5. • The Broadcasting Standards Commission (later
replaced by Ofcom) even rated swear words in 2002;
• 1. C**t 11. Shag. 21. Bugger.
• 2. Motherf****r 12. Whore. 22. Balls.
• 3. F**k 13. Twat. 23. Jew.
• 4. W****r 14. Piss Off. 24. Sodding.
• 5. N****r 15. Spastic. 25. Jesus Christ.
• 6. Bastard 16. Slag. 26. Crap.
• 7. Prick 17. S**t. 27. Bloody.
• 8. Bollocks 18. Dickhead. 28. God.
• 9. A***hole 19. P****d Off.
• 10. P**i 20. Arse.

6. • The coalescence of media regulation began in 2003
with the creation of Ofcom.
• Before Ofcom, all UK media was regulated by;
– ITC – Independent Television Commission.
– OfTel – Telecommunications Regulator.
– BSC – Broadcasting Standards Commission.
– RA – Radio Authority.
– OFT – Office of Fair Trading.
– BBFC – British Board of Film Classification.
– BBC – British Broadcasting Corporation.

7. • So, Main problem is that the internet circumnavigates
other media, and the laws that surround and
regulate them.
– The internet can result in pre-trial prejudice, and
contempt of court.
– Some national/local events do have widespread
international appeal.
– http://
www.thesmokinggun.com/doc_o_day/doc_o_day.html
– Now with global 24 hour rolling news, it’s even
harder – many people can get the BBC, and Al-
jazerra.

8. • Another problem with medium specific media
regulation are the ‘media effects’ debate which
trawl in their wake.
• Media effects debate is as old as
cinema/television.
• Many studies to prove links between violence on
screen, and violence in society.
• Most media effects models based on media’s
perceived influence over children.

9. Problems with Media Effects.
• In Moving Experiences (2005) David
Gauntlett argues:
– The effects model tackles social problems
backwards.
– The effects model treats children as inadequate.
– Assumptions within the effects model are characterised by
barely-concealed conservative ideology.

10. Problems with Media Effects.
– The effects model inadequately defines its own objects of
study.
– The effects model is often based on artificial elements and
assumptions within studies.
– The effects model is often based on studies with misapplied
methodology.
– The effects model is selective in its criticisms of media
depictions of violence.

11. Problems with Media Effects.
– The effects model assumes superiority to
the masses.
– The effects model makes no attempt to
understand meanings of the media.
– The effects model is not grounded in
theory.
• Gauntlett, D., 2005. Moving Experiences.
Eastleigh: John Libbey. pp 143-151.

12. Does media effect?
• Censors often act in self-serving ways – political.
• Effects model easy to demolish.
– i.e easy to see conservative ideology, highlighted by David
Gauntlett.
• The popular media can start a news spiral that
creates a ‘folk devil.’
– i.e Child’s Play 3, Crash, etc.

13. But…
• Films, and increasingly videogames, are still being
blamed for violence in society:
– Virginia Tech shootings – April 16th
2007.
– Student Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 fellow students, and
himself.
– He sent a video and photographs of himself threatening the
massacre to NBC news, the previous day.
– Some newspapers blamed the film OldBoy (Park Chan-Wook,
2003).

15. • However, the BBFC’s steady liberalisation since the
late 1990s, and the creation of Ofcom has led to
more emphasis on ‘self-regulation.’
• Regulation should now be in the hands of the
individuals/parents, not institutions.
• Contradiction?
• Due to the relatively unregulated internet?

16. Online Regulation.
• In 1998 the Culture, Media & Sport select committee
set up an enquiry into online regulation. They
reported:
– Existing broadcasting legislation wouldn’t work, but, new
regulation wasn’t viable because:
– Problems of access.
– Internet/Cyberspace is seen to be integral to economic
growth.
– International medium requires International law.

17. • More self regulation - focus on
‘end-users’
• There are lots of Interest Group
sites, such as Women Halting
Online Abuse, or the Cyberangels net
patrol group.
• ISPs drawing-up codes of practice and many are
doing so, eg AOL and FreeServe.
• Members and subscribers must obey the rules, or be
disconnected – ‘3-strikes’.

18. But…
• In the 1990s, Rupert Murdoch
removed the BBC’s World Service
Television channel from his Star
satellite system.
– Murdoch wanted to tap in to new lucrative Chinese markets.
– The BBC had been critical of Chinese human rights policy in
the wake of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

19. Google & China.
• On the 25th
January 2006 the search
engine Google introduced a system of
self-censorship for its Chinese version.
• For example, if you use www.google.co.uk for an
image search of ‘Tiananmen Square,’ you get…

22. • In February 2010, Google accused China of hacking
its service and announced it was pulling out.
• Further sourced relationships between China and the
new administration in the US.
• So, despite people such as John Gilmore arguing that
the, “Internet treats censorship like
damage, it routes around it,” it is heavily
censored by nation states.

23. • So, despite the UK being the most heavily regulated
nation state in Europe, current content regulation is
being increasingly subverted.
• This is largely due to the internet, which transcends
national boundaries, political institutions and content
legislation.
• A great deal of controversial content can be found
online.

24. • Hate sites:
– www.rotten.com (Grim images. A lot of it is faked).
– www.yourgoingtohell.com/ (Right wing religious hate-site).
– www.rahowa.com (White supremacist site calling for a
‘Racial Holy War’).
– http://www.newamericancentury.org/(Organisation dedicated
to America ruling the entire world!).
– www.narth.com (USA based National Association for
Research and Therapy of Homosexuality).

25. – www.moralityinmedia.org (Right-wing
media watch site).
– http://www.afa.net/(American Family Association).
– http://www.newnation.org/(Racist site, mostly focusing on
immigration).
– www.godhatesfags.com (Reverend Fred Phelps’ site)
– www.wakeupordie.com (Californian Elena
Haskins’ racist website).
– http://www.skrewdriver.net/(Combat 18’s website).
– www.av1611.org/crock.html (Christian site denouncing

26. The future of film and television.
• BBFC’s research has found that audiences are
concerned about violence and drug-taking, rather
than sex.
• Now, more films being passed at ’18’ certificate
featuring explicit sexual scenes.
• Ai No Corrida (Oshima, 1976)
was suddenly passed at ’18’
certificate for video in the
late 90s.

27. • The Pornographer (Bonello, 2001)
was passed at ’18’ certificate, but a
6-second scene of ejaculation was cut.
• Academic and anti-censorship
campaigner, Linda Williams (University
of Southampton) argued that this was
ridiculous.
• A few years later, 9 Songs
(Winterbottom, 2005) was passed at ’18’ uncut for
cinema and video exhibition.

28. • So, what happens online, impacts what other content
providers do – it’s all connected.
– Channel 4 plan to ‘test’ Ofcom’s power by showing the film-
probably on its More4 digital channel.
– This will hugely impact upon television censorship.
– Adult digital channels will probably feel that they can show
more ‘hardcore’ material – only currently available at ‘R18’
certificates from licensed premises.

29. Shortbus.
• In 2007, Shortbus (John
Cameron Mitchell) was
released uncut on DVD in the
UK.
• The film contains some of the most sexually explicit
content ever seen, and was notable for its graphic
depiction of heterosexual and homosexual sex.

30. • So, can the BBFC survive, if content it deems
unacceptable is available online?
• Will Ofcom replace it eventually?
• Or, will regulation shift subtly towards information and
education?

31. Political Impact.
• On the 30th
December 2006, at 6am
in North Baghdad, Saddam Hussein
was hanged.
• Silent images showing the moments leading up to the
execution were released from official sources within
minutes.
• The footage showed a composed Saddam, seemingly
accepting his fate.

32. • However, within hours, footage showing the actual
execution, filmed on a mobile phone, was released
on the internet.
• Also shown on the Middle East news channel Al
Jazeera.
• It was later broadcast (almost) in its entirety on
television news.
• Showed Saddam being taunted.

33. • This caused a problem for the UK government, who
had helped to remove Saddam’s regime, but was
opposed to the death penalty.
• The BBC’s John Simpson called the event no more
than a ‘public execution.’
• In the following days, Deputy PM John Precott and
Chancellor Gordon Brown condemned the execution.
• An embarrassed Prime Minister, Tony Blair, gave a
muted response a few weeks later.

34. • The same debates regarding
censorship have been in circulation
throughout history.
• Successive UK Governments have
attempted to control and regulate
media.

35. • However, it is new forms of interactive media which
will cause concern for the censors of the future.
– In the ‘domestic space’ – like TV/VCR/DVD.
– Popular with children/young people.
– Level of ‘interactivity’ makes these texts potentially more
harmful/influential?
– Voluntary code of classification – at the moment.
– Not subject to the 1984 VRA.
– Videogames have been linked, by right-wing press, to
violence e.g Doom and the Columbine massacre.
– Videogames become more ‘real.’

36. • The current videogame debate is the same as the
‘video nasty’ debate in the 1980s.
• So…
• censorship and regulation will not decline.
• Despite recent changes, the UK is still the most
heavily regulated nation in Europe.

37. • Future content regulation will focus more on
videogames and interactive media.
• Legislation will probably be needed to combat the
increasing fluidity between different – and differently
regulated – media platforms.
richard@cemp.ac.uk.
March 2010.