Studio S
Encyclopedia
Studio S was a Swedish
TV show broadcast on SVT
during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Hosted by Göran Elwin, It dealt with various social issues, featuring both experts and regular people.
and the notion that they were being viewed by children. Reporters interviewed children who claimed that they had seen movies such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
and showed that children could easily rent violent videos. They then held a debate on how to deal with the issue, featuring a group of parents who all agreed that they couldn't stop their children from viewing these movies. Representing the government
of Sweden was the Swedish Minister of Education Jan-Erik Wikström (fp
) who wanted a ban but stressed that it required a change in the constitution of Sweden
.
The episode spawned the buzzword
videovåld (lit Video-violence), and a major moral panic
that would shape public perception and even influence new laws. In the end the movies demonized by the show were more helped than harmed, as the exposure made them famous. Today the whole thing is widely regarded as an example of sensationalism
and the videovåld controversy is mostly over. The Swedish DVD
-cover for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre even mentions the episode and proudly claims to have been "the most hated movie in Sweden!".
Because of its cultural significance, the episode has become a cult item among film enthusiasts who see it both as an important document on the issue of censorship
, and as unintentional comedy. It has been shown in film-festivals and is circulated as Bootlegs
.
A parallel can be made to the UK
debate on Video Nasties.
ran a feature on the old episode where two of the children (now 33 years old) featured in the original broadcast claimed that they had been bribed, and were forced to say that they had seen violent movies. Other parts of the episode were also criticized, including one segment were a little girl claimed that she couldn't sleep with the nightlight off after seeing one of the videos in question. Her parents found this strange since she didn't have a nightlight.
A reporter who worked on Studio S wrote an angry open letter where he denounced the feature as bad journalism, denying that the children were forced and that the harsh criticism of violent movies was valid. A representative of SVT denied the accusation.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
TV show broadcast on SVT
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Hosted by Göran Elwin, It dealt with various social issues, featuring both experts and regular people.
The Videovåld scandal
Despite covering many issues, the show is now mainly known (and infamous) for an episode broadcast on December 2, 1980 entitled "Vem behöver videon (who needs video)?". The episode raised concerns over violent movies on videoVideo
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
and the notion that they were being viewed by children. Reporters interviewed children who claimed that they had seen movies such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
and showed that children could easily rent violent videos. They then held a debate on how to deal with the issue, featuring a group of parents who all agreed that they couldn't stop their children from viewing these movies. Representing the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
of Sweden was the Swedish Minister of Education Jan-Erik Wikström (fp
Liberal People's Party (Sweden)
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
) who wanted a ban but stressed that it required a change in the constitution of Sweden
Constitution of Sweden
The Swedish Constitution consists of four fundamental laws :* The 1810 Act of Succession * The 1949 Freedom of the Press Act * The 1974 Instrument of Government * The 1991 Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression...
.
The episode spawned the buzzword
Buzzword
A buzzword is a term of art, salesmanship, politics, or technical jargon that is used in the media and wider society outside of its originally narrow technical context....
videovåld (lit Video-violence), and a major moral panic
Moral panic
A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
that would shape public perception and even influence new laws. In the end the movies demonized by the show were more helped than harmed, as the exposure made them famous. Today the whole thing is widely regarded as an example of sensationalism
Sensationalism
Sensationalism is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers...
and the videovåld controversy is mostly over. The Swedish DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
-cover for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre even mentions the episode and proudly claims to have been "the most hated movie in Sweden!".
Because of its cultural significance, the episode has become a cult item among film enthusiasts who see it both as an important document on the issue of censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, and as unintentional comedy. It has been shown in film-festivals and is circulated as Bootlegs
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
.
A parallel can be made to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
debate on Video Nasties.
Controversy
In 2002 FilmkrönikanFilmkrönikan
Broadcast from 1956 , Filmkrönikan was Sweden's longest-running television program. It was broadcast on Sveriges Television.- History :Arne Weise was the first host but was replaced after just 4 episodes by Gunnar Oldin...
ran a feature on the old episode where two of the children (now 33 years old) featured in the original broadcast claimed that they had been bribed, and were forced to say that they had seen violent movies. Other parts of the episode were also criticized, including one segment were a little girl claimed that she couldn't sleep with the nightlight off after seeing one of the videos in question. Her parents found this strange since she didn't have a nightlight.
A reporter who worked on Studio S wrote an angry open letter where he denounced the feature as bad journalism, denying that the children were forced and that the harsh criticism of violent movies was valid. A representative of SVT denied the accusation.