4. What is Obscenity?
Law of Obscenity passed by US Congress (1873):
“Anything that had a tendency to deprave and corrupt those whose minds might
be open to such immoral influences”.
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce,
was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle, and
critical form of comedy which integrated satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity.
Lenny Bruce
“What is dirty, and what is clean?”
1962: accused for obscenity, not charged.
Nowadays, the society is not necessarily a
connection between sexually explicit
material and social harm.
5. Tests to Determine Obscenity
US Justice Potter Steward: “ I can’t define pornography, but I know
it when I see it. “ (Jacobellies vs. Ohio case, 1964).
Is pornography by definition always obscene?
Variety of tests determine what is obscenity and what should be
censored.
6. Roth-Memoirs Test
New Definition for Obscenity by Supreme Court in 50s/60s in the Roth-
Memoirs Test:
Taken as a whole, the dominant theme of the material appeals to an average person’s
interest in sex.
Material is considered patently offensive based on community standards relating to
sexual matters.
Patently offensive refers to any obscene acts or materials that are considered to
be openly, plainly, or clearly visible as offensive to the viewing public.
Assumed a national standard, applicable to entire country.
Material possesses no social value at all.
7. Miller’s Test
The work, taken as a whole, would be found legally obscene, when it:
Appeals predominantly to “prurient” (having or encouraging an excessive interest in
sexual matters.) interest (jury determines it by community standards).
Depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way (fact finding
again based on community standards)
Lacks serious literacy, artistic, political, or scientific value
8. Obscenity VS Indecency
Is there a difference between “obscene” and “indecency”?
Obscene refers to utterance or act that strongly offends prevalent (sexual)
morality of the time.
Indecent means offending against generally accepted standards of
propriety or good taste, improper, vulgar.
Use of F-word
Example: Bono says the F word on live TV. (Golden Globe Award 2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEIWI15F6aA
9. Obscenity VS Indecency
Indecency is protected but it might be offensive and
inappropriate
George Carlin
American stand-up comedian, actor, author, and social
critic. He was known for his black comedy and
reflections on politics, the English language, psychology,
religion, and various taboo subjects.
Seven words you cannot say on television where central to
1978 US Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Nrp7cj_tM
10. George Carlin
The seven dirty words are seven English-language words
that American comedian George Carlin first listed in 1972
in his monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on
Television". The words are: shit, piss, fuck, cunt,
cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.
11. Carlin and the US Supreme Court
Government has the power to regulate indecent material on public airwaves.
Indecency is connected to exposure of children.
Indecency is measured by community standards (religious groups)
Broadcasting sexual activities or organs
Depending on time of the day
Public airwaves and less protection
Difficult to protect oneself
13. Skins = Pornography?
“ A wild ride through the lives of a
group of high school friends stumbling
through the mine field of adolescence
and stepping most to the minds as they
go. “
MTV Show Skins promotes drugs, alcohol,
simulated masturbation, implied sexual
assault, and teenagers disrobing and
getting into bed together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c23
aSUZpHrE
14. Outcome
Resulted in controversy regarding teenage casual sex and
open drug use.
Possible child pornography investigation (a male character
was running down the street naked).
Withdrawal of advertisers
Cancelled by June 2011
15. Netflix porn: 9 sexy shows streaming
right now
1. The L Word.
2. Sense8.
3. Shameless.
4. Ingobernable.
5. The Tudors.
6. Skins.
7. Californication.
8. The Borgias.
16. Advertisement and Obscenity
Brooke Shields in Calvin Klein
Commercial 1981
One of the many Clavin Klein
Jeans commercials featuring
Brooke Shields (16) 1981. The
famous quote "You wanna
know what comes between
me and my Clavin's?
Nothing.“
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=YK2VZgJ4AoM
19. Obscenity and Music Lyrics
This dude named Michael used to ride motorcycles
Dick bigger than a tower, I ain't talking about Eiffel's
Real country-ass nigga, let me play with his rifle
Pussy put his ass to sleep, now he calling me NyQuil
Now that bang, bang, bang
I let him hit it 'cause he slang Cocaine
He toss my salad like his name Romaine
And when we done, I make him buy me Balmain
I'm on some dumb shit, by the way, what he say?
He can tell I ain't missing no meals
Come through and fuck him in my automobile
Let him eat it with his grills, he keep telling me to chill
He keep telling me it's real, that he love my sex appeal
He say he don't like 'em boney, he want something he can grab
So I pulled up in the Jag', Mayweather with the jab like
Dun-d-d-dun-dun-d-d-dun-dun
My anaconda don't, my anaconda don't
My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns, hun
20. Obscenity and News
Should
A news program show nudity if it clearly adds to the news story?
Quoting George Carlin style words from an interview?
Use of blanks, dashes, and bleeps
What is acceptable for the news?
Use of colorful languages in sport news
Examples: https://www.huffpost.com/topic/obscenity
21.
22. Obscenity and the Internet
Must determine whether something is sexually explicit and whether this material is
obscene.
Measured by “community standards” (different in each region of the world)
Using the internet, no national barriers are given.
1996 Child Pornography Prevention Act (USA) barres images of children appearing
to be under the age of 18 and are engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
In 2003, the US Supreme Court required public and school libraries that received
government internet discounts to install filters on their computers to block
pornography.
26. Discussion Questions:
How do you judge the kitchen ad from an ethical
viewpoint?
How do you judge the hospital ad from a similar
perspective? Compare it to the first ad.
27. Group Task
Select a TV show or advertisement and critically analyze if is
demonstrating obscenity, indecency, or pornography based
on the following;
Roth-Memoirs Test
Miller’s Test
Presentation next meeting.
