Ottawa, August 29, 2000 – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released its decision concerning the 8 p.m. broadcast of the feature film Double Team by CHMI-TV (Winnipeg). A viewer had complained that the film depicted “cold blooded premeditated murder” and the “wanton mass murder of children”.
The Prairie Regional Council considered the complaint under the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Violence Code. The Council began by noting that the violent scenes were “plot-driving events and motivational in terms of character development” and were “thus not gratuitous under the Violence Code.” On another level, though, it concluded that the “nature and extent of the violence included in the film [were] intended for adult audiences.” Accordingly, the Council found that the film should not have been broadcast prior to the 9 p.m. watershed hour.
With respect to the use of viewer advisories (which were found to be present only preceding the film and after the first, third and fifth commercial breaks), the Council noted that the Violence Code requires that advisories be present “at the beginning of, and during programming telecast outside of late evening hours, which contains scenes of violence not suitable for children.” The Council concluded that, ironically, having decided to air the film prior to the watershed hour, the broadcaster had “created a heavier burden on itself with respect to advisories,” since, in those circumstances, advisories needed to be aired “coming out of every commercial break during the entire program [emphasis in original].” Since advisories were not present coming out of the second and fourth commercial breaks, the broadcaster was found in breach of Article 5.2 of the Violence Code.
Finally, the Council also considered the PG rating for the film to be inappropriate, stating that a 14+ rating would have been better suited for the violent content of the film:
[I]n the category description for the PG rating, it is stated: “This programming, while intended for a general audience, may not be suitable for younger children (under the age of 8). [Emphasis added.]” Second, under the Violence Guidelines, it is provided that “any depiction of conflict and/or aggression will be moderate and limited” and that “any such depictions should not be pervasive.” In the view of the Council, ..., the film is decidedly not intended for a general audience. It is intended for an adult audience. Moreover, the violence in the film cannot possibly be described as “moderate and limited”. ... The Violence Guidelines for the 14+ category allow that “violence could be one of the dominant elements of the storyline” and that the programming may even “contain intense scenes of violence.”
Canada’s private broadcasters have themselves created industry standards in the form of Codes on ethics, gender portrayal and television violence by which they expect the members of their profession will abide. In 1990, they also created the CBSC, which is the self-regulatory body with the responsibility of administering those professional broadcast Codes, as well as the Code dealing with journalistic practices first created by the Radio Television News Directors Association of Canada (RTNDA) in 1970. More than 430 radio and television stations and specialty services from across Canada are members of the Council.
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All CBSC decisions, Codes, links to members’ and other web sites, and related information are available on the World Wide Web at www.cbsc.ca. For more information, please contact the National Chair of the CBSC, Ron Cohen, at (###) ###-####.