Creating life is disgusting, but destroying life is fine

• the sprout
• 14 years ago
• Categories: broadcasting, Ethics, Media
• Tags: BSA

It’s puzzled me for some years how few people bat and eye at the countless portrayals of violent death and brutality we see every night on TV, while anything that portrays acts of physical intimacy are carefully vetted in case they cause anyone offence.

This cultural oddity has been highlighted by a recent BSA ruling that upheld a complaint over a clip from the Vintner’s Luck being broadcast on Close-Up, wherein an actor puts his head up Keisha Castle-Hughes’ skirt. Heaven forbid such sordidness! Yet at the same time, another complaint against the broadcasting of the fatal accident of a Georgian luger at the Winter Olympics was ruled as perfectly acceptable.

If you saw that footage you’ll remember how sickening it was. All the more so knowing it wasn’t fictional but a real death happening before your eyes. When it comes to fictional violence the sky’s pretty much the limit. You can watch dramas every night of the week where people commit horrific acts of violence, including sexual violence, all portrayed in graphic detail. That stuff is fine – just as long as there’s no intimation of people actually engaging in the pleasurable creation of life.

Why is that do you think?