Wednesday, 1 February 2012

Cohen's Moral Panic

What is Moral Panic?
Moral Panic - A condition, episode, person or group of people is portrayed as a threat to society values and interests. This is often a stereotyped representation brought around by the mass media.

Historical perspectives: 
  • Football, 100 years ago - hooliganism
  • Video games, 1990s - now
  • Video nasties, 1980s
  • Internet (IM, SNS) 2000S - now
Cohen says that:
Concern: Behaviour of a group is represented as a threat
Volatility: Panics that erupt dramatically, but do not sustain (short lived) - This has a negative result for the rest of us.
Hostility: "folk devils" constructed to create a clear division between "them" and "us"
Consensus: Widespread acceptance of the threat. Generally not reflective of the whole nation.  
Disproportionality: Wild exaggeration of evidence. Not only the number of people involved but also the scale of the problem.

Examples of moral panics:


This is an example of moral panics as many people felt it was inappropriate, due to the extreme violence - thinking the public may copy the ideas.











This is another example of a moral panic.
This is another example of a moral panic.




































Adaptation to a music magazine:
I could use this theory to promote interesting dangerous stories. I could use it to create exclusive stories that push the boundaries, making people more interested. Therefore I could portray the audience creating a moral panic, or play on stereotypes. I could portray the celebrity in the negative way.

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