WHAT OFFENDS, DEPENDS: TooMuch4Much (1 hour)
Produced: 1999

This program examines some of the issues around community standards for music video, mostly standards involving sexuality and violence. Some mention is made of standards involving politics. Representatives from journalism, broadcasting, the CRTC and viewers react to samples of contentious videos and develop ideas about censorship. They consider differences in American and Canadian audiences as well as differences in audiences of varying sexes and ages. Parents or teachers should preview the video before using it with discussion groups, as some material may not be suitable for all audiences.

1. Music Video and Community Standards

What is acceptable in art can be decided by governments, but in Canada the government encourages the community to advise them as to what it considers acceptable. These, then, become community standards. In music video, who comprises the community? MuchMusic's demographic ranges from 12 - 34, with most of its viewers in the 18 - 24 range. If few people younger than 18, or older than 34, are watching, should these viewers be included in MuchMusic's community? Should they be involved in determining the standards for music video? Do people older than 34 have a right to state their opinions if they are the PARENTS of viewers in the demographic? Why?

MuchMusic airs in both Canada and the U.S., but originates in Canada. Should the community that sets its standards be comprised of Canadians and Americans? Are Canadians included in determining the standards for American sitcoms or dramas seen in Canada? Hustler, an American magazine, cannot be imported into Canada. Here, Canadian community standards differ from American community standards.

2. Censorship

Why is some art censored? Is censorship protecting the art, the artist, or the viewers? What might happen to the viewers if there were no censorship? What images or acts SHOULD be censored, if any? Why? MuchMusic does not alter videos: the videos are either shown or not shown. MTV shows the video, but modifies it, as demonstrated by the MuchMusic (Canadian) and MTV (American) versions of the "Paranoid Android" video. Are both excluding the video from broadcast and modifying portions considered censorship? Which one shows more respect for the art? Why?

3. Social Context

David Bowie's video depicted the mutilation of a human body and was released during the Bernardo trial, which involved the real mutilation of human bodies. The news coverage of the Bernardo trial influenced the context of Bowie's video for Canadian viewers, who had been sensitized to the concept of mutilation. Even though Bowie's intent was to use the mutilation as a metaphor, viewers were reminded of the real murders, and objected to the video. Which videos have you seen whose meaning has changed because of events in the news or in your personal experience? Should these videos be censored because their context is different in your community?

In the 1970's, a feature film entitled Pretty Baby was censored in Ontario, but nowhere else. A scene in which a 12-year-old's virginity was auctioned off in a brothel was too much for the Ontario censorship board because a young Toronto boy had recently been brutally killed in a homosexual murder. The censorship board believed that the community standards in Toronto had been influenced by the crime, and that it would be insensitive to show the movie. Ontarians who wanted to see the movie drove to Quebec or New York. Can you understand the censorship board's position? Do you agree with it? Why? Would you have driven to Quebec or New York to see the movie? Why?

4. Censoring Music Video

We see a portion of an animated video, Radiohead's "Paranoid Android", as shown on MTV and MuchMusic. The MTV version has had the cartoon nipples of women and mermaids blurred, while the nipples are intact in the MuchMusic version. What is your reaction to the MTV representation? Does the blurring of the nipples draw MORE attention to the bare breasts rather than less? We also see a mostly-naked man dismembering himself and throwing himself off a bridge. MTV did not blur this part of the video, although it obviously could have. The panelists suggest that the American community is less bothered by violence than by sex in music video, while Canadian viewers are more troubled by violence than sex. They provide several reasons for these differences.

Sarah Crawford is Director of Communications for MuchMusic, and Director of Media Education for CHUM Television. Representing MuchMusic as a panelist, she quotes Moses Znaimer as saying, "You can show a nipple with a bullet in it, but you can't just show a nipple." What are the reasons the panelists give for these differences? Do you agree? Why? Can you suggest other reasons why Americans might be less tolerant of sex in music video? Do you sense a difference in the acceptability of sexual and violent representations between provinces or states? What are the differences? What reasons can you suggest for the differences?

5. Censoring Animation

Another speaker suggests that censoring the sexuality of the female characters in "Paranoid Android" is silly because it's just a cartoon. Another states that you can get away with the violence because it's animated. They suggest that cartoons are for children, or are childish. Do you agree that cartoons are for children? Consider watching TV, a cartoon available from the National Film Board or in the Scanning Television collection [Harcourt Brace]. Also, look at TV cartoon series such as South Park, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill. Are these cartoons for children? Should they be taken seriously?

6. Defining Pornography

What does 'pornography' mean to you? Are any of the images you have seen in You're Not From Around Here, Are You? pornographic? What are the differences between sex and pornography? Strictly speaking, pornography refers to the degradation of women in a sexual manner. The important part of the definition deals with power, where women are disempowered. Pornography can be interpreted as a way to hate, or disempower, women. How does this definition apply to the "Paranoid Android", "Zazie" and "Electric Barbarella" videos?

A looser definition of pornography could be any images that disempower men or women in a sexual way. Which video is the most pornographic? Why? Which video is the least pornographic? Why? We see a naked cartoon man in "Paranoid Android" cutting off his arms and legs. We see two naked real men in the "Zazie" video swimming and kissing. Are any of them pornographic? What do the panelists say about the differences in the depictions of the male bodies? What do YOU think? The "Paranoid Android" video was shown on MTV, but the panelists agree that the "Zazie" video could not be shown on US TV. What are their reasons? Do you agree with them?

7. Context is Everything

Josey Vogels, panelist and Montreal journalist, says that context is everything. This statement is repeated by several speakers throughout the show. It is implicit in the concept of community standards, where the community influences what the standards will be. Which other ideas in the show reflected the statement "context is everything?" Watch the "Paranoid Android", "Zazie" and "Electric Barbarella" videos in their entirety, without stopping them or discussing them beforehand. (These are broadcast on both MuchMusic and MusiquePlus.) How does watching ALL of the videos change your perceptions when compared to seeing the selected excerpts in the Too Much for Much show? Do the violence and sexuality still seem as strong when you see the entire video? How have your ideas about violence and sexuality in music video changed as a result of seeing the entire videos? How did the change in context change your thoughts?

8. Critiquing the Show

Who in You're Not From Around Here, Are You? made the best points? The host? The audience? Guests? Phone-in calls? Or e-mails? What contributions did the program make to your understanding of the issues of community standards? What contributions did the program make to your understanding of the issue of artists' freedom of expression versus the community's rights to avoid harmful ideas?


Written by: Neil Andersen
Neil Andersen is an award-winning Curriculum Consultant with the Toronto District School Board. He is also a speaker and consultant in media and communications technology. His most recent work includes the Between the Lines CDs, the teachers' study guide for the award-winning Scanning Television, and study guides for Space, Bravo! and MuchMusic's Cable in the Classroom broadcasts of original media literacy programming.

For more information about MuchMusic's educational programming -- or to give us your feedback -- please contact: 

Calla Dewdney
Public Affairs Coordinator
CHUM Television
416-591-7400 x5940
callad@chumtv.com