References: (1‐2 pages)
References: (1‐2 pages)
According to Koppleman’s essay obscenity law deals with sexual and erotic content and the probability of it influencing such thoughts and appealing to prurient interests. The existing law for determining whether a publication is obscene( laid down in Miller v. California) is:…
“You will know it when you see it.” The Miller case determined if something was obscene, the average person, applying the standards must find the entire work, as obscene, the work depicts offensive sexual conduct defined by state law, and that the work as a whole lacks literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.…
Pornography is defined as depicted sexual behavior that’s serves to sexually excite. Obscenity is items which “lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.” Obscene material may be acceptable within ones home however this does not include material which depicts minors or the public exhibition of obscene material.…
* Distributing, disseminating or storing images, text or materials that might be considered indecent, obscene or illegal, considered discriminatory, offensive or abusive, in that the context is a personal attack, or might be considered as harassment…
New York is decades old, but nevertheless it presents controversy surrounding issues of free speech that still resonate today (390 U.S. 62, L. Ed. 2d 195, 88 S. Ct. 1274). The State of New York prosecuted Sam Ginsberg for selling copies of the magazines “Sir” and “Mr. Annual” to a sixteen-year-old boy (Ibid). In this case, the Supreme Court upheld a New York state criminal statute (484-h) which prohibited retailers from selling content matter to minors under the age of seventeen, if the material was deemed to be “obscene” (Ibid). At the time (a few years before Miller v. California), the concern was not what counted as obscene, but rather whether the material would be considered obscene for adults (Ibid). Section 484-h of New York’s criminal statute prohibited selling to any person under the age of seventeen content that had either pictures of nudity or sexual conduct or literature containing accounts that stimulate sexual excitement as they were considered “harmful to minors” (Ibid). The court defined “harmful to minors” as what was considered to be offensive in the adult community with respect to what was suitable for minors (Ibid). The Court (led by Justice William Brennan) ruled that section 484-h did not violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments as a restriction on expression…
The first amendment guarantees the right of free expression to all citizens of the United States. Leonard Pitt’s writing “Who decides if it’s art or porn?” brings up a major issue with the first amendment of free expression. Pitts states his thesis towards the end of his article with the two questions, “What is the line where obscenity ends and art begins? And who gets to say?” I’m not entirely sure about the answer to the first question, but I do know that the government and the judges of the court have the power to decide what the difference is.…
-Child pornography is described as: “Includes visual representations of 18 years and is engaged in or is depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity and/or visual representation. Child Pornography also includes representations/written material that advocated or counsels sexual activity with a person under the age of 18 years, that would be an offence under the criminal code.” As described under section 163 of the criminal code.…
Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcast as determined by the FCC. The FCC describes indecent broadcast restrictions as “language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities”. Indecent programming contains patently offensive sexual or excretory material that does not rise to the level of obscenity. (Federal Communications Commission, December 30,2014, screen guide)…
The Production Code listed three ''General Principles,'' including ''No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.'' The Production Code also listed a variety of ''Particular Applications,'' many of which applied to sexuality: no nudity, no ''sexual perversion'' (i.e., homosexuality), no adultery, and no miscegenation. ''Scenes of Passion'' were to be avoided along with any other treatments that might ''stimulate the lower and baser element.''…
Hays code was released to counter the content of films. The guidelines impacting the entertainment industry included: crime, sex, vulgarity, obscenity, profanity, costume, dances, locations, national feelings, titles, and repellent subjects. For example, in a guideline listed under crimes against the law, “These shall never be presented in such as way as to throw sympathy with the crime as against the law and justice or to inspire others with a desire for imitation.” (Hays Code) furthermore, another guideline in regard to sex stated: “The sanctity of the institution of marriage and the home should be upheld, pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing.” (Hays…
Defining Profanity. The New Oxford American Dictionary (Stevenson & Lindberg, 2005) defines profanity as “irreligious or irreverent behavior”. Here I will elaborate upon this definition using verbal behavior taxonomy to signal…
knowing how to define pornography, we are apt simply to throw up our hands in frustration and…
violence such as brutality and racism. Therefore, it’s a discourage to say that pornography is…
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, to be obscene, material must meet a three-prong test, "(1) an average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest (i.e., material having a tendency to excite lustful thoughts); (2) the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way,…
Pornography is basically a blanket that covers all types of material such as explicit literature, photography, films, and videotapes with varying degrees of sexual content. So pornography is a very broad term. However, the key term sexual content needs to be defined. Sexual content is anything that evokes thoughts of eroticism and sexual stimulus. So this excludes art that has nude subject matter. Most art is not supposed to evoke feelings of eroticism. Art deals with the feelings of the artist and more commonly, social issues. On the other hand, if an artist takes a picture of a man having sex with a woman for the sake of taking a picture of a man having sex with a woman is pornography.…