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| bornnude |
Posted - 01/01/2005 : 10:01:07 AM
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/10541130.htm?1c
Posted on Sat, Jan. 01, 2005
Are U.S. decency standards too strict?
BY THOMAS WAGNER
Associated Press
The rest of the world often considers U.S. standards about decency on TV too strict, but it debates the issue, too.
When the BBC recently announced it would air "Jerry Springer: The Opera," the West End hit famous for its vulgarity and a cast of characters including transsexuals and a man wearing a diaper, no one batted an eye.
In Britain, after all, the biggest-selling daily newspaper carries a photograph of a bare-breasted woman every day.
The musical inspired by the self-consciously salacious talk show will air uncut, though in keeping with the country's rules it will be shown after 9 p.m. with a warning that it may not be appropriate for children.
In European countries, people often regard U.S. rules about indecency on public airways — and their enforcement by the Federal Communication Commission — as puritanical. (The FCC's powers apply to broadcast TV and radio. It has no powers regarding cable TV, newspapers, the Internet or satellite radio.)
"The climate in the U.K. is much more liberal than in the United States regarding the kind of sexual content that there is on TV," said professor David Buckingham, a specialist in television at London University. "The Janet Jackson breast incident at the Super Bowl probably wouldn't have attracted much interest here."
Still, the issue is debated in Europe, too. The difference is that the content on the continent would make many Americans blush.
In Germany, where each state has its own agency to keep an eye on what airs on television and radio, there's a lot of leeway about nudity and sexuality, especially compared with the United States. Recently, the mass-market Bild daily newspaper ran a front-page story — complete with a topless photo — suggesting that a starlet's full-frontal nude scenes were cut from her TV movie because she wasn't pretty enough.
Last year, a new national media commission was set up to promote standards for TV, radio and the Internet. It was a response to a 2002 school massacre in Erfurt, Germany, carried out by a former student who authorities believe may have been inspired by violent video games.
The panel has gone so far as to order that reality TV shows about cosmetic surgery — including a German version of the beauty contest show "The Swan" — be shown after 11 p.m., because it was concerned that such programs sent the wrong message to children about "human worth."
Stations that break the rule can be heavily fined.
"What should one decide? How far can it still go?" asked Kurt Beck, the governor of Rhineland-Palatinate state and former chairman of its media commission. "Cockroaches are allowed in the mouth, but not snakes or worms?"
In Italy, the Communications Authority ruled in 2002 that every "adults only" TV program must air after 10:30 p.m. and be announced as unsuitable for children. Films shown on television also contain a color-coded rating regarding their suitability for youths.
Despite that, daily Italian TV is full of examples of scandalizing shows.
The latest edition of "Big Brother" stirred a nationwide debate, as participants threw parties with binge drinking, on-air sex and heavy cursing.
Earlier this year, a new show featuring people undergoing plastic surgery called "Bisturi! Nessuno e' Perfetto" ("Scalpel! No One is Perfect") stunned many viewers.
It featured a flat-chested young woman baring her breasts to the scalpel for implant surgery. The knife sliced through flesh, blood spurted, and viewers deluged the network's switchboard with calls of protest. Consumer groups urged Rome prosecutors to consider obscenity charges, but the show has not been fined or suspended.
For years, there was no debate or controversy about nudity or sexual explicitness on television in Spain (where independent commercial TV stations only emerged in 1989 after years of repression and censorship under the Franco regime). And the country had no regulations to control TV content.
But that changed this month when a campaign against "telebasura," or "rubbish TV," prompted the government and Spain's three main broadband TV stations to sign a code of conduct to safeguard children. The time a program can be shown depends on its intended audience.
In Russia, TV shows that are considered too racy for children must be shown after 11 p.m. — after which some stations show fairly explicit erotica. But there's a debate under way now about the possibility of the harmful effects of TV violence.
Last month, Russia's lower house of parliament unanimously approved — in its first of three readings — a sweeping bill that would ban showing "dead bodies, scenes of murder, beatings, the infliction of serious, medium and light injuries, and rape and other violent activity of a sexual nature." |
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| melissastarr |
Posted - 02/29/2008 : 7:25:37 PM
Are US decency standards too strict? NO! Not strict enough! I find very few really DECENT people in this world. But when I do find them, they're often at nudist venues. :)
Melissa
___________________________________________________________________
"Be who you are and say how you feel because those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter" -Dr. Seuss |
| carlosv |
Posted - 02/29/2008 : 12:36:27 PM
i se nothig wrong with standart, is a reason for that, you can always get cable and watch any program with no restictions..........
in the UK they drive on the (wrong) left side of road we are not!! 
it could be wors... |
| CAPTAIN_JAMES |
Posted - 02/29/2008 : 12:20:10 PM
Are U.S. decency standards too strict? Well watching any episode of Survivor, if a contestants shorts (male or female) drops down too far and the top of their butt crack is exposed, the network will blur it out. Their butt crack, please give me a break, if I want to look at a sexy butt crack I just look in a mirror, we all have them. |
| HappyDaz |
Posted - 02/29/2008 : 07:41:58 AM
Cougar well said. Having been fortunate enough to live in Europe for awhile, I find our sense of 'decency' a bit warped sometimes. We can't show the human body (not sex, just a nude person) in this country because its immoral or indecent. But extraordinary acts of violence and cruelty are okay? I think we missed common sense bus somewhere along the way. |
| Ranger191 |
Posted - 02/29/2008 : 06:31:56 AM
The point that I always try to make to someone when the conversation turns to TV nudity is this:
Why is it OK to show a REAL bleeding or dead person on the evening news but its not OK to show a nude person? Is the overall message that is being given is "Violence is OK but the human body is worse than violence"?
It's a situation that truly blows my mind. It seems OK to show a rape on TV (as long as the 'naughty bits' are covered) but you can't show someone making love on TV. IMO, This is truly deranged behavior as it only reinforeces that its OK to be violent and destroy. It's not OK to be sure of yourself and create.
Possibly, just (do ya think) MAYBE, all the violence in our country is caused by a repressive, puritanical attitude regarding the human body while glorifying violence in the news and media??
Nobility is not a birthright, it is defined by one's actions. |
| traisjames |
Posted - 02/28/2008 : 12:18:51 PM
quote:
Originally posted by bornnude
But there's a debate under way now about the possibility of the harmful effects of TV violence.
Is anyone familiar with the experiments of Albert Bandura? Bardura did some experiments involving showing a child videos of a model beating on a Bobo doll. Following, the child demonstrated many of the same behaviors towards another doll. the child also became aggressive beyond what the model showed. In many cases the children grabbed toy guns (not shown in video) and even started beating the dolls with other dolls. You can read the experiment at http://psychclassics.asu.edu/Bandura/bobo.htm . I would recommend going to http://youtube.com/watch?v=pDtBz_1dkuk . Just as a word of caution, if you have kids or work with kids (i the latter) this might be disturbing.
From the guy with his eye on the sky |
| vealj |
Posted - 01/24/2005 : 3:18:56 PM
quote:
grummph! You'd think people were not aware that modern TV sets come with channel changers. Some of them even sport an "OFF" button!
Dum vivimus, vivamus!
Ditto Old Hippie! The problem with legislating morality always comes down to who's morality? What is decent/indecent? What is acceptable/inacceptable?
Today's U.S. decency standards are being dictated by the Religious Right and they are most certainly WRONG!
Take care and ...
Keep it Bare !!!
- veal
http://www.vealj.com/naturist.html |
| old hippie |
Posted - 01/24/2005 : 12:04:17 PM
grummph! You'd think people were not aware that modern TV sets come with channel changers. Some of them even sport an "OFF" button!
Dum vivimus, vivamus! |
| bornnude |
Posted - 01/21/2005 : 08:04:15 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Cheri
bornnude, Isn't this more about decency, sex, and nudity than nudism? That's what our legislatures mix up with nudism/naturism as well.
Although I do believe the decency standards are too strict, you are absolutely correct. There is extreme confusion, not only with the media and legislatures but with the general public.
Looking back over the last year, I remember the Janet fiasco. The issue to me was not the wardrobe malfunction but that the dancing leading up to it (so I have been told, I don't watch football as a rule) was inappropriate for the venue and the fact the wardrobe malfunction was not an accident but, when taken in context of the song being sung, very inappropriate. Follow that up with the FCC cracking down on broadcasters to where they are afraid to cross the line of nudity bothers me.
I have some friends that have made the statement that todays PG is yesterdays PG-13, flowing up the line. I still don't believe this is true, I recently rented a Peter Sellers movie that was PG. It showed a whole lot more flesh than your typical PG-13 movie.
I remember 10 years ago, there was a drama on one of the networks set in Jamaica. One particular episode, one of the stars walks out to the beach and takes off her clothes. While all that was shown was a head to toe shot of her back I don't believe the broadcasters would be willing to show that sort of a scene anymore.
At the same time, parents are more than willing to let their kids watch violence... Hmmm.
Maybe what is really missing is the healthy portrayal of nudity. I remember the show Meridith Baxter did called "My Breast", portraying a woman with breast cancer. That did show the character with her breast showing, there was no uproar that I remember. On the other hand Fox (take it for what it has worth) has shown Paris Hilton at a nudist venue. |
| Cheri |
Posted - 01/20/2005 : 10:00:47 AM
bornnude, Isn't this more about decency, sex, and nudity than nudism? That's what our legislatures mix up with nudism/naturism as well.
Regards, Cheri
Doing what I can to positively promote nudism
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