Moral Panic
What is a moral panic?
...“an intense emotional reaction from society (usually communicated through the mass media), to an issue that is perceived to threaten social order”; Stanley Cohen 1972: “a condition, episode, person, or group, emerges to become defined as a threat to society’s interests and is presented using exaggeration by the mass media”; For example: labelling asylum seekers in a negative way: “boat people”, “queue jumpers”, “illegal immigrants”, causing fear amongst society and creating a negative reaction to asylum seekers; |
Folk Devils (trouble makers or victims)
When he was just 16 years old Corey posted an invite on his MySpace site and 500 people turned up to his suburban home in southeast Melbourne in January 2008 while his parents were on holiday.The carnage that inevitably ensued attracted police helicopters and the dog squad to his family home in Narre Warren - not to mention huge amounts of media attention. What followed was a wave of public condemnation "that the youth of today were out of control", "my space and texting are putting young people in situations they can't control" and a need for society to address the generation of entitled young people that were coming through.
Folk Devils are seen as those who spark an issue and are seen to threaten social order; e.g. youth. As the spotlight falls on them they can can experience confusion, shock and anger at the sudden and intense exposure. As they are often confronted by politicians, leaders or popular media presenters they may feel defenceless and dis-empowered at being unable to change negative attitudes that people have formed about them. It is also difficult to change negative attitudes once they are formed, even if there is evidence to argue otherwise e.g. homosexual individuals being stigmatised in the 80's due to the media’s misrepresentation of the HIV virus.
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In the 1980’s a moral panic was created in the media over HIV/AIDS. The famous iceberg advertisement by the British government clearly hinted that there was a lot more to HIV/AIDS than the public could possibly know about with the vast bulk hidden from view. Some media outlets nicknamed HIV/AIDS the ‘gay plague’ stigmatising a specific section of the population as being the primary cause and carriers of the ‘gay plague’. While scientists gained a better understanding of HIV/AIDS as the 1980’s moved into the 1990’s and beyond, the illness was still seen by many as one either caused by or passed on by the gay community. When it became clear that this was not the case, the moral panic created by the media moved off in another direction blaming the general lax moral standards of the younger generation (both male and female) which then moved onto the next area of moral panic – the growth of the ‘laddettes’ - the word "ladette" has been coined to describe young women who take part in laddish behaviour. It is defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary as: "Young women who behave in a boisterously assertive or crude manner and engage in heavy drinking sessions." Statistically, the number of young people who behave in an anti-social manner at the weekend is dwarfed by the actual number of young people in the UK but the moral panic subculture created by the tabloid press would have the general population think differently. It even spawned a TV series that attempted to change these 'ladette's into ladies'. |
Moral Entrepreneurs
Moral entrepreneurs are those who construct deviant behaviour. In other words, moral entrepreneurs claim that a social issue is a social problem or that it is serious enough to warrant immediate attention and decisive action.
Moral entrepreneurship is the business of persuading society to make policy from particular moral viewpoints. Sociologists are not interested in the validity of the claims made during Moral Panic created by moral entrepreneurs, but are interested in the dynamics of social change and the strategies used by moral entrepreneurs. A moral entrepreneur is a person who seeks to influence a group to adopt or maintain a norm. These individual or groups are referred to as moral entrepreneurs because they seek to propagate their moral viewpoints. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the pro-life movement, the gun lobby, Emily Murphy, and the anti-tobacco lobby would all be examples of moral entrepreneurs.Paul Watson from the Social Movement Sea Shepherd is an example of a moral entrepreneur attempting to change attitudes and policies related to the treatment of whales. In order for social policy to arise, moral entrepreneurs initiate a social movement whose task is to articulate a definition of a social problem such that a desired social policy is consistent with this definition of the problem. A moral entrepreneur is an individual, group or organisation that seeks to influence a group to adopt or maintain a norm. Moral entrepreneurs are those who take the lead in labelling a particular behaviour and spreading or popularizing this label throughout society.
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To sum it up:
· Moral panics have always existed but they are spread more quickly in modern society through information and communication technologies;
· The media is often blamed for promoting moral panic through biased reporting of issues, using negative stereotypes and exaggeration;
· Powerful members in society use their influence to label and condemn smaller groups;
· Society then makes connections between the stigmatised group and negative events occurring in society such as violence, vandalism, disease etc. Basically, sensationalised reporting by the media contributes to a climate of fear about a group, by exaggerating the threat posed to society; (Cohen)
· Some popular social issues presented in the Australian media in order to ignite moral panic, are: violence in the city, attacks on public transport, racially motivated youth gangs, substance abuse, domestic violence, drink spiking, welfare cheats and religious attire worn in public;
· The media is often blamed for promoting moral panic through biased reporting of issues, using negative stereotypes and exaggeration;
· Powerful members in society use their influence to label and condemn smaller groups;
· Society then makes connections between the stigmatised group and negative events occurring in society such as violence, vandalism, disease etc. Basically, sensationalised reporting by the media contributes to a climate of fear about a group, by exaggerating the threat posed to society; (Cohen)
· Some popular social issues presented in the Australian media in order to ignite moral panic, are: violence in the city, attacks on public transport, racially motivated youth gangs, substance abuse, domestic violence, drink spiking, welfare cheats and religious attire worn in public;
A three part documentary exploring the issue of moral panic around ecstasy use.
Part 1This first video in the series introduces the concept of moral panics and how society responds to antisocial behaviour.
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Part 2This second video concerns how society and the mass media (over)reacted to the rise of ecstasy.
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Part 3The personal story of an 18 year old girl who died of a drug overdose and how it was used by the mass media to feed a public backlash.
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