BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

The broadcast of the series Millennium began with the double screening of the first

two episodes on TV2 at 8.30pm on 18 August 1997.

Mr Jenkin complained to the broadcaster, Television New Zealand Ltd, that 8.30pm

was too early for the screening in view of the violence portrayed in the programme.

Further, female sex workers, gay men, and people with HIV, he wrote, were depicted

as inferior and negative stereotypes were reinforced.

Explaining that the programme was clearly labelled AO and preceded with a visual

and verbal warning, TVNZ maintained that it was acceptable for adult viewing at

8.30pm. As the groups referred to were the victims in the horror-thriller, and as they

were treated in a similar way to victims in other such programmes, TVNZ did not

accept that the programme encouraged discrimination against these groups. It

declined to uphold the complaint.

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's decision, Mr Jenkin referred his complaint to the

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

For the reasons below, the Authority declines 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). In this instance, the Authority

determines the complaint without a formal hearing.

The series Millennium began with a double episode broadcast at 8.30pm on TV2. Mr

Jenkin complained to TVNZ that 8.30pm was too early to screen the programme in

view of the way, first, it treated female sex workers, gay men, and people with HIV as

inferior, and, secondly, the way sex was relentlessly and gratuitously linked to

violence.

TVNZ assessed the complaint under standards G8, G13 and V1 of the Television

Code of Broadcasting Practice. The first two require broadcasters:

G8   To abide by the classification codes and their appropriate time bands as

outlined in the agreed criteria for programme classifications.

G13  To avoid portraying people in a way which represents as inherently

inferior, or is likely to encourage discrimination against, any section of the

community on account of race, age, disability, occupational status, sexual

orientation or the holding of any religious, cultural or political belief.

This requirement is not intended to prevent the broadcast of material

which is:

i) factual, or

ii) the expression of genuinely-held opinion in a news or current

affairs programme, or

iii) in the legitimate context of a humorous, satirical or dramatic work.

 

The third one reads:

V1  Broadcasters have a responsibility to ensure that any violence shown is

justifiable, ie is essential in the context of the programme.

TVNZ emphasised that the programme was rated AO, and that the AO symbol was

screened at the beginning of the programme and after each commercial break.

Further, it wrote, the broadcast was preceded with a warning – which was delivered

both visually and verbally – about the graphic scenes in the item. By screening this

information, TVNZ maintained, the AO status of the broadcast had been made clear

to viewers who, it argued, must take some responsibility for their viewing practices.

TVNZ acknowledged that later episodes of Millennium had been screened at 9.30pm

However, it insisted, this was a scheduling decision, and not a classification matter. It

did not accept that standard G8 was contravened by the broadcast on 18 August.

As for standard G13, TVNZ said the victims portrayed in Millennium were treated the

same as victims in similar programmes. Turning to standard V1, TVNZ accepted that

the programme's atmosphere was evil and bleak but, it added, actual incidents of

violence were few.

When he referred the complaint to the Authority, Mr Jenkin expressed the opinion

that the later episodes broadcast at 9.30pm had been correctly classified. The

violence depicted, he contended, was unsuitable for broadcast at 8.30pm. He

expressed regret that he had not referred to standards V4 and V6 in his original

complaint.

In its report to the Authority, TVNZ said it was unfair to introduce new standards part

way through the complaints process. Nevertheless, it considered that standard V4 was

not relevant, and insufficient detail had been shown to contravene standard V6. They

read:

V4   The combination of violence and sexuality in a way designed to titillate

must not be shown.

V6  Ingenious devices for and unfamiliar methods of inflicting pain, injury

and death, particularly if capable of easy imitation, must not be shown,

except in exceptional circumstances which are in the public interest.

In his final comment, Mr Jenkin persisted in his opinion that 8.30pm was too early to

screen the programme in view of the violence shown.

The focus of the complaint, and TVNZ's response, is the hour of the broadcast of the

first episodes of Millennium – at 8.30pm. The section of the Television Code dealing

with violence is primarily concerned with the explicit displays of violence. The

Authority agrees with TVNZ that the violence featured in Millennium was

atmospheric and inferred, not revealed by explicit actions, and on those grounds, it

does not accept that standards V1, V4 and V6 were breached. Moreover, it accepts

TVNZ's arguments that the victims were portrayed according to familiar conventions

of thriller/horror programmes. Thus, it does not consider there was a breach of

standard G13.

Returning to the hour of screening, the Authority records TVNZ's use of warnings

and the display of the AO symbol. However, as it has pointed out on past occasions,

such contextual matters are not necessarily sufficient in themselves should the

programme tend towards the end of the range of AO programmes to which children

and young viewers should not be exposed.

On this occasion, the Authority has taken into account the undercurrent of violence

throughout the entirely imaginary programme, which it notes was based on collective

fear. It also welcomes the scheduling decision which resulted in later programmes

being screened at 9.30pm. Nevertheless, on balance, the Authority is of the opinion

that the screening of the first episodes, accompanied by a warning, was not

inappropriate at 8.30pm, and thus was not a breach of standard G8.

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

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Sam Maling
Chairperson
15 December 1997

Appendix

Mr Jenkin's Complaint to Television New Zealand Ltd - 2 September 1997

Douglas Jenkin of Wellington complained to Television New Zealand Ltd about the

broadcast of Millennium beginning at 8.30pm on TV2 on 18 August 1997.

Mr Jenkin considered that the programme breached the standards in view of the

violence portrayed, in view of the hour at which it was screened, and in view of the

way it portrayed some groups of people.

In elaborating on his complaint, Mr Jenkin said the programme treated female sex

workers, gay men, and people with HIV as inferior, and reinforced negative

stereotypes against them. Further, he wrote, the programme relentlessly and

gratuitously linked sex with violence.

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 16 September 1997

Assessing the complaint under standards G8, G13 and V1 of the Television Code of

Broadcasting Practice, TVNZ began by pointing out that the programme was rated

AO and the AO symbol appeared at the beginning of the programme, and after each

commercial break. Further, the broadcast was preceded with a warning delivered both

verbally and visually, which said:

"Millennium is rated Adults Only. It contains some graphic scenes that may

disturb. We advise discretion".

TVNZ continued:

That then is the context in which we were called upon to consider your

complaint: a programme which we had advised was, in our opinion, suitable

only for viewers over the age of 18 and preceded by a specific warning.

Mr Jenkin had not given a reason for complaining that the programme was

inappropriately scheduled, and TVNZ said, viewers had to accept some responsibility

for their viewing practices. It pointed out that, by the AO classification, TVNZ

unambiguously advised viewers that the programme should be watched only by

people over the age of 18 years.

TVNZ acknowledged that subsequent episodes had been screened at a later hour and

explained that this was a scheduling decision, but conceded that the later episodes

were appropriately screened at that time.

Turning to standard G13, TVNZ said that any crime thriller had to have victims, and

thus the victims portrayed in Millennium were treated the same as victims in other

similar programmes. Nothing in the plot, it added, expressed approval for the killer's

actions.

With regard to standard V1, TVNZ acknowledged that the programme's atmosphere

was evil and bleak, but the actual incidents of violence were few. TVNZ declined to

uphold the complaint.

Mr Jenkin's Referral to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - 30 September

1997

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's decision, Mr Jenkin referred his complaint to the

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

Mr Jenkin maintained that the broadcast was "extreme in its depiction of violence".

Picking up TVNZ's point that later episodes were broadcast at 9.30pm, Mr Jenkin

referred specifically to the opening sequence in the episode complaint about. At

8.30pm, the broadcast had showed:

..a female peep show dancer and the scene where the killer picks up men at a

cruising spot [which] links sex with violence in an extended, unhealthy and

exploitative manner.

He expressed regret that he had not referred to standards V4 and V6 in his original

complaint.

TVNZ's Report the Authority - 21 October 1997

In its report to the Authority, TVNZ repeated the point that, in its opinion, the level of

explicit violence in the two hour double episode was "very low". It wrote

The explicit violence is restrained, and the horror (this is after all a horror-

suspense series) is conveyed by implication and dialogue.

Arguing that it was unfair for a complainant to introduce new standards part way

through the complaints process, TVNZ stated nevertheless that it did not consider

standard V4 was relevant. It did not believe standard V6 had been infringed, as

sufficient detail capable of imitation was not shown.

Mr Jenkin's Final Comment - 3 November 1997

TVNZ, Mr Jenkin stated, had attempted to diminish the programme's darker

implications. The victims were subject to discrimination and violence in their daily

lives, and the sadistic acts on the gay men went beyond the "cruel and the unusual".

Mr Jenkin maintained that 8.30pm was too early to screen the programme.