BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

A forthcoming "Manga Film Festival" was previewed on Channel 2's late night news

programme Newsnight which started at 9.50pm on 18 August. Manga films, which

come from Japan and involve animated characters, deal in part with violence and sexual

behaviour and are aimed at an adult audience.

Mr Smits complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that as the item

promoted the festival and as the extracts from the Manga films were pornographic, the

broadcast breached the good taste and decency standard. Further, the broadcast had

glamorised violence, had not been preceded by a warning and was unbalanced.

Pointing out that the item broadcast late in the evening had explained the nature of

Manga films to allow viewers to decide whether or not to attend the festival, TVNZ

declined to uphold the complaint. Dissatisfied with TVNZ's response, Mr Smits

referred his 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.

A forthcoming festival of Manga films was previewed in an item broadcast on

Newsnight, Channel 2's late evening news. The item included extracts from some of

the animated films – one of which it was said was rated R18. The item also said that

some of the films involved "over-the-top sex and violence". It reported that while

women were thought to be portrayed as weak in Manga films, they were often in fact

shown as very strong characters.

Mr Smits complained that the item included a shot – from a film banned in Australia –

which he claimed suggested that a young man was masturbating while spying on a

woman who was undressing. He described the films as "hard core" pornography

where women were tortured, raped, mutilated and killed. He argued that the item

promoted the festival, glamorised violence and was unbalanced.

TVNZ assessed the complaint under standards G2, G6 and V3 of the Television Code

of Broadcasting Practice. The first two 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.

G6  To show balance, impartiality and fairness in dealing with political

matters, current affairs and all questions of a controversial nature.

The other reads:

V3  Warnings should be given, at least at the beginning of a programme, when a

programme contains material which is likely to be disturbing to the average

viewer or which is unexpectedly violent for that programme genre.

TVNZ emphasised the time at which the item was screened – well after 10.30pm – and

Newsnight's target audience – the sophisticated young adult. Explaining that there was

a growing interest worldwide in Manga films, TVNZ said that the item was

explanatory in nature, not exploratory. In view of the hour of the broadcast and the

careful editing of the extracts screened, TVNZ denied that the item breached standard

G2. Standard G6 was not contravened, it continued, as balancing comment was not

called for in the explanatory item. TVNZ did not regard the item as promotional - any

more than any other item about an exhibition or a festival - as viewers were invited to

reach their own conclusion about the nature of the films.

An introductory warning was not considered necessary, TVNZ added, given the hour

of the broadcast and the nature of the audience. Furthermore, the reference to "over-

the-top sex and violence" in the introduction would have allowed viewers to switch off

should they wish to do so.

When referring his complaint to the Authority, Mr Smits argued that TVNZ's

acknowledgment of the target audience amounted to an admission that balance was of

less importance on Newsnight than the intention to entertain. He maintained that the

item breached the nominated standards.

In its report to the Authority, TVNZ repeated that – like all broadcasts – programmes

were tailored for specific audiences. In his final comment, Mr Smits maintained that

Newsnight breached the standards as by chopping and changing between the "serious

and superficial", it treated some subjects inappropriately.

In dealing with this complaint, the Authority focussed on the specific item about

which Mr Smits had complained. While of the opinion that the person interviewed

could have expressed greater condemnation about one aspect of a film to which he

referred, which involved the rape of a schoolgirl, the Authority did not consider that

the broadcast of the item on the late evening news breached the norms of decency and

taste given the context. The Authority accepted that the festival of Manga films was a

newsworthy event and the comments and extracts included in the broadcast about the

contents of the films explained the genre of the films being discussed. It believed that

the item, rather than glamorising violence, displayed how unpleasant and surreal the

violence used in the films was. It accepted that a warning was not necessary given the

time of the broadcast.

The Authority considered that the difference between TVNZ and Mr Smits as to

whether the item "promoted" Manga films could be explained by the different

interpretations each had given that word. While the Authority accepted that the item

promoted the festival in the sense of publicising it, it did not accept that the festival

was promoted in the sense of encouraging viewers to attend. The Authority

considered that TVNZ was correct when it said that the item provided information to

viewers to allow them to make up their mind whether or not to attend. Such

promotions, the Authority concluded, did not contravene the standards.

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

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Iain Gallaway
Chairperson
24 November 1994

Appendix

Mr Smits' Complaint to Television New Zealand Limited - 20 August 1994

Mr Phillip Smits of Auckland complained to Television New Zealand Ltd about an

item referring to the Manga Film Festival broadcast on Channel 2's Newsnight at

9.50pm on 18 August 1994. The item, he said, breached the standards requiring good

taste and decency, balance, that violence not be glamorised and that warnings be given

in view of an item's probable offensiveness.

Dealing with each aspect of his complaint, Mr Smits said the item was offensive as it

included shots of naked and semi-naked women undressing and showed a young man

masturbating while spying on a woman as she undressed. The footage, he added, came

from a film classified as R18.

As for balance, Mr Smits claimed that the item promoted Manga comics - "hard core

pornography" - in which women were raped and mutilated by the heroes. They were,

he argued, a manifestation of the oppression suffered by Japanese women and

involved the promotion of violence as "fun". He concluded by stating that the item

had been "gratuitously" broadcast in a news programme.

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 22 September 1994

Advising Mr Smits that the item had been related to the forthcoming Manga Film

Festival, TVNZ said his complaint had been assessed under standards G2, G6 and V3

of the Television Code of Broadcasting Practice.

TVNZ began by emphasising the importance of context, writing

This item was broadcast well after half past ten at night. "Newsnight" is a

programme specifically targeted at a sophisticated young adult audience which,

because of its nature, has an interest in some news and magazine material

which more orthodox news watchers might find "off beat".

Pointing out that there was a growing interest worldwide in Manga as a type of film-

making, TVNZ said that the item was explanatory - not exploratory. It continued:

Nevertheless the questionable content of the films was made clear both in the

studio introduction and the body of the item. The introduction spoke of "six

Manga films - not known for their restraint with over-the-top sex and

violence" while in the item itself Kelly Rogers acknowledged that some

Japanese material had been criticised for portraying women always in weaker

roles. He goes on to point out that in Manga films the women are often very

strong characters.

TVNZ then dealt with the standards and said that it did not breach the good taste

requirement in context. The balance standard, it added, had not been contravened as,

in view of the explanation of what Manga was about, the item did not require any

further balancing comment. TVNZ also stated that the item had not promoted the

festival. Rather, the preview had allowed viewers to reach their own conclusions

about the films to be screened. There had been no record of any other controversy

about the films and, TVNZ decided, the balance requirement had not been breached.

TVNZ reached a similar conclusion on the complaint that a warning had not been

broadcast. The scenes were not dissimilar to action films shown and:

Besides, any viewer hearing the introduction and its reference to "over-the-top

sex and violence" would have ample opportunity to press the "off" switch if

the topic did not appeal.

In addition, it stated:

TVNZ has been unable to find any point in the item where violence was

glamorised. It may or may not be true that violence is glamorised in Manga

films, but this news item did not in itself glamorise violence.

In conclusion, TVNZ maintained that the item was appropriate for Newsnight viewers

to whom it had been directed.

Mr Smits' Complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - 26 September

1994

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's reply, Mr Smits referred his complaint to the Broadcasting

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

TVNZ's arguments were both flawed and unreasonable.

Mr Smits described as a "gaff" TVNZ's admission that Newsnight was directed at a

certain audience. That acknowledgment, he wrote, amounted to admitting that balance

was irrelevant in the interests of entertainment. That might be a legitimate style for

minority interest programmes but, Mr Smits wrote:

When it comes to News and Current Affairs, there's a blanket requirement in

the matter of balance and good taste and decency and appropriate warnings.

He then referred to the standards which, he maintained, had been contravened and

argued that the presenters' responses to the extracts glamorised - or normalised - the

violence shown. Moreover, the film festival spokesperson had been allowed to

promote the festival.

Stating that the item included pornographic animation, Mr Smits repeated his

complaint that the item breached the standards.

TVNZ's Response to the Authority - 4 October 1994

TVNZ expressed surprise that Mr Smits had highlighted its "admission" that

programmes were tailored for specific audiences, commenting:

We would have thought that a viewer as assiduous as Mr Smits has been over

the years would by now have recognised that fact.

TVNZ pointed out that Newsnight's target audience was explicitly noted at the time

the programme was introduced.

Mr Smits' Final Comment - 11 October 1994

Because TVNZ seemed to have misunderstood his concern, Mr Smits explained that

he did not object to the fact that different programmes had different target audiences

but that TVNZ's admission did not acknowledge that balance was a compulsory

requirement when news and current affairs dealt with controversial issues.

Unlike Newsline when presented by Belinda Todd which "never took itself seriously",

Newsnight varied between the serious and the superficial. The item complained about

had breached the balance requirement, Mr Smits contended, as it promoted a genre of

controversial films.