Investigation Report No. 2570
ACMA file reference / ACMA2011/585Licensee / Austar Entertainment Pty Ltd
Station / Comedy Channel
Type of Service / Subscription Broadcasting Television
Name of Program / South Park – Cartman Sucks
Date of Broadcast / 30 January 2011
Relevant Legislation/Code / Broadcasting Services Act 1992
· Section 149
ASTRA Codes of Practice 2007
· Clause 3.1 (program classifications)
Finding
· Breach of clause 3.1 of the ASTRA Codes of Practice 2007 (program classifications)
The complaint
On 23 March 2011 the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) received a written complaint, via email, about an episode of South Park which was broadcast by AUSTAR, the licensee, on 30January2011.
The complainant alleged that the program contained depictions of sexual activity involving persons under the age of 18 years and that ‘the broadcast of such images constituted a serious crime in Australia’. The complainant requested that ‘the Federal Police and Attorney General investigate the case’. AUSTAR responded to the complainant in accordance with its obligations under the ASTRA Codes of Practice.
Not satisfied with the response provided by the licensee, the complainant forwarded the matter to the ACMA for investigation. The ACMA investigated the complaint as a classification matter.
The program
South Park is an animated sitcom that focuses on the misadventures of a group of primary school boys in a small fictional town.
The episode Cartman Sucks was broadcast on 30January2011 with an M classification. It was preceded by a consumer advice warning that the program may contain coarse language, sex scenes, violence, drug use, nudity and adult themes.
Cartman Sucks focuses on issues of sexual identity with two young male characters, both approximately eight years old, believing that they might be homosexual. Eric Cartman believes that he is gay after playing a practical joke on classmate Leopold ‘Butters’ Stotch. Butters’s parents, believing that Butters is bisexual, send him to a residential camp that specialises in homosexual conversion therapy.
Assessment
The assessment is based on a copy of the relevant broadcast provided to the ACMA by the licensee, submissions from the complainant and the licensee and a copy of the Classification Board report for the DVD release of South Park Season 11 which contains the episode Cartman Sucks.
Relevant provisions
ASTRA Codes of Practice 2007 (Subscription Broadcast Television) contains the following provisions that are relevant to the matter raised by the complainant:
3. Program Classification Code
Licensees will classify films and drama programs, applying the program classification system contained in the Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Computer Games... which appear below.
...
M Mature
Impact test
The impact test of the classifiable elements for material classified M should be no higher than moderate.
[...]
THEMES
The treatment of themes may have a moderate sense of threat or menace, if justified by context.
[...]
SEX
Sexual activity should be discreetly implied, if justified by context.
[...]
MA15+ Mature Accompanied
Impact test
The impact of material classified MA15+ should be no higher than strong
[...]
THEMES
The treatment of strong themes should be justified by context.
[...]
SEX
Sexual activity may be implied.
[...]
The Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Computer Games 2008 contains the following definitions in the List of Terms:
Sexual Activity
Matters pertaining to sexual acts, but not limited to sexual intercourse.
[...]
Themes
Social issues such as crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependency, death, serious illness, family breakdown and racism.
Complainant’s submissions
In correspondence to the ACMA, dated 22 March 2011 and correspondence to the licensee, dated 7 and 22 March 2011, the complainant stated they believed that South Park – Cartman Sucks contained three scenes that depicted child pornography and therefore should not have been broadcast. Further, the complainant considered the broadcast of the episode to be a criminal act.
Licensee’s submissions
In its response to the complainant, dated 22 March 2011, the licensee stated the following:
[...]
We understand that the Program [South Park] was originally classified for DVD release by the Classification Board... which means that it was considered suitable for viewing in Australia. For this reason we believe that the broadcast of the program on AUSTAR was not a breach of any law in Australia.
[...]
While the responsibility for classifying films and programs for broadcast on television remains with the broadcaster (and the relevant channel), the Classification Board’s decisions are relied upon extensively by channel providers... in determining whether content is appropriate for broadcast.
In its submission to the ACMA, dated 4May2011 the licensee stated the following:
The Episode was broadcast with an ‘M’ classification warning slide at the commencement of the episode.
The Episode was not modified or edited [from the version classified by the Classification Board] prior to its broadcast.
[...]
AUSTAR is aware that the Classification Board (the ‘Board’) previously classified the Episode ‘MA15+’ and the scene referred to by the complainant was cited as an example of a ‘sexual reference’ at the ‘MA15+’ level. AUSTAR acknowledges that its broadcast of the Episode with an incorrect classification warning slide amounted to a failure to comply with the classification requirements under the ASTRA Codes of Practice...
Finding
The ACMA finds that the licensee has breached clause 3.1 of the Astra Codes of Practice 2007 in broadcasting South Park – Cartman Sucks with an M classification on 30January2011.
Reasons
South Park is a satirical cartoon sitcom. The major theme explored in the episode Cartman Sucks is sexuality, specifically confusion about sexual identity and homosexual conversion therapy. These themes are explored through two storylines involving child aged characters. The episode contains the classifiable elements sexual references and themes, specifically suicide.
At approximately 4:30 Butters is depicted wearing a blindfold while kneeling on the floor. Cartman stands above him and lowers his pants. Butter’s father then enters the room and Cartman flees. Images of Cartman without his pants on are shown briefly, are obscured by camera angles and are intercut with other images.
At approximately 23:00 Cartman is shown standing in front of a projection of a photograph that implicitly depicts him with Butters’s penis in his mouth. The photograph is shown briefly and is obscured by Cartman’s head as he stands in front of it. The scenes described above do not contain depictions of sexual activity or genital nudity.
The episode contains implied visual and verbal sexual references. The impact of visual sexual references is mitigated by the stylised depictions of characters and animation and the obscuring techniques employed. The verbal references to sexual acts are brief and lack detail. The impact of the sexual references is considered to be strong.
At approximately 8:45 and 11:40 there are visual depictions of suicide by attendees of the camp that provides homosexual conversion therapy. In the first instance a character is depicted in a post action visual, hanging by his neck from the ceiling, implicitly dead. In the second instance a character commits suicide by gunshot to the head. The depictions are very brief and the second contains some blood detail. At approximately 19:24 a third character threatens to commit suicide because he cannot be ‘cured of homosexuality’ and considers himself an abomination to god.
The scenes dealing with suicide form part of a narrative about sexual identity including the success and consequences of homosexual conversion therapy. The theme of suicide is considered strong and to be justified within the context of the episode.
The impact of classifiable elements in an M classified program is to be no higher than moderate. The episode of South Park – Cartman Sucks contains classifiable elements that are considered strong in impact and therefore exceed the impact test for an M classified program.
The ACMA notes that the episode is part of a DVD release that was classified MA15+ by the Classification Board.
Action taken
The ACMA notes that AUSTAR has admitted a breach of clause 3.1 of the Code and that AUSTAR and The Comedy Channel have already implemented a number of initiatives to address the issue. These initiatives include:
· The Comedy Channel has taken steps to ensure that the correct classification warning slide of ‘MA15+’, and appropriate consumer advice, will be broadcast at the commencement of the episode Cartman Sucks in the future;
· The internal processes of The Comedy Channel were reviewed in order to minimise the likelihood of a similar administrative error occurring in the future;
· The remaining episodes of Season 11 of South Park were reviewed to confirm that correct classification information was assigned;
· All other seasons of South Park held by the Comedy Channel were reviewed to confirm that correct classification information was assigned; and
· AUSTAR and The Comedy Channel will ensure that the ACMA’s findings are circulated to the employees of The Comedy Channel for the purposes of internal training.
Decision
I, Jeremy Fenton, Section Manager, Content Classification Section, being the appropriate delegated officer of the Australian Communications and Media Authority, determine for the above reasons that the licensee, Austar Entertainment Pty Ltd, in relation to a complaint dated 23March2011 about a broadcast of the program South Park - Cartman Sucks on 30January2011, breached Clause 3.1 (program classification) of the ASTRA Codes of Practice 2007 (Subscription Narrowcast Television).
Signed: ------
Jeremy Fenton
dated this day of June 2011
ACMA Investigation Report – South Park – Cartman Sucks broadcast by The Comedy Channel (AUSTAR) on 30January2011