Should the media be regulated?

Should the media be regulated?

The United Kingdom is one of the most media regulated nations in the world if not the most due to the amount of laws, acts, ratings and censorship we have on our media. However how does this affect the residents? Does it even affect us at all? So I will ask should the media be regulated?

Who are these companies that decided what we watch & what do they do?

There was a time before rating was issued to any sort of movie or game this was before the video privacy protection act of nineteen eighty eight before this time any minor would be able to purchase or rent any sort of film even with mature content this was worrying as this would allow children to not be shield from any sort of horrific content which could disturb them or scar them this was until the government decided to put ratings on all films.

With any form of media there is a higher authority in the works for film, TV & even video games these are companies that make sure that all these sources media we enjoy are rated correctly for the appropriate age group they have a criteria to follow to determine which media will go in which age group some even have sub-categories For explicit content that is contained within the source of media.

For example the popular film series The Hunger Games would have been a rating of fifth-teen rated by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) due to one shot containing a blood splatter on screen once this shot was removed the rating dropped to a twelve these little things can change the rating of a film due to a strict criteria. However this does not limit movies in any genre what so ever horror, sci-fi and action movies have made it to a twelve rating following this criteria. But does this limit a filmmaker’s ability to make films? Should filmmakers be able to make any films they want to make?

As well as film TV & video games have there own rating systems for games it is PEGI (Pan European Game Information) they have games ranging from three, seven, twelve, sixteen and eighteen and they all contain sub-categories for this games they have symbols that show you what to expect from the game such as Violence, drugs and harsh language.

For television we have a company known as OFCOM (Independent regulator and competition authority

For the UK communications industries) this company review TV shows before finished and aired to the public for viewing through these reviews they rate what this program and will advise the viewers before the program has begun that this show contains such a thing that is deemed appropriate for viewers of this age some of these programs will be aired after what we call the “Watershed”.

What is the Watershed?

The Watershed is the point in time where adult content has now become acceptable for viewing for more R-rated adult content such as more scenes of graphic violence, sexual intercourse or drugs being used this is put on at time where children are notably meant to be asleep that is why a lot of that content is broadcast so late the latest and much more adult programs are often left to very late in the night these include pornography, gambling or much darker movies with much more obscene acts which could offend or upset younger viewers.

The Obscene Publications Act

The Obscene Publications Act is an act set up by the UK members of parliament the act restricts the publication of any content that are questionable works of art and how parts of it could be obscene first they test this by researching the content. The reason this act exist is to censor any obscene works of art that could possibly offend the public but the create of the content has the right to appeal the claim and take this to court to dispute the claims as false.

 A famous case of Lady Chatterley’s Lover a book about a women having an affair with her driver there are many moments where there are sexual acts in the book but the book is consider a piece of great literature therefore the case was dismissed.

Hypodermic needle theory

The Hypodermic needle theory is a early theory about the influence of certain media and the public and how it is directly input into the minds of the public and how it can make them change there impressions on certain subjects and how they are easily controllable with the use of media input but this theory was establish in the early forties with the use of books. To go into more detail the hypodermic needle creates this mental image of the mass media injecting messages into the minds of the public which can influence there ability to think for themselves making them almost controllable zombies to the media. This quote puts it best.

University of Twente. (2007). HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY.http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20Clusters/Mass%20Media/Hypodermic_Needle_Theory/. Last accessed 18/05/2013.“Media theorists have classified the "War of the Worlds" broadcast as the archetypal example of the Magic Bullet Theory. This is exactly how the theory worked, by injecting the message directly into the "bloodstream" of the public, attempting to create a uniform thinking. The effects of the broadcast suggested that the media could manipulate a passive and gullible public, leading theorists to believe this was one of the primary ways media authors shaped audience perception.”

The war of the worlds incident was one of the most talked about hypodermic needle theories of all time due to the mass hysteria it caused just by the radio broadcasts made by Orson Welles in 1938 this is one of the incidents that started the theory. However many people disclaim this theory as this was a time where radio was a dominant part of life also with World War one just two decades finished at this point this would of caused mass hysteria as many survivors of that war still living would of reacted the worse with post dramatic stress disorder. This made theorist re-think this theory many times over.

Cultivation Theory

This theory suggest that the more TV you watch the more likely you are to change tour views on something and to become more impressionable they believe that the more TV impacts your brain and makes decisions for you and changes your views on subjects in some cases this is proven as advertisement make you want to buy products by changing your views on if you may or may not need this certain product.

One theorist thinks that heavy TV watchers would think that what happens in the TV world and the real world would be the same so they thought heavy TV watchers would recreate what they see on TV and bring it to be a reality. However those of light TV watching would not imitate what they see due to there limited viewing.  This theory can become much stronger as a lot of people gain a lot of what they learn from the media and not from books so could make there opinions change on subjects however people also have found that people gain information that’s more resourceful from word of mouth as this is more impressionable also from newspapers and the news being strictly fact that can spread through social media so it kind of disproves this theory slightly.

Desensitization Theory

Desensitization theory is a theory that being exposed to multiple points of violent content can desensitize someone which can make them more influenced to be more violent and desensitize someone’s emotional connection to the real world making them almost emotionless like a walking emotionless zombie.

Also depending on the source of media such as video games being one of the highest sources as you are in control of the out come of the character and you are the one who creates that path for that character yet having that control to shoot someone even if this completely computer based can desensitize the player and make them become more immersed in the experience so much so it can lead to a sudden out burst of violence which could result in a fatal accident also with the rise of online multiplayer games in the world a lot of players find that getting shot themselves annoys them to the point of rage which can make them much more emotionally unstable and distant from society which can result in acts of anti-social behaviour which can also lead to much more drastic acts such as crime.

The Video Nasties

There are people out in the world that imitate what they see on all forms of media most of all movies these people are know as “Video Nasties” there are many incidents in the past where people have used films as a way to imitate what they see and bring this into the real world from films they have watched one of the biggest sources of the video nasties is “Natural Born Killers” one of the most known incidents of the video nasties or copy cats is a high school shooting that took place at Columbine High School where a student killed thirteen people as they look like the main characters of this movie however if you look further at there resemblance they look more like the characters from the matrix wearing black trench coats and sun glasses. Many people argued that these teenagers were influenced by movies however through much of my own research in this matter and countless documentaries being made on the subject they determined that one of the students had been bullied repeatedly and chose to took action also the teachers observed the boys having outbursts of anti-social behaviour so the theory was disproven also they had many journals and video tapes of them committing. Violent acts and also planning the date they would launch an attack on the school.

Uses and gratifications theories

This theory is an active theory meaning rather then using the media as a source to blame for any sort of action taken from watching the media this theory believes that it is more the person who is watching the content who is the source of the outcome not the media itself. This person is in control of what there actions may or may not be not the content they watch they may use this as a scapegoat, which the media would use to get views or to sell tabloid newspapers.

This one-article states ALEX WYNICK. (13.08.2013). Boy, 8, shoots own grandmother dead after playing Grand Theft Auto. Available: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/boy-8-shoots-grandmother-dead-2223955. Last accessed 19th may 2015. “An eight-year-old boy shot intentionally shot and killed his own grandmother after playing the violent video game Grand Theft Auto IV.” However one of the neighbors made this argument Neighbor Johnnie Scott said: "Where did she have the gun? Where did he see the gun, was it in his eyesight? That's the thought that goes through my head." This is a valid point first why does an eight year old boy have easy access to a gun second of all why is he playing a mature game when there is clearly a rating for mature and who allowed him to buy this copy. A child should not be handling fire arms what so ever plus the gun should be hidden or locked or kept near the adult and the person who is capable to handle a fire arm these are points all over looked by media as they used the content of video games as a scapegoat.

The Copycat tests

Scientists have done tests into the theories of media influenced violence one group of scientists took juvenile offenders and none juvenile offenders and allowed them to watch multiple moments of intense violence in movies to see how they would react to this influence. They found that the juvenile offenders were the ones who reacted to the violence however many argued that this was just an excuse to let outburst of violence and use the media as an excuse. Also those who already committed crimes would be the obvious candidates to react as they have already broke the law this was just a way to break the law again but have a scapegoat. Many people have found that people find they recreate violence because the characters that play the violent people are often the cool ones for example Reservoir Dogs is a giant success but with multiple renditions of violence with a cool cast of characters so people try to imitate these people as they want to be cool and they have drowned themselves into this world as they believe they can be these people it can also how people grow as a person later on.

Anti-nannyisnm & Censorship does not work

Anti-annyism is something that directors argue that the media is to regulated and people should be able to watch what they want and how people should be able to make movies they want to make without hassle they believe that the government is like a grandmother or nanny who wont allow the children to grow up to embrace new things and to allow different things into there lives and they are sheltering the public to much they also argue that censorship does not work as now that we have the internet if any child wants to play or watch violent content that they can just use pirate websites to get hold of them which defeats the point of censoring something if you can get hold of it else where this has happened multiple times with TV shows, movies and video games. These people argue that censoring wont stop consumers getting hold of this content so why shelter people from this content when its new and why bother censoring altogether?

Conclusion

In conclusion I believe that media should be regulated due to the overwhelming amount of movies that are made which touch on sensitive subject. However I also believe that these copy-cat incidents and media based copied attacks are not based on what people watch but on the person themselves as well as there surroundings, social status, mental health and up brining all these factors and more must always be taken into account before accusing the content they are watching. Furthermore I believe that if you don’t want your children, significant other or partner to react badly to this media either monitor what they watch or talk to them after the movie explaining the differences or watch the film with them. If you believe they can get hold of this content by the web there are safety gates or parental controls that require a password to get on a website so you can block the websites they use to get the content and password them to protect your child. But I also believe you shouldn’t limit a directors creative abilities but there will be some limitations on what can and cant be made as people will be easily offended. Finally I believe the rating system is a good idea but it is up to the consumers who have to regulate what they and there families watch if the child is young don’t buy them an eighteen game allow them to grow into that age and understand the world more before you shove older content towards them many people are shadowed by parents and allow the media to take over there lives if you gain trust over time and they understand the difference between the media world and reality with this mind set it will protect them from the idea of media polluting there brain.

Bibliography

ALEX WYNICK. (13.08.2013).-Daily mirror

University of Twente. (2007). HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY.h