reading questions

Description

This week, we’ll be discussing a moral panic that perfectly illustrates what a typical moral panic is; how it develops; and long term impacts a moral panic can have on how regulations, laws and institutions are created to deal with the “problem.”

Although the moral panic in 1907 was about the film, The Unwritten Law which was based on a murder trial, it was really about moving pictures and nickelodeons. What was the problem with nickelodeons and films of the time period? What kind of general anxieties did this moral panic appeal to?

How did it start? Who were the agents? What was the media’s role? How did the authorities respond? How was the moral panic resolved? What was the long term impact on cinema?

Which model of moral panic explains it best? Why and how? 

This moral panic is actually also related to the birth of communication studies. Did you notice how?

Do you see any parallels between these two moral panics (nickelodeons & comic books)?