The controversy over the airing of an uncut version of 'Saving Private Ryan' on ABC yesterday underscores a more important question in our society: What constitutes decency and how far can the FCC go before it begins to commit censorship?
Last night, almost 20 ABC affiliates refused to air 'Saving Private Ryan' for fear of receiving fines from the FCC for indecency. The film, which was aired on Veterans Day as a tribute to American servicemen past and present, has graphic violence and some foul language. After all, it is a film about war and war, as we all know, it not pretty, clean or glamourous. People die, people are maimed for life and people use foul language during the heat of battle.
In the wake of Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction' during last year's Super Bowl, Fox's outrageous fine for 'Married by America' and Howard Stern's constant battle over his alleged use of vulgarity, networks are now operating in a climate of fear as to what they may or may not air.
The problem is exacerbated by the stance of the FCC which refuses to 'pre-judge' any broadcast but will only react to complaints received afterwards. As a result, networks are fearful of airing anything remotely controversial because the fines have been so high. CBS was fined $550,000 for showing less than one second of Jackson's nipple and Fox was fined $1.2 million for showing strippers and people licking whipped cream off of each other on 'Married by America.' The result is censorship, as we saw with 'Private Ryan' last night, despite the FCC's stated intent to avoid doing just that.
The ironic thing is that 'Saving Private Ryan' was aired twice before on Veterans Day in an uncut manner and no fines were levied (although some complaints were received). Yet the changing climate in broadcasting in the last nine months made television stations fearful. Congress' act to increase fines for indecency only served to make things worse.
The FCC guidelines are very unclear and by acting after the fact, fail to help define exactly what 'indecency' is. There is certainly a difference between showing a woman's breast on broadcast TV and a realistic depiction of the horrors of war. The way the current system works, if you offend or upset people, you run the risk of large fines and this is censorship at its worst. That stifles artistic creativity and stops people from seeing worthwhile programming like 'Saving Private Ryan.' The FCC must act soon and lay down clear definitions of what it will fine a network for and what is permissible. There is a line that needs to be drawn and some limits need to be set but the current system just doesn't work. Until it is fixed, TV viewers will be at the mercy of a any group of people with a TV and a telephone.
