focus	specifics
why regulate?	– to maintain the truth – protect others from explicit content – privacy – to prevent reputational damage/ libel/ slander – in terms of ownership to avoid monopolies etc -to prevent criminal activity – to maintain good working practice eg equal pay, job security ALSO – morals/ethics, subjective ‘good’ behaviour – to prevent political bias – to prevent extreme controversy	EG protect others from explicit content/to maintain the truth – banning of ‘Life of Brian’ in numerous countries EG privacy – Rooney vs Vardy EG reputational damage – Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard EG to avoid monopolies – Elon Musk buying twitter EG to maintain good working practice – Activision Blizzard’s $18m settlement over sexual harassment suit
what is regulated?	– newspapers – films – books – TV – radio
who regulates?	– the government – individuals – internal company/structural regulators (code of ethics) – self-regulation – key individuals eg celebrities and influencers SPECIALIST BODIES: – BBFC (cinema) – OfCom(broadcasting) – IPSO (newspapers) – PEGI (video games) – PRS + MCPS (music)
how are things regulated?

libertarianism – promoting ideas of freedom

authoritarianism – promoting the idea of strict centralised control

Epicurus – Hedonism

• Greek philosopher who was a hedonist
• hedonism is the philosophy of living you life to experience pleasure and avoid pain
• he believed that small pleasures are more likely to bring us tranquillity than extreme pleasures as they are more difficult to obtain and are therefore more likely to result in pain
• likely hood of experiencing more pain goes up as you become more exacting in what gives you pleasure
• opened a school where they studied happiness
• he concluded happiness comes from: non-sexual friendships, working either alone in small groups, and finding calm in own mind rather than tangible goods

The Frankfurt School

• aimed to develop a psychological understanding of the problems thrown up by modern capitalism, especially the culture and mindset it creates
• he blames this on the culture industry films, tv radio etc designed to keep us distracted and unable to understand ourselves and therefore without the will to alter political reality
• drew attention to three significant ways capitalism corrupts and exploits people:
• leisure time becomes toxic: culture industry influences people to spend their free time to relax and take off one’s mind, instead the time should be used to develop a better understanding of oneself – culture industry, films, tv radio etc, designed to keep us distracted and unable to understand ourselves and therefore without the will to alter political reality
• capitalism doesn’t sell us things we actually need: the huge range of products available makes us believe everything we could possibly want is available, however the problem is many people cant afford such things – capitalism shields our real wants, luxury material goods etc, so we forget what we actually need, relationships, a home, food etc, and settle for manufactured desires without interest in true welfare EG adverts portray instances that we truly want in order to sell us something we don’t truly need

Essentially, Pleasure and culture gets commodified by superior bodies in order to provide, a false, happiness for the inferior bodies so that they can be happy

they argue that those in control of popular culture use it to control society and distract them from questioning the reality of the world around them

Permissive society 1960s

after WWII, there was more affluence and optimism amongst society and by the 1960s, young people had began to push for more social freedoms

• The ‘Lady Chatterley’ Trial
• the contraceptive pill available at NHS
• The abortion act
• The sexual offences act
• The divorce reform act

Mary Whitehouse

• conservative activist during 1960s who campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media
• she accused them of promoting a more permissive, promiscuous society
• her motivation came from her traditional Christian values, which she believed social liberalism undermined
• founded the National Viewers and Listeners association
• Whitehouse’s campaigns continue to divide opinion. Her critics have accused her of being a highly censorious, bigoted figure, and her traditional moral convictions brought her into direct conflict with advocates of the sexual revolution, feminism, children’s rights and LGBT rights.
• Others see her more positively and believe she was attempting to halt a decline in what they perceived as Britain’s moral standards