Using Examples, Explain the Difference Between Obscene and Indecent Materials.

1. Using examples, explain the difference between obscene and indecent materials. Obscene and indecent both have different meanings but are similar in many ways. Obscene material is described as disgusting or repulsive but indecent material is described as being offensive to the public. Both obscene and indecent can be view differently by the public; however, the Constitution plays a role with indecent material. Obscene material "is not protected by the First Amendment,” (The Dynamics of Mass Communication Tenth Edition, page 377) and broadcast stations cannot air obscene material at anytime. The problem with this is that no one had come up with a set standard of what obscene material is. Due to the difference in beliefs between families and individuals, no two people have the same beliefs and will not agree to a set standard of what obscene material really is. Since obscene material is can not be banned completely and therefore can be view during nighttime broadcasting. A good example of this is the adult swim channel. During the day children can view cartoons like Spongebob and Rugrats; but when 10 o’clock p.m. hit, the channel switches to adult swim when there are show with naked women and sex scenes. 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 sexual thoughts); (2) the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and (3) the material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value(The Dynamics of Mass Communication Tenth Edition, page 378). Indecent material is defined as offending the public and bad taste, improper or vulgar. Indecent material is very had to define. Between the federal court system and Congress,

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