A moral panic is a term used to describe a sudden flurry of conservative attitudes towards the media (usually film or music) when something which is perceived as too shocking or graphic is released to the public. For example when the film Reservoir Dogs was released in the UK there was a "Moral Panic" because many thought that the wanton violence, and in particular the way the violence was treated by director Quentin Tarantino was offensive and repulsive. This moral panic spread like a forest fire and within a couple of weeks of its release the film was successfully banned. It stayed banned for several years until a slightly edited version came out on video, such was the strength of the furore surrounding its original release. This is a textbook example of a moral panic.

In more recent days there has been an ongoing moral panic against violence in the media as a whole instead of against any particular film. The main champions of this recent panic, notably watchdogs and voluntary parents associations, say that there is good reason for this sudden morality crusade. Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media, inc. says that violence in movies today is wrong for four main reason

Yes, the media of today IS extremely violent and the music of today (in particular Marilyn Manson, Cradle of Filth etc...) does send out unorthodox messages to the people who listen to it. However, the question we are faced with, the question we keep coming back to, again and again is DOES IT HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON PEOPLE? The people who instigate and support moral panics might say yes, there is evidence all around us, from the unconventional dress sense of young people who listen to music like Marilyn Manson, Cradle of Filth etc... to tragedies such as the Columbine High School Massacre. However, in spite of all of the studies which have been carried out and suggest otherwise, there is no real tangible link between cinematic "fake" violence and real life actual violence.

Therefore, are moral panics unjustified? There are good arguments to be made for both cases but I would say that there are certain times when moral panics ARE justified. Take the case of A Clockwork Orange for example. Whilst I don't think that the film caused people to act any more violently than they usually did, I DO however think that the general public was not ready for a film of that kind to be released. It was too controversial, too close to the edge and was not suitable for cinema audiences because they had never seen anything like it before. Whether you think the film is a p

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