moral panic
Lesson objectives
one Understand the concept of moral panic
two Identify when moral panic occurs
in the media
three Understand the process of how moral
panic unfolds
moral panic The intensity of feeling expressed in a population that appears to threaten the
social order.
role of the media The media operate as agents of moral imagination, either by
actively crusading, or simply
framing news stories in
dramatic ways that will appeal to consumers.
Stanley cohen (1975)
Folk Devils and Moral Panics
Stanley cohen claimed that a
moral panic occurs when condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to
societal values and interests.
Those who start the panic
when they fear a threat to
prevailing social or cultural
values are known as moral entrepreneurs.
Those who supposedly
threaten the social order
have been described as folk devils.
cohen’s study was
primarily about the mods and the rockers of the
1960s and the treatment they received in the public eye.
The main criticism was that
they were seen as a threat to law and order largely through the
way the mass media represented them, in the form of
what Cohen calls the control culture.
Largely this refers to the media
sensationalising an event and
then calling for a punishment to be set to persecute the offenders.
mods, rockers and moral panics
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characteristics of
a moral panic
concern There must be awareness that
the behaviour of the group or
category in question is likely to
have a negative impact on
society.
hostility Hostility towards the group in question increases, and they
become folk devils. Clear
distinctions are drawn
between us and them.
consensus Widespread acceptance emerges that the group in question poses a very real
threat to society.
disproportion The action taken is
disproportionate to the
actual threat posed by the group.
volatility Moral Panics tend to
disappear as quickly as they
appeared, due to a wane in public interest or news reports changing to another topic.
The objects of moral panic belong to seven clusters of
social identity:
1. !
!
young, working-class, violent males
2. !
!
school violence: bullying and shootouts
3. !
!
wrong drugs: used by wrong people at wrong places
4. !
!
child abuse, satanic rituals and paedophile registers
5. !
!
sex, violence and blaming the media
6. !
!
welfare cheats and single mothers
7. !
!
refugees and asylum seekers
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