Task 2 - Ethical and Legal Constraints in the Creative Media Sectors
Audrey Muanza
The film sector is governed by a number of regulatory bodies and acts such as the film act, the Human Rights Act 1998 and Films Act 1985 etc. When creating their products companies need to think about ethical and legal issues as they may cause problems long term. When it comes to Ethical sides of the film industry it’s about social issues, representation of gender, sexuality and religious beliefs and so on.
What are social issues? A social issue is something that can affect a small or large group within society. An example of a social issue is violent crimes, drugs and abortion etc. If a film company choses to produce a film with a social issue then they need to be careful on how they portray the issue as it can cause problems because it is an ethical constraint. Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom was a film about social change and it was greatly told but if they made the scene more violent than the regulatory board would have to revise and consider the film. The film industry also need to be careful when it comes to representation of gender. The representation of gender is the way that genders are portrayed. What does a typical girl act like? What does a typical boy act like? the way that the film industry portray gender can cause offense and be a constraint. For years girls and women have been portrayed in films as weak and vulnerable especially in the rom-com genre but in recent years female representation has been improving and the article linked below explains the evolution. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/movies/fall-arts-preview-representation-of-female-characters-in-movies-is-improving.html
The representation of religion is carefully used in the film industry as it is a sensitive subject. Many films show the good side of religion but others can show the ugly and bad side of religion. For instance, the Islamic faith is often victim of stereotyping and linked to terrorism. A great example of this is the television programme Family Guy, Family Guy is a animated comedy show and is known for it’s comical offensive humour. Jokes on terrorism are often shown in Family Guy and other jokes about muslims, especially in a particular episode where Peter Griffin, the main character, wants to convert to the religion after getting over his discriminative thoughts. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2013/04/family-guy-skewers-islam-but-misses-its-comedic-mark/
The same goes with Christianity, there are things often associated with the religion that isn’t always positive. For instance, in the film Shawshank Redemption the Warden quotes bible verses whilst mistreating inmates and stealing money and this caused offense as it was like they were trying to imply that was what christianity was about. Hollywood are improving on the way they portray religious beliefs as in the past it hasn’t always been great and has caused offense.
The professional body codes of practice is issued by a professional body or association and set for their members to comply ethical standards. The code of practice is usually a set of written guidelines agreed on with the members of the media profession, for example the BBFC, British Board Film Classification, could write a set guidelines that film companies need to comply by.
The Broadcasting Act 1990 (and later amendments) is a brief summary of regulations for British Television and Radio. The aim of the act was to reform British Broadcasting in British television. Margaret Thatcher, a member of the parliament, was the one who initiated the act. One of the points from the act was that “the Channel 4 should be able to sell its own advertising.” This act does not comply with the film industry but it could relate when films are broadcasted on television.
Another act that relates to the film industry is ‘Obscene Publications 1959 (and later amendments). The ‘Obscene Publications 1959’ act makes it illegal to publish any content that is corrupt or insensitive such as rape, necrophilia, torture and bestiality etc that will effect people likely to read, see or hear the matter. In the film industry this needs to be considered because if they ignored the act and showed some of the things that i’ve previously stated, then it would cause huge problems and the film wouldn’t be able to be distributed as it is against the law.
The Video Recordings Act 1984 states that video recordings that are up for sale or up for hire in the UK must have age classification on it that has been agreed upon by an authority that the Home Office have designated. For instance, the British Board of Film Classification. If the film companies do not comply by this act than the films that are produced will not be able to be legally sold in the UK or supplied to anyone of any age unless the recording is educational and it also must not have sport, religion and does not describe violence and sex etc.
The Human Rights Acts 1998 is a UK law stating that you’re entitled to defend your rights in the UK courts as well as the public organisations such as the Police, the Government and local councils, are required to treat everyone fair and equally and with dignity and respect. In the film industry, employees may feel that they are not being treated fairly or respectfully in their workplace and if is serious enough are able to settle it in court. Things like this can be avoided by contracts being drawn up and signed prior to employment explaining what is required of the employee and the contracted hours.
The Licensing Act 2003(and later amendments) is created by the UK Parliament and require that licensing premises that are used to sale or supply alcohol, to provide entertainment or to provide late night refreshment etc to have permission in order to carry out some or all of these activities. In terms of the film industry, it is required that cinemas or theatres are given permission and the licensing rights to sale tickets for the films that they are showing. Having the license can avoid legal issues in the future.
The ‘Privacy Law’ is the law that deals with how individuals personal information is controlled and this information can be collected by the governments and other public organisations as well as private organisations. It’s up to them on how they store and use this information. If film companies were do biographical films than they wouldn’t be able to invade the famous person's privacy. For example, if Universal Pictures had released the film ‘Unbroken’ in 2014 without the permission from the athlete Louis Zamperini, the focus of the film, then they could have a legal issue in their hands as they invaded his privacy.
The copyright and intellectual property law is a law that refers to a creative law. The intellectual property falls into four main parts, one being Copyright. Copyright is when the legal right to make copies, reproduce, publish, sell or distribute any form of music, film, artistic work etc is given. In this day and age, a lot of things are protected by this copyright law including films. One of the most known copyright cases was Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. The filmmakers of Battlestar Galactica were accused of “borrowing” too much from the Star Wars plot. This case involved a lot of money and in the end resulted in the original Battlestar Galactica being cancelled. Copyright is a serious issues and this case proved that there are consequences if caught.
Above: The Article of the most famous copyright cases.
The ‘Libel Law’ is more related to the print based industry but it’s the law protects individuals from damaging the reputation of others through written communication such as email, notes, magazines, newspapers and websites etc.
HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2
Many films are unable to be publically viewed on things such as TV and cinema because of ethical constraints. The Human Centipede 2 was banned in the UK by the British Broadcasting Film Classification (BBFC) for being ‘sexually violent and potentially obscene’, this is an ethical issues because of it’s sensitivities. The Human Centipede 2 was released in 2011 and immediately classified as an rated 18 and banned until cuts were made to the film, and these cuts were requested by the BBFC.
I personally agree with the press and the BBFC guidelines for the film as I believe that the director, producers and writers pushed boundaries and was not expected. I think that they incorporated issues that were not suitable for audiences and so inappropriate.
Director: Tom Six
Production Company: Six Entertainment Company
Budget: $1.5 million
Banned in: The UK and Australia.
The Guardian wrote an article about the release and details of the film.
A lot of people expressed their concerns on the film and I found a link of a man explaining the reasoning behind the film not being given a certificate.
