November 12, 2004

Censor this

So there was a big furor over the airing of Private Ryan on ABC last night, with many affiliates dropping it off the schedule for fear of FCC fines. This all stems from the Janet Jackson Nipple-thing at the super bowl and the record setting fine as a result.

So now ABC finds itself in a position to send a message to the FCC. They could have gone about this one of two ways. Either by broadcasting the movie, violence profanity and all and waited for the FCC to come after them, but this time they would probably have more popular support - what with the message of the film and all. Or they could take the approach of publically vocalizing their fears of airing this movie, which despite it's theme and message IS gut-wrenchingly violent and peppered with profanity. In this way, the message is sent to the FCC... lighten up or you'll stifle free speech and create an atmosphere where media second guesses itself and will more often err on the side of caution. Which is more often than not, bad for the people.