The Verdict
The CBSC's Atlantic Regional Council considered the complaint under the Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television Programming and the Sex Role Portrayal Code of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB).
Articles 1, 3, 5 and 7 of the Violence Code read as follows:
Article 1.0 (Content), Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television Programming
1.1 Canadian broadcasters shall not air programming which:
- contains gratuitous violence in any form*
- sanctions, promotes or glamorizes violence
(*"Gratuitous" means material which does not play an integral role in developing the plot, character or theme of the material as a whole).
Article 3.0 (Scheduling), Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television Programming
3.1.1 Programming which contains scenes of violence intended for adult audiences shall not be telecast before the late evening viewing period, defined as 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
3.1.2 Accepting that there are older children watching television after 9 p.m., broadcasters shall adhere to the provisions of article 5.1 below (viewer advisories), enabling parents to make an informed decision as to the suitability of the programming for their family members.
Article 5.0 (Viewer Advisories), Voluntary Code regarding Violence in Television Programming
5.1 To assist consumers in making their viewing choices, broadcasters shall provide a viewer advisory, at the beginning of, and during the first hour of programming telecast in late evening hours which contains scenes of violence intended for adult audiences.
5.3 Suggested language for suitable viewer advisories is outlined in Appendix A.
Article 7.0 (Violence against Women), Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television Programming
7.1 Broadcasters shall not telecast programming which sanctions, promotes or glamorizes any aspect of violence against women.
7.2 Broadcasters shall ensure that women are not depicted as victims of violence unless the violence is integral to the story being told. Broadcasters shall be particularly sensitive not to perpetuate the link between women in a sexual context and women as victims of violence.
7.3 Broadcasters shall refer to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' code on Sex Role Portrayal for guidance regarding the portrayal of women in general.
Article 4 of the Sex Role Portrayal Code reads as follows:
Exploitation:
Television and radio programming shall refrain from the exploitation of women, men and children. Negative or degrading comments on the role and nature of women, men or children in society shall be avoided. Modes of dress, camera focus on areas of the body and similar modes of portrayal should not be degrading to either sex. The sexualization of children through dress or behaviour is not acceptable.
Guidance: "Sex-ploitation" through dress is one area in which the sexes have traditionally differed, with more women portrayed in scant clothing and alluring postures.
Conclusion:
The Regional Council members viewed a tape of the program in question and reviewed all of the correspondence. The Regional Council decided that the episode of Millennium in question did not breach the provisions of either of the CAB Codes.
The Content of the Program
The members of the Atlantic Regional Council found that the content of the episode of Millennium which they viewed contained violent elements which, they readily acknowledged, will not be suitable for everyone - indeed not for all of them. But that's not the point of television programming, which is expected to be diverse and directed at different groups and tastes. Freedom of expression in our democracy carries with it the burden that there will be things expressed which not everyone will wish to hear. That being said, freedom is not without its limits. In the area of television programming, a number of those limitations are imposed by the broadcasters' own Violence and Sex Role Portrayal Codes. Private broadcasters in Canada created those Codes and are generally bound by Conditions of Licence to adhere to their provisions.
The Issues of Sex Role Portrayal and Violence against Women
While the complainant's concern was principally addressed toward the issue of violence, she did refer early in her letter to the "opening scene ... in a busy strip club with several big-breasted, scantily-clad strippers gyrating and 'performing' for peep-show customers." Although the Council agreed that the scene was intended to be erotic or titillating, this didn't necessarily mean that the scene was exploitative or degrading. The strip club served as a setting in which a pathological serial killer began a series of homicides which were not fundamentally directed at women. In fact, the killer was portrayed as a homosexual who preyed particularly on men. There was nothing in the depiction either of the killer, or the circumstances of the crimes, which can be said to glorify or glamorize him or them. To the contrary, "sordid" seems a more appropriate term. Consequently, the Council finds no breach of either Article 4 of the Sex Role Portrayal Code or of Article 7 of the Violence Code.
Gratuitous Violence
The CBSC has dealt with the issue of gratuitous violence on several occasions. It was in CITY-TV re Silence of the Lambs, that the CBSC was first called upon to consider the meaning of gratuitous, or glamorized violence. In that case, the Ontario Regional Council pointed out that according to the code:
Gratuitous violence is "material which does not play an integral role in developing the plot, character or theme of the material as a whole." When a program includes scenes of violence which are unnecessary to the progress of the story, which do not drive the plot forward, which play no role in the development or definition of the characters, and are clearly serving a sensationalistic purpose, that program will be seen to contain gratuitous violence. Programming which "sanctions, promotes, or glamorizes violence" is - with the possible exception of the meaning of "sanctions" - more straightforward. In this case, the Council interprets this statement by identifying the verb "sanction" as being: to permit authoritatively; to authorize; to encourage by express or implied approval. The Council also defines "promote" as furthering the growth, development, of something, or encouraging the progress of something (such as hatred or violence). When you add the word "glamorize" to "sanction" and "promote," together, all three verbs encourage, if not glorify, the use of violence.
As in the case of Silence of the Lambs, the theme of this episode of Millennium involves a psychopathic serial killer and the attempts to put an end to his homicidal activities. While violence is central to the tale being recounted, the underlying saga is that of a former law enforcement official with psychic powers who is attempting to restructure his family life away from threats he and his family had suffered in the "backstory" (the time prior to the beginning of the first episode of the series). Such violence, as occurs in the episode, is central to the plot and character of the principal protagonist. Furthermore, the scenes complained of do not generally show the occurrence of violent acts, as much as they show the results of the violent acts - and that violence is not overplayed. There is also violent imagery and effective editing, which give rise to fear, if not terror, on the part of the viewer. These are a part of a genre which is aimed at adult audiences, but which does not necessarily fall afoul of the rules prohibiting gratuitous violence. In the Council's view, this episode of Millennium is not in breach of Article 1 of the Violence Code.
The Watershed Hour
Not all Canadians may be familiar with the importance of the watershed hour to their viewing choices. As in many other countries, it serves as a programming frontier in Canada. It means that after 9:00 pm, parents should be advised that there is a greater likelihood that programming which may be unsuitable for their young children, or even their older children will be aired. It is the signal to families to be vigilant in determining which programs their children should and should not watch. The watershed hour was set at 9:00 pm because in most homes, the parent or parents will have returned from work and have the opportunity to supervise what their families will watch. (The time established for "watershed" varies from country to country, from 8:30 p.m. in New Zealand to 10:30 p.m. in France. Great Britain, Finland, South Africa and Australia all share the Canadian choice of 9:00 p.m. as the watershed.)
The Atlantic Regional Council believed that the episode of Millennium which they viewed contained violent material intended for adult audiences and that, in the circumstances, MITV acted entirely properly in scheduling this program at 10 p.m.
The Council was also conscious of the viewer's observation concerning the erotic material at the beginning of the series and referred to former decisions that noted how many broadcasters used the watershed hour as a guideline for other types of adult-oriented or "racy" material, not just violent content. (In fact, there is no formal restriction on the timing of broadcasting of slightly "racy" material.)
Because of this, the Atlantic Regional Council believed that the type of erotic material which began the episode was properly broadcast by CIHF-TV (MITV) after the 9:00 p.m. watershed hour.
Viewer Advisories
Just because programs are posted after the watershed hour, it doesn't mean that a broadcaster has fulfilled its obligations to its viewers. Even when a program is aired after the 9:00 p.m. viewing hour, it's well recognized that not all children will have gone to bed. Furthermore, there are adults who would not wish to watch programs with violent content. In response to this, the Violence Code states that broadcasters must provide viewers with advisories so that they will be informed of the nature of the content in the program they are about to see. Here, too, MITV fulfilled their obligations to the public by airing an advisory at the start of the program and during the two following commercial breaks. There is no obligation that any of the advisories be oral; however, the CBSC considers that MITV acted wisely in making the first advisory both oral and written (the viewer had apparently missed the oral advisory). It enables viewers who may not be paying total attention to the screen at that moment to be aware that they may not find the coming program suitable.
The Broadcaster's Response
In addition to assessing the relevance of the Codes to the complaint, the CBSC always assesses the responsiveness of the broadcaster to the substance of the complaint. In this case, the Program Manager responded thoroughly and thoughtfully to each of the points raised by the complainant, thereby fulfilling the station's obligations to the public. Nothing more is required.
