Obscenity

Obscenity is legally defined as a class of “hard-core “pornography that is so offensive and so lacking in social value that is denied Frist Amendment protection. Obscene expression is unprotected in all media. Indecent materials are less graphic or erotic than obscenity. Indecency is protected in the print media and on the Internet but may be restricted in the more intrusive broadcast media and may be limited in some ways on cable television and in telephone communications. The case involved Barbara Nitke, a photographer whose sexually explicit photos containing sadomasochistic poses were placed on the Internet, to supplement a gallery display. Nitke, along with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF), challenged the obscenity portion…

The joke has been made by some that if prostitution is indeed the world’s oldest profession, than pornography must be the world’s oldest expression. Indeed, the very word pornography was originally used to describe any art or literature that depicted the life of prostitutes (Jenkins, 2014), while obscenity is a word believed to have come from the Middle French word obscène in the late 16th century, meaning “offensive to the senses, or to taste and refinement” (Harper, 2001). In order to…

Obscenity is defined in Media Essentials: A Brief Introduction as a form of expression not protected by the first amendment. The reason for not protecting it is due to its inappropriate information. This information could harm or upset its audience in anyway and this must be avoided. However, where the line should be drawn is not always clear, how much protection does the first amendment give us? What is too much protection and can it go too far? This argument has occurred in two cases: The New…

Artists speaking out about their political views is becoming more and more common, as is obscenity in popular music. Cuss words in songs are ‘bleeped out’ on radio, however artists, particularly rappers in the 21st century, are choosing to create two versions of their songs; a ‘dirty’ one and a ‘clean’ one (Benesch 1994). This is known as self-censorship and is not as controversial as other types of censorship in relation to freedom of expression. In fact, Neil Strauss (2000) believes that, ‘the…

they felt as if they should be protected by the law from receiving this type of material. It is also said that being able to send whatever one would like no matter the content is also protected by the right of Freedom of speech. This is why obscenity is such a controversial topic. To determine what obscene material really is, took two court cases to give a meaning what people or a community perceived some material as obscene. The biggest argument about portrayed obscene material is, what…

Illinois Obscenity Statute- under which they had been convicted- was unconstitutional because it had allowed the “value” of the magazines to be judged by community standards. In response, Illinois contended that the statute was indeed constitutional because the three elements of the Miller standard were conjoined under community definition of obscenity. To come to a verdict, the Supreme Court used the basis of the Miller Test and past obscenity…

The Fight for Free Speech (Speech Critique) It may seem as if free speech and expression is a simple concept to understand, but it becomes difficult to draw a line when obscenity is present. Obscene documents are not easy to detect. There were times where many forms of free speech were considered obscene by the Supreme Court. The only way to determine whether material was obscene or not was by the Comstock Act. A variety of victims of the Comstock Act tried to write what they thought would…

finally conclude by evaluating Richards’ arguments. Millian liberalism would not allow the prohibition of pornography because it falls within the scope of private not public morality. The state must allow individuals the maximum ability to live within their own rights and pornography is not the law’s business when it is produced or involves consenting adults for the consumption of adults in private. Any harms that may result from pornography do not harm individuals in a way that would justify…

and places it in its library does not mean it agrees with or promotes its content (www.ala.org). This is still an important distinction made today. Novels such as Huckleberry Finn and Lolita received the label of being politically incorrect and were removed from shelves. Books appearing to have controversial moral issues such as teenage sexual conduct, homosexuality, and racism were targets of restriction. In the 1950’s library censored books containing obscenity included those authored by…

For years, obscenity in the media has been a topic of debate and it’s coverage under the First Amendment. Roth v. United States (1957) and Miller v. California (1973) proved to have significant impact and influence on the creation of the legal definition of obscenity in the United States. In the case of Roth v. United States (1957), Samuel Roth was tried and convicted for the publication and mailing of obscene materials, which was a violation in the Southern District of New York, under the…