Folk Devils and Moral Panics

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Slide 8

So, ‘the media, wittingly or unwittingly, reproduce the definitions of the powerful.’ (Eldridge, 1997)

‘More moral panics will be generated and other, as yet nameless folk devils will be created. This is not because such developments have an inexorable inner logic, but because our society as presently structured will continue to generate problems for some of its members…and then condemn whatever solution these groups find.’ (Cohen, 1987)

Slide 9

Stanley Cohen

So, who might these other ‘nameless folk devils’ be?

* Trade Unionists

* Punks

* Black muggers

* Football hooligans

* Ravers

* Goths

* Young Muslims

* ‘NEDS’

* ???

Slide 10

‘Hard to imagine in our corporate ‘now,’ but on every level of British society in the 60s, massive, fundamental changes were taking place. In music, in fashion, in cinema, in theatre, in literature, in politics, in public morality, on television and on radio, new ideas were taking a strong hold. British society, now buoyed by a healthy economy, not only made cash available but, it seemed, confidence as well. It was everywhere. In such a world, the Modernist with his obsessive and crafty nature was inevitable.’ (Soul Stylists, P. Hewitt, 2003).

Who would stand to gain or lose in such circumstances? Could it be that in times such as this, ‘folk devils’ become an indispensable means of reasserting social control?

Slide 11

Folk Devils and Moral Panics

Some closing thoughts…

‘Quietly disrupting the orderly sequence which leads from signifier to signified, the mods undermined the conventional meaning of ‘collar, suit and tie,’ pushing neatness to the point of absurdity. they were a little too smart, somewhat too alert, thanks to amphetamines.’ (Hebdige, 1979)

Is that all there was too it, re-investing consumer goods such as Vespas with alternative meanings? As you will no doubt know by now, Sociologists present a number of diverse positions on any given topic. Matza would argue that ‘delinquent’ youth offer no serious challenge to prevailing norms and values. Sub cultural theorists argue that quite separate norms are gestating within these groups, while both Left Idealists and Realists would reassert the wider structure within which labelling and criminalising takes place. What do you think?

Slide 12

Moral Panics

The media used the case of James Bulger to symbolise all that was wrong with Britain. As Bradley points out, ‘as the media pursued each new sub-plot of the courtroom saga, it issued another little moral message to the nation to take on board: ‘it’s an evil world and we need strict rules.’ (Bradley 1994). Rational explanations for why the crime occurred were not the concern of the press, rather they chose to focus attention on the differences between innocence and evil. Bradley sites the Times as an example of this; they used the opportunity (often using the language of Criminology: ‘moral evil, the choice of vice over virtue’) to ‘restore the notions of pure innocence (little James) and born evil (his killers) in a way that few were prepared to question.’ (Bradley 1994)