It was stanley cohens classic account, first published in the early 1970s and regularly revised, that brought the term moral panic into widespread discussion. Full of sharp insight and analysis, folk devils and moral panics is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand this powerful and enduring phenomenon. This title critically evaluates the usefulness of moral panic models for understanding how politicians, the public and pressure groups come to recognize apparently new threats to the social order. Moral panics emerge when there is a misrepresentation of an. In the book, cohen describes how the british public reacted to the rivalry between the mod and rocker youth subcultures of the 1960s and 70s. In cohens words, the moral panic is characterized by a condition, episode, person or group of persons who become defined as a threat to societal values and interests. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. Cohen introduced the social theory of moral panic in his 1972 book titled folk devils and moral panics. Ways in which the media stimulate moral panics media essay. The media stimulate moral panics and create folk devils 875 words 4 pages. Through his study of these youth and the media and public reaction to them, cohen developed a theory of moral panic that outlines five stages of the process. Any channel of information can be treated as a media. All chapters represent original research by many of the most influential theorists and researchers now working in the area of moral panic, including nachman benyehuda and erich goode, joel best, chas critcher, mary deyoung, alan.
Whether or not the label was applied andor contested at the time or afterwards, there are clusters of reactions that look very much like classic moral panics. Typically, a moral panic is perpetuated by the news media, fueled by politicians, and often results in the passage of new laws or policies that target the source of the panic. Crime, moral panics and the media essay 1726 words 7 pages. Moral panics are defined by sociologists as the outbreak of moral concern over a supposed threat from an agent of. First, is the stuff itself, thirty years of moral panics. By its very existence the media appeared to represent a potential threat to the moral order. With the increasing number of moral panics in recent years triggered by incidents such as the bulger child murder by other children and the spread of aids, this book examines their wider significance, particularly in terms of the functioning of the mass media. A moral panic is a semi spontaneous or media generated mass movement based on the perception that some individual or group, frequently a minority group or subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses menace to society. The trouble with media panics the concept of moral panic and the related term media panic is commonly used when discussing public debates about children, young people and media.
Goode and ben yehuda did an excellent job of taking cohens case study in folk devils and moral panics, and transforming it into a general resource for moral panic theory. Teaching us to fear the violent video game moral panic and the politics of game research patrick m. A moral panic is an exaggerated outburst of public concern over the morality or behaviour of a group in society. Cohen provided a processual model of how any new social problem would develop. In this important book, chas critcher brings together essential readings on moral panics, which he contextualises in the light of moral panic. The assault on social media constitutes a textbook case of moral panic. In this book, kenneth thompson traces the developments in moral panic studies and. Ferguson in this excerpt from their new book, moral combat. He has published books and articles on the sociology of leisure and the fate of mining communities. Cohen and other sociologists term the people in society that begin and propagate the panics as moral entrepreneurs. In a moral panic, the media identify a group as a folk devil.
The concept of moral panic arose out of a particular conjuncture of political, social and theoretical circumstances. With the increasing number of moral panics in recent years triggered by incidents such as the bulger child murder by other children and the spread of aids, this book examines their wider. British sociologist jock young first published reference to moral panic 1971 young suggested that the moral panic over drugtaking resulted in the setting up of drug squads in police departments thompson 1998. According to cohen, at a certain point, the mass media put their imprint on a potential episode of moral panic and styles it so that the facts are exaggerated or amplified. Stanley cohen believes the media play an important role in enforcing moral panic, even by just reporting the news. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Moral panic has been defined as a situation in which public fears and state interventions greatly exceed the objective threat posed to society by a particular individual or group who isare claimed to be responsible for creating the threat in the first place. The media also present the group in a negative stereotypical fashion and again exaggerate the scale of the problem. As a journalist, you shouldnt want to sensationalise news events, let alone cause fear or panic about any issue, yet it happens. Moral panic theory is strongly related to labelling theory, in fact moral panic theory is really labelling theory applied to the media instead of the agent of social control doing the labelling, it is the media.
His current interest in moral panics revisits arguments first raised by his coauthorship of policing the crisis 1978. In this article, we identify some problems with these ideas, and argue for a more careful, and more historically contextualised, approach. C critcher chas critchers study is doubly welcome as it discusses theoretical underpinnings thoroughly, and also provides a set of illustrative case studies. In his book entitled folk devils and moral panics, cohen talked extensively on the issue of the media and moral panic. There are many ways in which the media can stimulate this. Includes a new chapter on the media, currently regarded as a major component of the moral panic. Kenneth thompson this concise guide presents and compares the various different approaches that have been adopted in studies of moral panics and integrates concepts such as risk which have been developed in related.
Moral panics and the transgressive other jock young, 2011. Folk devil can be identified as a threat to societys values. Richly documented and convincingly presented new society mods and rockers, skinheads, video nasties, designer drugs, bogus asylum seeks and hoodies. The ashgate research companion to moral panics offers a comprehensive assemblage of cuttingedge critical and theoretical perspectives on the concept of moral panic. An occurrence of moral panic is characterised by stylized and stereotypical representation by the mass media, and a tendency for those in power to claim the moral high ground and pronounce judgement. A clear and comprehensive survey of a concept that is increasingly influential in a number of disciplines as well as in popular culture, this collection of the latest research in the field addresses themes including the evolution of the moral panic concept, sex panics, media panics, moral panics over children and youth, and the future of the. Second, the same public and media discourse that provides the raw evidence of moral panic, uses the concept as. Cohen suggested in his 1972 book folk devils and moral panics that a moral panic occurs when condition, episode, person or group of people emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests. Moral panics and media myths, james morrison is published by zed books. The role of the media, especially the popular press, comes under scrutiny. The book is well organized and provides ample insight into the inner workings of the theory and is invaluable to anyone interested in how the media, the public, the criminal. A moral panic is a feeling of fear spread among many people that some evil threatens the wellbeing of society. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Stanley cohens study of mods and rockers in the 1960s was a foundational text both in terms of investigating the workings of subcultural groups and identifying the concept of a moral panic generated by the media, which leads to groups being vilified in the popular imagination, and inhibits rational debate about solutions to the social problems such groups represent.
Chas critcher is professor of communications at sheffield hallam university where he teaches media sociology. It is the process of arousing social concern over an issue usually the work of moral entrepreneurs and the mass media in recent centuries the mass media have become important players in the dissemination of moral indignation, even when they do not appear to be consciously. The myth of moral panics souccj230 introduction to. Moral panics arise when distorted mass media campaigns are used to create fear, reinforce stereotypes and exacerbate preexisting divisions in the world, often based on race, ethnicity and social. Moral panic theory is strongly related to labelling theory, in fact moral panic theory is really labelling theory applied to the media instead of the agent of social control doing the labelling, it is the media two related key terms include folk devils and deviancy amplification. Moral panic occurs when someone or something is defined by the media as a threat to the values or interests of society. The book has over the years been considered one of the best works ever written on this issue. Marshall mclohan, moral panics and moral indignation. Assess the ways in which the media stimulate moral panics and create folk devils. Thompson1998 describes 5 key elements in a moral panic. In january the moral panic was about homeless people occupying footpaths around. Moral panics, the media and the law in early modern england 2009th edition.
Such reactions were not simply media panics but panics about the effects of the media. Moral panics oxford research encyclopedia of criminology. First coined by stanley cohen in 1972, moral panic is a key term in media studies, used to refer to sudden eruptions of indignant concern about social issues. Teaching us to fear the violent video game moral panic and. List of books and articles about moral panic online. It is something or someone who is defined as a threat to values and interests. Crime, moral panics and the media essay 1726 words.