BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

Lipstick on Your Collar was the title of a series broadcast at 9.05pm for six

consecutive Thursday evenings beginning on 1 September on Television One. Written

by Dennis Potter, the series was set in the War Office at the height of the Suez crisis

in 1956 and, through the use of fantasies based on the music of the period, examined

the social dynamics of the people who worked there and their lives outside.

Mrs Flowers complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the

series breached the standard requiring good taste and decency and discriminated against

the War Office personnel.

Stressing the quality of the series and the intellectual demands made of viewers,

TVNZ maintained that given the verbal and visual warning broadcast before each

episode it did not breach the good taste and decency standard in context. It denied

that Army personnel were discriminated against on the basis of occupation, explaining

that the series satirised the British class structure. Dissatisfied with TVNZ's

decision, Mrs Flowers 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

In addition to watching some or all of the series complained about at the time it was

broadcast, the members of the Authority have recently viewed episode 1 and have

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

Authority has determined the complaint without a formal hearing.

Describing herself as a former teacher, Mrs Mavis Flowers complained to TVNZ

about the series Lipstick on Your Collar. While not referring to specific examples, she

argued that the series, first, failed to maintain standards consistent with the observance

of good taste and decency, and secondly, encouraged discrimination against personnel

in the War Office.

TVNZ assessed the complaint against standards G2 and G13 in the Television Code

of Broadcasting 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.

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 sex, 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.

 

Noting that the series was written by the late Dennis Potter, TVNZ said it took a

sardonic look at London's War Office at the height of the Suez crisis in 1956 and had

examined the social class dynamics of the staff who worked there. It continued:

The central characters are conscripts Privates Frances and Hooper, and the

loathsome Corporal Berry.

As with most of Dennis Potter's work, the characters are larger than life – and

their characteristics and personal quirks are drawn out in elaborate fantasy

sequences, woven around popular music of the day.

TVNZ also commented that the programme was broadcast in "AO" time and preceded

by a verbal and visual warning. Emphasising that standard G2 required context to be

taken into account, TVNZ said Dennis Potter's work, while superficially flippant,

required considerable intellectual effort from the viewer in order to be appreciated

fully. It denied that standard G2 had been contravened.

It argued that the satirical look at the British class system had not breached standard

G13 as the standard allowed an exemption for a satirical or dramatic work.

When she referred her complaint to the Authority, Mrs Flowers persisted with both

her points. She referred specifically to the first programme in the series broadcast on

1 September where, first, a "naked sex symbol was paraded on the screen" while the

men made sexual advances to each other. Secondly, a sexual encounter on the stairs

towards the end of the programme was "visually nauseating" as were the subsequent

sounds coming from an upstairs bedroom.

Observing that not all young people were in bed by 9.00pm, she argued that TVNZ,

by broadcasting the series, neither took into account the impact of the series on

children nor that the programmes could incite child molesters, rapists and killers.

In its response to the Authority, TVNZ supplied the Authority with copies of all six

episodes to ensure that the complaint – which referred to the series – was assessed in

its overall context. As for the specific instances raised in the referral, TVNZ noted:

We acknowledge that in a tawdry or gratuitous context some of the activity

shown or implied in this series might overstep the requirements of Code G2.

However, we believe that in including the phrase "bearing in mind the context"

the code implicitly acknowledges that there will be occasions when the intrinsic

worth of the programme being screened allows for a liberal interpretation of the

standards.

TVNZ repeated that the series was preceded by a warning and expressed regret that

Mrs Flowers was offended. In her final comment, Mrs Flowers considered TVNZ's

case was based on "pseudo intellectual arguments" which were more appropriate in

"Oxford debating circles" than a response to a serious complaint about broadcasting

standards.

In its final comment to the Authority, TVNZ expressed the opinion that the

Authority should endorse the view that the series, written by a master craftsman, was

an exceptional programme.

In response, the Authority wishes to make it clear that it does not regard it as a

legitimate part of its task to make such endorsements. When determining the specific

complaint, the Authority noted that the series was written by a well-known author of

one particularly highly regarded series – The Singing Detective. It also noted that

because of Dennis Potter's past work which had challenged conventional attitudes,

and his recent death, the series had received a reasonable amount of publicity before

screening. These points were matters of context, it believed, which could be taken into

account to some degree in determining the complaint.

Dealing first with the complaint that the series had encouraged discrimination against

people who worked in the War Office, the Authority acknowledged that senior staff

there were the butt of considerable ridicule. However, it did not believe that the series

amounted to a breach of standard G13. Drawing an analogy with the way certain

politicians were characterised in the series, House of Cards, the Authority noted that

Lipstick on Your Collar, despite the befuddlement of some of the personnel featured,

could not be seen as encouraging discrimination against all War Office staff.

In addition, the Authority agreed with TVNZ that standard G13 was probably

inapplicable in view of the exemption in paragraph (iii) for encouraging discrimination

in the context of "a humorous, satirical, or dramatic work".

The Authority has referred to the "probable" applicability of G13 (iii) as it only

applies in the legitimate context of such work. Whether or not the context is

legitimate, the Authority has recorded in earlier decisions, depends on whether the

programme complies with the other standards and especially standard G2.

The Authority then proceeded to assess the complaint which alleged a breach of

standard G2 and referred to two specific incidents in the first episode.

As TVNZ emphasised, standard G2 requires the Authority to take context into

account when considering the currently accepted norms of decency and taste in

behaviour. The contextual elements which were relevant with the current complaint,

the Authority decided, were the facts that the series was broadcast in "AO" time, was

preceded by a visual and verbal warning and, in view of the previous series written by

Dennis Potter and the publicity at the time of the broadcast of the present series, that

there was a likelihood that some of the material would be unusual and possibly

controversial.

Taking these matters into account, the Authority had little difficulty in deciding not to

uphold the complaint about the scenes in the War Office which involved a nearly

naked woman and the staff dancing and singing in a suggestively sexual manner. These

scenes, the Authority observed, were all clearly aspects of Private Hooper's fantasies

based on current music and, in view of that context, did not contravene the standard.

The more explicit sexual encounter between Corporal Berry and his wife on the stairs

of their home was, in the Authority's opinion, of a different nature. It was not a scene

of fantasy but a sexual encounter in which Corporal Berry, apparently through

violence, imposed his will on his wife. Had the scene not been within the context of

the series, the Authority believed that it would have transgressed standard G2.

Indeed, even in context, as TVNZ acknowledged, it was on the border of what was

acceptable. However, taking into account the overall context, and specifically that

Corporal Berry's violence towards his wife was integral to comprehending their

relationship and his wife's perplexing mix of character traits, the Authority finally

accepted that the scene did not breach standard G2.

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

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Iain Gallaway
Chairperson
12 December 1994

Appendix

Mrs Flowers' Complaint to Television New Zealand Ltd - 27 September 1994

Mrs Mavis Flowers of Auckland, describing herself as an ex-teacher, complained to

Television New Zealand Ltd about the series Lipstick on Your Collar which had first

been broadcast at 9.05pm on Thursday 1 September and weekly thereafter.

She attached part of a summary of standards prepared by the Broadcasting Standards

Authority and indicated that the series breached the requirement for good taste and

decency and, further, had discriminated against personnel in the War Office.

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 30 September 1994

Advising Mrs Flowers that her complaint had been assessed under standards G2 and

G13 of the Television Code of Broadcasting Practice, TVNZ said that because the

complaint was lacking in detail it had assumed that the good taste and decency aspect

applied to the series overall.

TVNZ explained that the series was the final in the late Dennis Potter's musical

trilogy and had been set in 1956 at the height of the Suez crisis. It continued:

It takes a sardonic look at the War Office in London's Whitehall, the staff who

man it, the social class dynamics at work there, and the relationships that

develop in and out of the office.

Observing that the characters were larger than life and that the series contained

elaborate fantasy sequences woven around the popular music of the time, TVNZ said

that Potter's work was widely acclaimed. The series, it added, had carried an "AO"

certificate and had been broadcast in "AO" time. Further, each episode had been

preceded with a verbal and visual warning.

TVNZ then dealt with the specific complaints and, pointing out that standard G2

specifically allowed for context to be taken into account, expressed the view that the

series did not breach that standard. It wrote:

"Currently accepted norms" in this case must be seen to refer to viewer

expectations of Dennis Potter's work - material which, while sometimes

superficially flippant, always requires considerable intellectual effort on behalf

of the viewer in order to be fully appreciated.

With regard to standard G13, TVNZ denied that anyone was denigrated on the basis

of occupational status. Not only had it involved an examination of class structure,

subsequent research had disclosed that the War Office had made a number of errors

during the Suez crisis.

Mrs Flower's Complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - 28 October

1994

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's reply, Mrs Flowers referred her complaint to the

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

In regard to the portrayal of the staff of the War Office, Mrs Flowers asked why were

they shown to be "doddering time-wasters and sex perverts?" Referring to the first

episode, she said a naked sex symbol was shown and:

... men cavorted about making sexual advances to each other - where every

spoken word in the office was a play on hidden sexual meaning.

The later scene on the stairs involving "the sexy blond" was "visually nauseating" as

were the sounds coming from the upstairs room.

Noting that all children and teenagers were not necessarily in bed by 9.00pm and that

the behaviour shown could incite child molesters, rapists and killers, Mrs Flowers

stated:

Public responsibility for promoting the welfare of the young, for fostering

respect for women and for the protection of privacy and public decency,

indicates that liberty cannot be equated with license.

TVNZ's Response to the Authority - 7 November 1994

When asked to comment on the referral, TVNZ pointed out that the original complaint

seemed to refer to the entire series although it was lodged after only four of the six

episodes had been screened.

Now that Mrs Flowers had specified the scenes about which she was concerned,

TVNZ argued that they were appropriate in the overall context of the series. Some of

the scenes by themselves could overstep the requirements of standard G2, TVNZ

acknowledged, but, it argued, were acceptable in context when the standards were

interpreted liberally given the intrinsic worth of the series. It wrote:

In this case, viewers were presented with a high-class drama series, written by

an acknowledged master of his craft, Dennis Potter. The style of his work -

deceptively simple yet intellectually stimulating - was well established in the

earlier series "Pennies from Heaven" and "The Singing Detective". The series

itself was broadcast after nine o'clock at night, in a part of the schedule

habitually occupied by adult drama, and was preceded by a warning. All of

these factors, we submit, reinforce the view that this is an occasion when the

context must be taken into consideration.

TVNZ denied that the "sardonic" look at the class system in the War Office involved

denigration.

It concluded:

While we remain sorry that Mrs Flowers did find "Lipstick on Your Collar"

unacceptable we suggest that, far from criticising TVNZ for showing this series,

a majority of discerning viewers would hold this series up as an example of the

very type of programme they would like to see on television in New Zealand.

We would like the Authority to endorse that view. It was certainly a series that

lifted television drama above the empty and everyday.

Mrs Flowers' Final Comment - 16 November 1994

Describing TVNZ's arguments as predictable and lacking in substance, Mrs Flowers

said that they were an emotional response based on pseudo-intellectual reasons.

Despite maintaining that many intellectuals would enjoy the programme, Mrs Flowers

commented that TVNZ had produced no statistics in support. She persisted with her

argument that the series was offensive and denigratory.