Obscenity & Pornography
Fall 2021
Former Justice Potter Stewart of the Supreme Court of the United States, in attempting to classify what material constituted exactly "what is obscene," famously wrote, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced ... [b]ut I know it when I see it...."

FCC rules and federal law govern obscenity in broadcast media.

Anthony Comstock - Spearheaded persuading congress to create The Comstock Laws.A set of federal acts passed by the United States Congress passed  in 1873, as the Act for the "Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use"

Some states have passed laws mandating censorship in schools, universities, and libraries even if they are not receiving government aid that would require censorship in these institutions.





In regards to government aid used for art displays, check out Mapplethorpe-  When Art Fought the Law and Won - Cincinatti v. Contemporary Arts Center. In the summer of 1989, Mapplethorpe was slowly dying from AIDS complications. At the time, six museums came together and organized a touring retrospective that included photographs from his X Portfolio, among them was a self-portrait with a bullwhip inserted into his anus. Google his exhibit to see photos of his exhibit and read the articles to see why the center was sued.

Hicklin Test - Know the history

Roth Test- Know the history - Overturned by Miller

Miller v California - Know the facts and obscenity test. 






Two Live Crew - Nasty as they Wanna Be -At issue a concert at a Florida nightclub where the group performed four songs from the album “As Nasty as They Wanna Be.” The songs contain crude what some said was crude and graphic sexual language.










George Carlin - Seven Dirty Words
(FCC v. Pacifica)
In1973, FM radio station WBAI in New York City aired a broadcast that included a segment which featured the George Carlin routine "Filthy Words" as part of a program about societal attitudes toward language. John Douglas (an active member of Morality in Media) stated in a complaint filed a complaint with the FCC saying that he heard the broadcast while he was driving with his 15-year-old son.

What about Cable?: If you have a television with a functioning antenna, you’re bound to pick up NBC, CBS, and ABC. Cable service, on the other hand, requires a monthly fee. Paying your monthly cable bill is tantamount to acknowledging that you know what you’re getting into, bad words and all. But you still can't be obscene. 

Define:

SLAPS Test

Indecency

Pornography

V-Chip- Blocks channels and is on all TV sets enabling people to block certain channels

Safe Harbor Policy - 10pm to 6am. FCC designated these times when broadcast radio and TV stations may air indecent material without violating federal law. 

FCC- Federal Communications Commission - The FCC’s regulatory powers extend only to over-the-air broadcasters, who transmit their programs via the publicly owned spectrum.

The Communications Act of 1934 makes it illegal to broadcast indecent material. However, the courts and the FCC allow broadcast radio and TV nations to air indecent material when it is likely that few children will be in the audience. 




 
Netflix & Cuties: Months after it faced fierce backlash and accusations that it sexualized young girls, Netflix has removed Maïmouna Doucouré's controversial film Cuties. The streamer confirmed in its annual Environmental Social Governance Report for 2020 that the film, about a young Senegalese Muslim girl, was removed from its platform in Turkey.

Amid the backlash, Netflix eventually issued a statement apologizing "for the inappropriate artwork that we used for this film," which they said, "was not an accurate representation of the film." The streamer also changed the promotional poster as well as the synopsis, which initially read, "Amy, 11, becomes fascinated with a twerking dance crew. Hoping to join them, she starts to explore her femininity, defying her family's traditions," but was later changed to "11-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family's traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew."