ABC could have shown "Ryan" after all

[Kurt_eh]

C B C . C A A r t s - F u l l S t o r y :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'Saving Private Ryan' broadcast ruled OK
Last Updated Tue, 01 Mar 2005 11:45:12 EST
CBC Arts
WASHINGTON - Last November's broadcast of the Second World War film Saving Private Ryan by ABC did not violate indecency guidelines, the U.S. federal broadcast regulator has ruled.

The Federal Communications Commission ruled Monday that despite the fact that the Oscar-winning movie depicts soldiers using expletives, "in light of the overall context in which this material is presented, the commission determined that it was not indecent or profane."


Starring Tom Hanks, the film 'Saving Private Ryan' was praised for its accurate – hence violent – depiction of the Second World War. (AP file photo)
More than 60 ABC affiliates pulled back from airing the film last year because of worry over possible indecency complaints to the commission, which did subsequently receive protests about the Nov. 11 broadcast.

RELATED STORY: ABC affiliates cancel 'Saving Private Ryan'

ABC had broadcast Saving Private Ryan in 2001 and again in 2002, the same year the FCC originally ruled that the film did not violate its indecency or profanity guidelines.

The Stephen Spielberg film follows a Second World War troop charged with finding and protecting a single man – the sole surviving son in a family that has already lost three others to the war – so that he can return safely to the U.S.

"This film is a critically acclaimed artwork that tells a gritty story – one of bloody battles and supreme heroism. The horror of war and the enormous personal sacrifice it draws on cannot be painted in airy pastels," FCC chair Michael Powell said in a statement. "Content cannot be evaluated without careful consideration of context. Saving Private Ryan is filled with expletives and material arguably unsuitable for some audiences, but it is not indecent in the unanimous view of the commission."

Powell praised ABC for its "responsible effort" in providing audiences with full disclosure before the broadcast: the network recorded an introduction and caution to parents of young viewers by Dr. Harold Baumgarten, a veteran who survived the D-Day landing in Normandy, and Senator John McCain, a Vietnam veteran.

Though some complaints were made referring to the movie's violence, the commission said that its "indecency and profanity prohibitions are not applicable to violent programming."

In separate decisions released Monday, the FCC also denied indecency complaints about episodes of Arrested Development and Will and Grace.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/03/01/Arts/fccprivateryan050301.html
Copyright ©2005 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved

[Hank]

This story demonstrates the chilling effect the FCC can have. The problem isn't with whether a given broadcast is or isn't indecent; it's that the broadcaster can't know how the FCC would rule until it's too late. So they engage in self-censorship.

There was an excellent program on the NPR program This American Life a few months back that covered this issue in detail. And even one of the FCC spokespeople couldn't articulate the rules. In fact, although he denied that it was a big problem, he was quite clear about how fuzzy and ill defined the situation is following the Janet Jackson Superbowl incident.

It's censorship for the 21st century: be so vague that the media censor themselves.

[TheBladeRoden]

It's censorship for the 21st century: be so vague that the media censor themselves.

My teachers seem to have learned this technique a long time ago.