BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary

Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior, starting at 9.15pm, was broadcast on TV2 on 10 April 1999.

Referring to a scene which showed a motorcycle gang member raping a woman and then shooting her, B McIntyre complained to Television New Zealand Ltd that the broadcast breached broadcasting standards.

Explaining that the fantasy-adventure film was classified AO, and that it began 45 minutes after the watershed, TVNZ declined to uphold the complaint. The violence was justifiable in context, it said, and the sexual content in the scene was not explicit.

Dissatisfied with TVNZ’s decision, B McIntyre referred the complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a) 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 which is listed in the Appendix. In this instance, the Authority determines the complaint without a formal hearing.

B McIntyre objected to the broadcast of a scene in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. The film, which began at 9.15pm on TV2, showed a motor cycle gang member raping a woman, and then shooting her. This was, B McIntyre wrote, "appalling degradation" of women, particularly to a youthful audience, and in breach of the broadcasting standards.

TVNZ assessed the complaint under standards V1 and V5 of the Television Code of Broadcasting Practice. They provide:

V1  Broadcasters have a responsibility to ensure that any violence shown is justifiable, ie is essential in the context of the programme.

V5  Programmes having rape as a theme must be treated with the utmost care. Explicit detail and prolonged focus on sexually violent contact must be avoided. Any programme dealing with rape in any detail must be preceded by a warning.

TVNZ began by explaining that the type of film which was complained about, and the intent of the specific scene. It wrote:

We note that Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is one of those fantasy-adventure films which sets out to show that civilisation as we know it is only skin deep. This film (starring Mel Gibson) takes place in the aftermath of a third world war – a nuclear war – and while such superficial representations of civilisation such as cars and motorcycles still exist, social conventions have begun to break down in a return to something approaching tribal savagery. The "hero" of the film reluctantly joins a group who are producing oil, but are threatened by others thirsty for the precious commodity which powers their vehicles.

The scene you have referred to vividly illustrates the return to savagery or, as one of the film’s reviewer’s said, "the dark side of humanity and how it can become front and centre in man when he is forced to live in a lawless society".

TVNZ also pointed out that this was the fourth time that it had screened the film. Further, the film had been classified as AO, and the AO symbol had been shown after each commercial break. In addition, TVNZ observed that the film had begun at 9.15pm, 45 minutes after the AO watershed, and the scene complained about, which TVNZ described as "relatively inexplicit", had occurred about half an hour later – at "about ten to ten".

Turning to the standards, TVNZ did not consider that standard V1 had been contravened by the violence shown, given the film’s AO rating and the late evening screening. As the scene did not contain explicit detail or prolonged focus on sexually violent content, and had been viewed by the main character at a distance through a telescope, TVNZ denied that standard V5 had been breached.

When the complaint was referred to the Authority, B McIntyre maintained that the scene was neither justifiable nor essential given the explicit detail shown. This concern about the age of viewers, B McIntyre added, included those up to the age of 25. B McIntyre wrote:

"I submit that TV2’s viewers tune in for voyeuristic entertainment, not some higher moral messages, and therein lies the harm. Ratings relate to entertainment value."

TVNZ advised that it did not want to comment further.

The Authority’s Findings

The rape scene which is the subject of the complaint, the Authority observes, was designed to shock – it was not meant to titillate. Moreover in the Authority's view, the scene was not unexpected given that Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior is of the "action" genre where some degree of violence is both expected and accepted.

In assessing the complaint under the standards, the Authority acknowledges that the violence was essential in the context of the film, and thus not in breach of standard V1. Given that the rape scene was brief, viewed at a distance, and did not contain a prolonged focus on sexually violent content, the Authority concludes that standard V5 was not transgressed.

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

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority.

Sam Maling
Chairperson
24 June 1999

Appendix

The following correspondence was received and considered by the Authority when it determined this complaint.

1. B McIntyre’s Formal Complaint to Television New Zealand Ltd – 16 April 1999

2. TVNZ’s Response to the Formal Complaint – 5 May 1999

3. B McIntyre’s Referral to the Broadcasting Standards Authority – 12 May 1999

4. TVNZ’s Response to the Authority – 17 May 1999