The Slippery Slope of Censorship...

Did you think that restrictions on "indecent" broadcast content wouldn't affect your viewing habits? Think again. The FCC recently ruled on a complaint filed by the "Parents Television Council" alleging indecent material broadcast on a popular television program. No, it wasn't Janet Jackson's breast. It was a program much closer to home for many people: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Yes, that's right. The Prom Queen of Vampire Staking is on the hit list of the Religious right.

While the Buffy series has made an effort to be edgy in some ways, there's absolutely no question in any reasonable person's mind about obscenity. It is (or was) one of the best things on TV precisely because it tackles hard issues and makes an effort to resolve them. There can be absolutely no question that the program has substantial merit. And yet... the rules allow for the complaint to be filed, and require the FCC to issue a formal ruling. Even though the ruling was in favor of the show, the FCC spent a year's worth of time investigating the complaint, writing reports, and generally being a beaurocratic threat hanging over the head of the show's producers.

That's a chilling effect. Even to raise the possibility of the large fines for "indecency" that the FCC is empowered (in violation of the First Amendment) to impose upon a show like Buffy is offensive. And just coincidentally, the program was canceled this year, the year after the complaint was filed, following a 6 year run. Was the decision to cancel the program related to the complaint? It's hard to say. The decision is a private one by the broadcaster and perhaps the show was due to expire regardless.

But we may never know for sure what speech we might have had, but for the power of the FCC. If the show lost its edge in the final season, can we rule out the possibility that the heavy hand of the government's censors had nothing to do with it?