RESEARCH: MORAL PANICS

According to O'Sullivan, 1983, 
"Moral panics are those processes whereby members of a society and culture become 'morally sensitized' to the challenges and menaces posed to 'their' accepted values and ways of life, by the activities of groups defined as deviant."

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) closed a three-month consultation that most observers believe will end a loophole which means DVDs with titles like The Bitch of Buchenwald and Britain's Bloodiest Serial Killers can claim exemption from being given age guidance by the British Board of Film Classification.

As things stand, most sport, documentary and music videos can claim an exemption from classification.

"The great majority of exempt video works are fine," said the BBFC's head of policy, David Austin. "They are not going to harm anyone, but there are a significant number of titles that are potentially harmful to children.

Many parents across the globe have complained about certain videos and questioned why they had been given exemption and classified! These videos that have been complained about range in seriousness, and some content can be acceptable whilst others are a lot more serious and graphic. 

For example, there was a video documentary on the American Heavy Metal Band - Slipknot, and this shows many graphic scenes. Some of the graphic scenes include images of women practically worshipping the band and going as far as carving the word 'Slipknot' in their arms and one girl across her stomach. Of course, images such as this are totally inappropriate. This is especially worrying considering this type of content is practically available to anyone, with a young child at the age of 10 owning the content. 

I think that music videos are pushing moral boundaries by becoming more pornographic, extreme and violent. In Miley Cyrus's latest music video, Wrecking Ball, she is seen swinging from the stone ball, completely naked. This has been considered by many as extremely inappropriate considering the young fans that follow Cyrus's career and look at her as a role model.

I think that performers, such as Miley Cyrus, need to have regard to the target age of her audiences  because a lot of her young fans have followed her since disneys hannah montana and therefore may continue to follow her, the way she dresses, and behaves and therefore this is setting a poor example of what is acceptable behaviour. 

However, she may be wanting to expand her audience to a wider range of age groups and genders because she doesn't want to be seen or referred to as Hannah Montana for the rest of her life and wants her career to be recognised as something more than just a child's television show.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail's YOU Magazine, Miley Cyrus supported my hypothesis saying: "What would be the point if I looked like every other singer out there?"