The tone adapted in the response to twelve images as a member of Media Watch UK:
1.) Image: Richard Dawkin's novel - 'The God Delusion'
When a book agrees with the notion that religion is formed from a large group of insane, deluded people it seems unlikely to go down so well with members of the church. If the author has an argument to make about his views on religion that seems fair enough, but when the title and subject matter of the book indicate that millions of religious people are deluded it seems an attempt to create mainstream controversy and indeed create a general bad impression amongst members of the public. The book’s philosophical tone might make for some interesting and insightful reading but it becomes offensive and inappropriate for its marketing and raison d’etre. It seems obvious the author is trying to make a name for himself by creating controversy and for this reason the promotion, title and elements of subject matter need to be regulated.
2.) Image: Sex Education for Girls -
This promotion quite effectively gets across the point that sex education should be more detailed so that young people understand in a clearer fashion its dangers and risks. This is fine. However the text also seems to happily promote masturbation, an issue which seems rather out of place with the serious subject matter. The smiling grin of the teacher is also unnecessary, the commercial should serve to highlight the serious issues of sex and not make it trivial through trying to compare self-pleasure with education. The female-driven target audience is effective as it is likely to heighten young female’s interest and response to the issues being raised but this promotion should be regulated in order to promote the seriousness of its subject matter.
3.) Image: Yves Sait Laurent Perfume -
This image appears to depict a sexually liberated woman in order to advertise the sex appeal of the product. It is deliberately provocative and whilst the commercial may make a point about the perfume helping to sensualise the consumer, this is not the message that most young people will see. They may not even be aware of the fact that this is an advertisement as it seems so obviously to use the image of the female as its key selling point. The nudity of the female seems quite unnecesarry and it seems that a more subtle image could have been shown to promote the tone of the commercial. This seems an obvious attempt to use a controversial image in order to boost sales of the product.
4.) Image: Starving child Africa -
This is a terrifying image of a starving child. Though it might appear disturbing it is helping to raise people’s awareness of a deeply, important issue. Everyone should be aware of the kind of lives that some children lead and if this image has the potential to disturb or frighten people, then it also has the potential to effect a larger audience and try to make more people understand the hardship that some people live their lives by. This is a perfectly acceptable image as it serves a moral purpose.
5.) Image: 'Short Bus' film poster -
Granted this is a commercial that is trying to promote the sexually charged nature of the film it advertises. However the full frontal male nudity seems to only serve to cause great offense amongst the public. The image hardly indicates the character’s attitude to sex, or makes a comment on sex or nudity, rather it just seems to highlight sex and for an audience who have no idea about the film’s emotional stance on sexual realted issues, this poster will in no way enlighten them. It is more likely to provoke an offensive and immature reaction among people who don’t know how to react to such an image. And the image itself just seems pointless, another commercial trying to use controversy in order to boost the popularity of the product it is trying to help sell. The tagline behind the title is also tasteless and a pathetic attempt at humour that will cause more outrage than laughs.
6.) Image: HIV ad -
Could there not be a more subtle way of showing the risks of HIV? For this image seems apparently to contradict the very essence of its message. Here the enticing sexual nature of the picture seems to promote the loose, sexually charged behavior that leads to such a disease in the first place. The image is playful and the play on the word ‘hard’ is a pun that seems rather inappropriate in light of the seriousness of the advertisements moral found. If anything the National Health Service seem to be promoting the joys of sex rather than showing us its risks. It is an image that doesn’t need to be shown and should be replaced with a much less stylised caption that helps to show that there is nothing glamorous or sexy about obtaining a sexual disease. This is a subject that does not need to be stylised and this advertisement seems likely to provoke an inappropriate reaction for a majority of the public and for this reason should be regulated.
7.) Image: Suddaeim Hussain's execution
This is an image that one would hope to heighten the public’s shock and outrage that such a depsicable form of murder still exists. Due to the bad influence of the internet however and the increasingly disturbing footage appearing in films, we appear now to live in a highly, vouyeuristic society, and thus this image is more likely to entice and provoke the wrong type of reaction from a majority of the public. Some might even see this as a victory rather than a hideous act which is the wrong message to send out to a nation that is beginning to lose its grip on acceptable forms of behavior. Unfortunately this image could inspire imitation rather than shame, heighten excitement rather than fear. For this reason, this is an image that must be regulated as it risks sending an inappropriate message to the public.
8.) Image: Transvestite
This is a fairly normal photo of a man dressed as a woman that seems to suggest the normality of being a transvestite. So long as the image doesn’t create offence, people should be able to express themselves and dress as they wish and the fact the photo does away with the stereotypical, lavish portrayal of a transvestite is quite refreshing. It shows the public that they are normal people who just happen to be driven to wear clothes of the opposite sex. When the clothing is subtle as this image clearly depicts, it seems to provoke little in the manner of offence towards the general members of the public, however it can sometimes be offensive if the image is exaggerated or in some manner unsettling. This is an appropriate picture helping to highlight the extent to which being a transvestite is perfectly acceptable.
9. Image: Bloody Shit House art piece
This is an image that seems to highlight just how trivial and controversial the world of art has become. No longer a platform to create dazzling masterpieces of work that are rooted in a deeply moral background, the majority of ‘artists’ are now looking for constant ways to create controversy rather than creating art. The image above is a fine example as it seems unclear what its moral ground is supposed to be or if indeed it even has a moral ground at all. It somewhat inexplicably shows the full frontal nudity of two males and is likely only to create a bad impression upon a public and for this reason should be regulated.
10.) Image: Internet Webcam Pornography?
This is a despicable image serving only to ignite offense and outrage among the public. It seems to serve no moral purpose and indeed appears to be unnecesarrily graphic. The girl appears to be selling her body for the camera and demeaning both herself and the kind of people who would be drawn to watch such a video. Internet Porn is becoming an easy distraction for web-users and indeed it would be best served if such a temptation did not exist. It serves no purpose other than to ruin brain cells and ingnite both immoral and anti-social behavior.
11.) Image: PC Computer Game
Manhunt is a computer game with exaggerated violence and unnecessary gore. The Wii is an interactive controller that lets the player control the actions on screen through their own movements. And the link between the two is where the problems start to rise. Although computer games carry less risk than films because of their more unrealistic nature, when a player regardless of age is allowed to visualise the violent movements of a computer game, it immediately creates a bad influence upon the people who are playing the game. The motions they make during the game they might be inspired to imitate upon other people and this could some serious and unwanted problems amongst society. For this reason I don’t think it would be wise for this game to exist on such a platform.
12.) Image: Jerry Springer: The Opera campaign
This is a promotional advertisement for the Jerry Springer Opera theatre performance which is likely to cause offence to a number of people. The connotations with hell and religion that appear during the show are likely to outweigh the satirical elements of the drama. For this reason this is a theatre programme that should be heavily regulated as religion is too widespread and sensitive an issue for a vast majority of people and making fun of such a serious aspect of people’s lives is likely to stike a bad chord among many members of the public.
