Legal and ethical issues

Legal and ethical issues task 

Legal issues 

1) Libel: a form of defamation in which a false statement is published that damages somebody’s reputation. It can be in written form or on film, whilst slander is the verbal version. 

If applied to a corporate/promotional video context, libel could happen if a company were to make false statements in their video about another company to make theirs look better in comparison. Unless these accusations could be backed up with evidence, it would be classified as slander. Alternately, this would be applicable if the company used a positive review in their video given by someone else but with incorrect information in it that can’t be supported.  

Copyright: the legal right to control the production and selling of a piece of media. It’s given to the content creator for a certain number of years.  

If applied to a corporate/promotional video context, copyright would be in place when it comes to music. The majority of songs out there are copyrighted, which would require a company to pay to use a specific song. This is why the background music in corporate videos is instrumental and generic which they likely either hired someone to create or found online with no copyright/royalties.  

2) The Equality Act 2010 is the current legislation relating to race relations, disability and discrimination on the grounds of protected characteristics. The act legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and a wider society. These protected characteristics include: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. 

This means that media companies couldn’t refuse to hire somebody (e.g. writer, director, designer) because of any of the protected characteristics. When casting a media production, the casting director couldn’t discriminate against certain actors because of any of the detailed characteristics. The only exception would be if there were specifications for a character such as race, age, gender etc. but only if they’re necessary for the storyline. However, factors such as sexual orientation or whether they’re transgender wouldn’t have an effect on this (e.g. gay actor could play a straight character, trans actor could play a cisgender character).  

3) The Obscene Publications Act 1959 is the law that relates to obscenity. Content is considered obscene if it will ‘deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it’. However, this can be variable in the media depending on factors such as context and target audience. More graphic and obscene content would be allowed in media rated for adults (18+), though some mildly ‘obscene’ material can still be included in content for younger viewers (e.g. specific swear words are allowed in films rated 12A). Nudity allowed in media also is often dependent on context. For example, nudity portrayed in a sexual manner would receive a high age rating whilst nudity in relation to culture and living conditions (e.g. low development countries) is usually allowed with more leniency.  

4) Ofcom and the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) are the bodies responsible for television and film regulation to ensure content is appropriate for viewers. Ofcom is the regulator for communications services such as broadband, home phone and mobile services, TV and radio. The BBFC is responsible for the classification and censorship of films and videos released in cinemas and video works (e.g. TV programmes, trailers, adverts, public information/campaigning films, etc.). They apply an age rating to these videos, which ranges from a U (suitable for all) to an 18 (suitable for those aged 18+).  

This can be related to this unit because even corporate videos need to be regulated and rated to ensure all the content is appropriate for viewing and doesn’t contain anything that could be interpreted as offensive or harmful.  

Ethical issues 

1) As media students we need to consider representation regarding the portrayal of people, places and events so any content that we create cannot be interpreted as offensive/discriminatory towards anybody or anywhere. We also need to be considerate because we could defame a person/organisation/place/etc. if we were to incorrectly represent them as it would be a false statement. 

2) In 2017, Netflix released a live action film of the popular anime and manga ‘Death Note’. Despite its Asian origins, none of the major characters were played by actors of Asian descent. The main character’s name was even changed from Light Yagami to Light Turner. This extended into a change of location from Japan to Seattle in America. Many complaints were made about the whitewashing within the film and they felt that the director, Adam Wingard, and his team completely ignored the significance of Japanese culture within the story. Asian people are frequently misrepresented in major media and the characters are often side characters and/or are based off of cruel stereotypes. Whitewashing ‘Death Note’ erased all its Japanese origins to become a basic Hollywood film. [1] 

In July 2020, Halle Berry shared that she was preparing to play a transgender man in an upcoming film, though hadn’t been officially cast. In an interview she expressed her interest in the character and constantly referred to the character as ‘she’ and a ‘woman’, despite him being a transgender male. Berry received significant backlash for both misgendering the character and for accepting the role. As a cisgender woman, she wouldn’t be able to understand the struggles of being transgender, so the role should go to a trans actor. The trans community has been severely misrepresented for years so they should be positively represented by an actual trans actor. Berry pulled out of the role and apologised for her actions, saying that ‘the transgender community should undeniably have the opportunity to tell their own stories’, and thanked everyone for pointing out her mistake. [2] 

[1] Why ‘Death Note’ Is Guilty of Whitewashing | IndieWire

[2] Halle Berry Pulls Out of Transgender Film Role After Backlash - Variety