BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

A repeat of an episode of the series Ren and Stimpy was broadcast at 6.00pm on TV2

on 19 February 1995.

Mrs Daczo complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that Ren and

Stimpy was broadcast at an inappropriate time as it was an adult cartoon. She listed

five aspects of the broadcast which she believed were harmful to children.

Explaining that the episode lampooned the traditional image of the American family

through the use of highly exaggerated images, TVNZ did not accept the nuances drawn

by Mrs Daczo and declined to uphold the complaint. Dissatisfied with TVNZ's

response, Mrs Daczo referred the complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority

under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

For the reasons below, the Authority declined to uphold the complaint.

Decision

The members of the Authority have viewed the item complained about and have read

the correspondence (summarised in the Appendix). As is its practice, the Authority

has determined the complaint without a formal hearing.

Mrs Daczo complained to TVNZ that it was inappropriate to broadcast the Ren and

Stimpy series during family viewing time. Referring to the episode broadcast at

6.00pm on 19 February, she listed five matters which she found distasteful. They

were:

* The canine character sitting on the toilet with his pants around his ankles.

* The canine character sitting on a young boy with buttocks emphasised.

* The father's neck being thrust out and withdrawn like a large, red, erect

penis.

* The canine character corrupting the young boy's innocence.

* The violence of the young thug and his father.

In addition, she wrote that she could never recall any occasion when a woman had

been portrayed positively during the series.

TVNZ assessed the complaint under standards G2 and G12 of the Television Code of

Practice which require broadcasters:

G2  To take into consideration currently accepted norms of decency and taste

in language and behaviour, bearing in mind the context in which any

language or behaviour occurs.

G12 To be mindful of the effect any programme may have on children during

their normally accepted viewing times.

TVNZ argued that the programme complained about lampooned the traditional image

of the American family:

... with the bluff, muscular (but always vulnerable) father, the giggling demure

wife, and the hopelessly spoilt child who lapses into hyper-ventilation at the

slightest provocation. There is also the classic American bully, and his equally

odious father.

The portrayal of the woman, it added, drew attention satirically to the subservient

role of women in the traditional American family.

TVNZ stated that it was unable to detect the nuances noted by Mrs Daczo and

concluded that it was unable to find evidence that the well-established animated series

breached the currently accepted norms of taste or decency or that it posed any harm

to children.

When she referred her complaint to the Authority Mrs Daczo repeated her concerns

and TVNZ, in response, maintained that the cartoon was an amusing caricature of

American family life.

Having viewed the programme, the Authority found it difficult to accept that it

contained the nuances alleged by Mrs Daczo. The Authority also considered that it

was not inappropriately broadcast at 6.00pm when children would be watching.

The Authority was of the opinion that Ren and Stimpy was not unlike a small number

of cartoons which contained different messages for different age groups. Whereas it

was possible for older viewers to interpret some aspects in one way, it was likely that

younger viewers would have appreciated other aspects - possibly based mainly on the

visual aspects of the item. In conclusion, the Authority decided that Ren and Stimpy

did not contravene the standards relating to taste or the protection of children.

For the reasons above, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.

Signed for and behalf of the Authority

Iain Gallaway
Chairperson
18 May 1995

Appendix

Mrs Daczo's Complaint to Television New Zealand Ltd

Following correspondence with Television New Zealand Ltd about the broadcast of an

earlier episode, in an undated letter Mrs Joanne Daczo of Pirongia complained about

the broadcast of Ren and Stimpy on TV2 at 6.00pm on Sunday 19 February.

Ren and Stimpy, she said, was an adult cartoon and should be broadcast in an adult

time slot. With reference to the specific episode complained about, she considered

that the following aspects were harmful to children.

* The canine character sitting on the toilet with his pants around his ankles.

* The canine character sitting on a young boy with buttocks emphasised.

* The father's neck being thrust out and withdrawn like a large, red, erect

penis.

* The canine character corrupting the young boy's innocence.

* The violence of the young thug and his father.

Moreover, Mrs Daczo added, it appeared that the cartoon's author hated women as,

in most episodes, the woman's legs and high heels were the only part of her which

were shown.

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 28 March 1995

Assessing the complaint under standards G2 and G12 of the Television Code of

Broadcasting Practice, TVNZ began:

... the skit to which your complaint refers featured Ren and Stimpy travelling

from their European home to the United States to please a young boy who

wanted to meet them.

The skit lampoons the traditional image of the American family with the bluff,

muscular (but always vulnerable) father, the giggling demure wife, and the

hopelessly spoilt child who lapses into hyper-ventilation at the slightest

provocation. There is also the classic American bully, and his equally odious

father.

This is a spoof on the superficial aspects of family life and we suggest that there

would be few viewers who would not recognise in these highly exaggerated

images aspects which ring true.

Noting that the woman, satirically, had been portrayed as subservient, TVNZ said it

disagreed with the nuances drawn by the complainant.

Arguing that humour was precious and should only be circumscribed with caution and

that the episode complained about showed Americans laughing at themselves, TVNZ

apologised for any offence caused but insisted that the well-established animated

series had not breached the standards.

Mrs Daczo's Complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - Received 7

April 1995

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's response, Mrs Daczo referred her complaint to the

Broadcasting Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

Repeating the concerns expressed in her letter of complaint, the programme, she said,

was not a healthy input for children.

TVNZ's Response to the Authority - 12 April 1995

When replying to the Authority's request for comment, TVNZ stated that it had little

to add, commenting:

We simply note that the cartoon to which the complaint refers features an

amusing caricature of American family life. We do not detect the nuances to

which Mrs Daczo refers.

Mrs Daczo's Final Comment - Received 1 May 1995

In her final comment Mrs Daczo repeated her contention that Ren and Stimpy was an

adult only cartoon and, as such, should be broadcast in a later time slot.