Violence as Obscenity: Limiting the Media's First Amendment Protection

Constitutional Conflicts

by Kevin W. Saunders

This timely and accessible volume takes a fresh approach to a question of increasing public whether or not the federal government should regulate media violence. In Violence as Obscenity , Kevin W. Saunders boldly calls into question the assumption that violent material is protected by the First Amendment. Citing a recognized exception to the First Amendment that allows for the regulation of obscene material, he seeks to expand the definition of obscenity to include explicit and offensive depictions of violence.
Saunders examines the public debate on media violence, the arguments of professional and public interest groups urging governmental action, and the media and the ACLU’s desire for self-regulation. Citing research that links violence in the media to actual violence, Saunders argues that a present danger to public safety may be reduced by invoking the existing law on obscenity. Reviewing the justifications of that law, he finds that not only is the legal history relied on by the Supreme Court inadequate to distinguish violence from sex, but also many of the justifications apply more forcefully to instances of violence than to sexually explicit material that has been ruled obscene. Saunders also examines the actions that Congress, states, and municipalities have taken to regulate media violence as well as the legal limitations imposed on such regulations by the First Amendment protections given to speech and the press. In discussing the current operation of the obscenity exception and confronting the issue of censorship, he advocates adapting to the regulation of violent material the doctrine of variable obscenity, which applies a different standard for material aimed at youth, and the doctrine of indecency, which allows for federal regulation of broadcast material.
Cogently and passionately argued, Violence as Obscenity will attract scholars of American constitutional law and mass communication, and general readers moved by current debates about media violence, regulation, and censorship.

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1996

Reviews

[Jenny Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saunders work on First Amendment issues is insightful and relevant, regardless of the date published. Published in 1996, "Violence as Obscenity" details the evolution of obscenity laws in the U.S. from the 1600's to the 1990s, and sets the stage for how those laws might relate to current issues (e.g., online distribution of obscene materials and violence depictions). Essentially, Saunders describes how obscenity was not (and is still not) clearly defined in U.S. law, tracing how the legal view of obscenity has morphed over time to include profanity and blasphemy, "fighting words" (hate speech and libel), immoral and indecent behavior (erotica & explicit sexual descriptions and public nudity), and in a few instances, actual or intended violence. This slim volume is a slow read, but is a must for studens of law, morals, philosophy, or anyone who wants to understand what the First Amendment does and does not protect.