Censorship and Controversy

How to get the most from this module

Take good quality notes during each lecture Write them up after the lesson, expanding on the topics discussed Undertake further research into topics mentioned in the class or related topics Keep up to date with current issues of censorship or controversy

Why teach film censorship and controversy?

In the early 1980s a teenager, after obsessively watching Brideshead Revisited (ITV, 1981) on television, embarks on a reckless buying spree of vintage clothing in order to emulate the characters.
In 2003 a teenager, after obsessively watching The Matrix on DVD, embarks on a reckless killing spree, murdering his family.

What is the difference between these two tragic cases?

Key Issues
Harm Trauma Imitation To what extent can these issue be ascribed to media products? If they can not then the notion of censorship and banning of controversial material becomes, at least, questionable.

Key Debates
Film Censorship
What are the motives for film censorship? What assumptions is it based upon? Whose interests does it serve? How is censorship culturally and historically specific? Is censorship a legitimate activity in a democracy?

Controversy and the Press

What are moral panics? How are they instigated and fuelled by the media? What factors might motivate the scapegoating of films?

Key Debates cont

Shocking Cinema
What is shock in film? What different types of shock exist? To what extent is shock dependant upon the intersection of a range of cultural and textual factors?