Deviance Amplification and the Creation of Moral Panics Flashcards
Cohen (moral panic)
Called moral panics ‘a situation where an individual or group is: labelled by the media, defined as a threat to society’s values, presented in a stereotypical fashion, made a target by the local authorities. Also referred to more recent examples of moral panics in the media. Studied media responses to: Knife crime, drup taking in the 90s linked to rave culture (Thornton also studies this), Child abuse scandals, Welfare cheats and single mothers, Refugees and asylum seekers.
Media example: Mods and Rockers
Fawbert (moral panics)
Examined newspaper reports about so-called hoodies between 2004 and 2008, and notes that there was only one article in the national papers in 2004 that used the word ‘hoodie’ to describe a young thug. However, a year later, the Bluewater Shopping Centre caused outrage by banning shoppers who wore hoodies and baseball caps. This was followed by Tony Blair vowing to clamp down on anti-social behaviour perpetrated by hoodies. The media seemed to seize on this and ‘hoodies’ became a commonly used term, especially between 2005 and 2007, to describe young people involved in crime. Notes that articles would often use the term in the headline, but there would be no reference in the story about whether the young criminal was actually wearing one, it was just presumed. Hoodies suddenly became a symbol of mischief, and sales of the clothing began to soar as young people realized by wearing them they upset people in authority
Media example: Bluewater Shopping Centre
Goode and Ben-Yehuda (moral panics)
There are 5 elements present in a moral panic.
Concern - must be the belief that the behaviour of the group or activity deemed deviant is likely to have a negative effect on society. Hostility - hostility toward the group in question increases, and they become folk devils, a clear division forms between them and us. Consensus - there must be widespread acceptance that the group poses a threat, ‘moral entrepreneurs’ are vocal and ‘folk devils’ are weak. Disproportionality - the action is taken disproportionate to the actual threat posed by the group. Volatility - moral panics are highly volatile and tend to disappear as quickly as they appeared because public interest wanes or news reports change to another narrative
Media example: Knife crime
Wilkins (moral panics)
Deviancy Amplification Theory seeks to understand the role of media in strengthening and magnifying deviance in society. There are members of society who engage in behaviours that go against accepted norms and values - the media reports and represent an exaggerated version of this deviance. The media’s response heightens public awareness and as a result more people engage in deviant behaviour. Discusses the ‘deviancy amplification spiral’. Three key points of this diagram are: a ‘deviant’ act is committed, publicity glamorises the ‘deviant’ behaviour and a moral panic develops
Media example: Young people stereotyped in the media
Furedi (functionalist) (deviancy amplification)
Disputes the interactionist view of moral panics and argues that moral panics arise when society fails to adapt to dramatic social changes and feel that there is a loss of control, particularly over youth. Moral panics reflect wider concerns that the older generation hold about the nature of society. They see themselves and their families as being at greater risk from a variety of groups and that things are of control. The older generation believe the media is responsible for the loss of traditional norms and values. They feel a sense of loss and this makes them more vulnerable to the anxieties that come with moral panics
Media example: Instagram
Hall (neo-marxist) (deviancy amplification)
Neo Marxists also dispute the interactionist approach and claims that moral panics are a way of distracting people - they masks the real social problems of society. Moral panics benefit capitalism – they argue that the ruling class defines what is ‘deviance’, and therefore decide who the ‘folk devils’ are. In Hall et al’s seminal work Policing The Crisis, the 1970s moral panic over ‘black muggers’ was examined. The main claim was that the moral panic was created by those in power in order to serve the interests of capitalism. At the time Britain was experiencing an economic crisis due to mass deindustrialisation. This meant capitalism faced a crisis with several strikes and protests. At that point in time, the mass media – not coincidentally - began to report about a supposed wave of black muggings. These incidents gave the ruling class a scapegoat to distract attention from the real crisis. The ‘black mugger’ symbolised a threat to society. This then caused a divide in the working classes which drew attention away from the truth. The real cause of black criminality was due to marginalisation by capitalism which led to unemployment. Therefore the cause of inequality was the failings of the government, which was hidden by a campaign of negative stereotyping and profiling
Media example: Tik Tok
Waiton (postmodernist) (deviancy amplification)
Contemporary societies generate a range of fears and associated panics that are of a different order to the classic “Mods and Rockers” moral panic originally described by Cohen (1972). Moral panics are less likely to occur because societies no-longer have a strong central moral code shared by most of the population - Meaning we have no morals to threaten! In other words, in a contemporary, norm breaking society, moral panics can’t occur
Media example: Instagram
