Preview

Moral Panics

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2643 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Moral Panics
Sociology 1A. Moral Panics

According to Cohen, society is often subject to such instances and periods of moral panic; an occurrence which is characterised by ‘stylized and stereotypical’ representation by the mass media, and a tendency for those ‘in power’ (politicians, bishops, editors and so on) to man the ‘moral barricades’ and pronounce judgement. At times the object and nature of the panic may be considered ‘novel’, such as that concerning the ‘child killers’ of James Bulger in the 1990’s, while at others it has been in existence for some time but has suddenly come into (or perhaps re-entered) the limelight (drugs and paedophilia). The path of the panic, however, can take one of two directions. Either it quickly dies out and for all intents and purposes is forgotten, or it has more serious and lasting implications such as incorporation into legislation and social policy, as can be seen by the introduction of the National Sex Offenders Register (Paedophile Register) in the late 1990s, in response to the growing concern and panic over child sex offences (Cohen 1972: 9).
It is, therefore, within this context that this essay is set. The concept of the moral panic will be looked at more closely before moving on to examine the role of the media (particularly newspapers) in the orchestration of moral panics. For this purpose two of the more recent moral panics will be discussed in order to provide a more comprehensive illustration of this issue.
For all intents and purposes the ‘moral panic’ is nothing new. Throughout time there have been a number of panics over a variety of issues, ranging from crime and the activities of youth, to drugs and sexual freedom, each considered a threat to the moral fibre of society at that particular time- today is no exception (Furedi 1994: 1). As Furedi points out, ‘newspaper headlines continually warn of some new danger which threatens our health and happiness. Television programmes echo the theme with sensational accounts

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The article by Julie Szego “Porn Rings: Fathers need to step up for the sake of their sons” published in the age on August 24th, confronts the recent issue of porn syndicates appearing in several high schools. These operations degrade and humiliate young girls and Szego doesn’t stand for victims blaming, this is aimed at the fathers that have not taught their sons the way to treat women. Szego allows the reader to envisage her idea of a perfect world, where men march for the defence of young women everywhere. She emphasises the idea of men running a fundraiser for domestic violence and rape crisis.…

    • 210 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Integrity Chapter Summary

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages

    1888PressRelease - This new book from Mark Parker examines the current state of character, ethics and morals in our society.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The essay “How the Future Will Judge Us” by Kwame Anthony Appiah was published in the Washington Post on September 26, 2010 and discusses the signs and potential contenders for what he calls ‘future moral condemnation’. Appiah opens with the thought that when we look back on practices from…

    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this piece the author, Louis Pizzitola, dives into the history of the film and newspaper industry and, specifically, how William Randolph Hearst used his works to advocate his political propaganda. The author describes Hearst’s use of exaggeration and heightening of reality, otherwise known as sensationalism, in his reporting as well as in his films to evoke feelings of patriotism in the mass public and promote our engagement in various wars. The book begins by talking about Hearst’s childhood and how his father, George Hearst, delegated ownership of the San Francisco Examiner to him. Hearst used his executive position to advocate his style of sensationalized journalism, or “new journalism”, in order to evoke emotion in the reader and therefore…

    • 1316 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In our society there is a lot of tension revolving around concepts of morality. Constantly people are debating all over the world whether or not concepts like abortion, homosexuality, gambling, affairs, divorce, contraception, and premarital sex are morally acceptable or morally unacceptable. Right now there are even entire societies that believe the American way of life is morally unacceptable. In Moral Disagreement by Kwame Anthony Appiah, Appiah writes about differing values and morals around the world and within our society. He points out, “we aren’t the only people who have the concepts of right and wrong, good and bad; every society, it seems, has terms that correspond to these thin concepts” (658). However, these concepts…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Csi Effect

    • 1164 Words
    • 5 Pages

    An objective of these theories is that people have both a fear and fascination about crime which is partly shaped by the media. The media can sensitize issues and help define crime for the public in a more layman way. The media can both amplify deviance and create moral panic is increasingly common in postmodern society. The media is selective in whom and how it treats offenders and victims of moral panics. This theory objective then leads into Stan Cohen and moral panics.…

    • 1164 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to item A ‘the news media are one of our main sources of knowledge about crime and deviance’. This means that the information that we allowed to take in is the information that someone else has chosen, so if the newspapers focus on one thing more than another there will be more of a chance that there will be a moral panic over this thing for example if the newspapers focused more on muggings in the street than pick picketers people would be more scared of the muggings as would be seen as something which is more common creating a moral panic.…

    • 953 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Moral Panic

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Page

    Moral panic is basically the concept that if people behave a certain way, they are acting deviant and are considered threats to society and societal values. This type of panic becomes largely widespread and exaggerated through various forms of media, like newspapers, thus creating fear among large groups of people. This concept is important because it defines what is considered as unacceptable behaviour in society. Moral panic also paves the way for more policing, higher sentences and new laws. In some cases these laws are found to go against human rights, however, this is justified as a necessary evil, which must be done to help stop the sudden crisis and outbreak of crime. One famous example of moral panic is the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina;…

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Many argue we have moved forward with progress on some social matters such as recent Supreme Court decisions on gay marriage rights. Some argue progress would mean readdressing particular constitutional issues such as the second amendment. However, in each case the interpretation, what is progress for some is the opposite of others. The perception of volatile issues is clouded by people’s stereotypes and confounded by the blind spots. One side sees their stereotype of a gun toting theater attendee as a menace to a civilized society; the other side’s stereotypical view sees a potential hero that adverts a tragedy. If the stereotypes’ blind spots were exposed, both sides could see the merits of the other side’s argument and that no simple answers exist. The ambiguity of moral codes may best be portrayed in popular culture by the serial killer character Dexter. Dexter uses his own “moral code” to justify his serial killing of murderers who have beat the system. While this is pure fiction, it reflects how moral codes are developed by one’s interpretations of the pictures in their heads. Whether or not we are in the dawn of a new a Progressive Era, only history will tell. What is certain, the current twenty-first-century university student has unprecedented access to information…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Oklahoma City Bombing

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The media has a right to report cases of criminal activities though different opinions have been expressed against this tendency by the media. The opinions argue that media is fond of creating moral panic and this ethical fear has a great impact on the public behavior. However, the opinions differ because some opinions are for this tendency while others are against this tendency. Most of the reactions of the public towards cases reported by the media have been known to create panic and the panic created always tends to exaggerate statistics while at the same creating bogeyman. In this paper two criminal cases have been tackled to see extend to which media impacts on the criminal justice system. The two cases under comparison in this paper are Oklahoma City Bombing and Jena Six case. The first case that is Oklahoma City Bombing had a…

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    What Is Moral Panics?

    • 1531 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments pointed at upholding social control, deterring and reduce crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws. Crime occurs all over the world, every minute of each day, whether someone rapes someone, or robs a bank. The suspect is brought in from eyewitnesses, and evidence. An abundance of cases, however, go unreported, or are misreported.…

    • 1531 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    It is increasingly difficult to prove the perpetrators intent, if the victim gave legal consent, if there was witnesses, and if both parties were consuming drugs or alcohol during the event. The entire idea of the date rape is considered fraught with legal issues, and the possibility that the judicial proceedings will be ineffective are high. If a case can be proved, the use of a drug likely increases the severity of the case. The coverage of these issues have been described as “creating or amplifying a moral panic” that is rooted deeply in social anxieties. Rape, hedonism, and increased freedom of women in modern culture has proven to be a moral burden upon common society and takes us to a new level of mistrust amongst one another. Shining a spotlight on recreational drug and alcohol abuse can tend to lead to even more intriguing views seeing as how frequently the act of social get togethers involving drugs and legal alcoholic beverages occur. It is not unusual for many of these accepted parties to get out of hand and illegal activity to occur, specifically these instances of involuntary sedation and sexual…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moral Panic Definition

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In “American Werewolf in Kabul…” Sean Brayton, a Ph.D student researching the specifics of critical race theory and media studies, analyzes the concept of moral panic as being an important cause of the potential threat of national security to the United States of America. He illustrates the three main elements of moral panic: folk devils, ambiguous terms, and moral entrepreneurs using the reality of John Walker Lindh’s journey through multiple identities. Comparing Cameron’s definition of moral panic to Brayton’s discussion of moral panic, which originated from Cohen’s developed description of the context in 1972, there is agreement that media overemphasize concerns beyond practicality. Both Cameron and Brayton use the term “folk devils” to represent a subgroup of individuals that is a leading cause of moral panic, yet with different purposes. Cameron suggests that the term “folk devil” is usually branded to social minorities that bear the burden enmity and blame by the socially ideal majority, whereas Brayton expands Cohen’s…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    moral panics

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout time there have been a number of panics over a variety of issues, ranging from crime and the activities of youth, to drugs and sexual freedom, each considered a threat to the moral fibre of society. As Furedi points out, ‘newspaper headlines continually warn of some new danger which threatens our health and happiness. Furedi suggests that moral panics have a tendency to occur ‘at times when society has not been able to adapt to dramatic changes’ and when such change leads those concerned to express fear over what they see as a loss of control.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Many states have adopted sexual predator statutes which provide for incarceration, institutionalization, treatment, and registration for individuals convicted of specific sex crimes (Roberson and Wallace, 2008). The need for convicting sexual predators has become a top priority for lawmakers across the nation as society has determined that sexually related offenses are deviant behavior and simply will not be tolerated. Sexually related offenses such as rape, child molestation, and pedophilia are considered to be especially heinous offenses and tend to bring about disgust and rage from within our society. In response to such offenses, lawmakers across the nation, along with the assistance of law enforcement and its citizens, have made life very uncomfortable for sexual predators. Specifically, lawmakers have created new laws which restrict the freedoms of sexual predators and that inflict harsher punishments for those convicted of sex crimes.…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics