A TV news report about X-rated downloads from the 1990s shows that the current hysteria is nothing new.
Tag: mass hysteria
Breaking News: It’s Not Often All That Important
The feeding frenzy of the headline-driven news cycle rarely informs us of anything we need to know and serves only to increase anxiety – let’s stop buying into it.
Halloween Panic Catches Fire
From drugged candy to kids bursting into flame, this year’s Halloween moral panics are well underway.
Uncanny Fears And The False Hysteria Of Coulrophobia
There’s a certain logic to most of our fears and phobias, no matter how irrational they might be. But clowns? Really?
Politicians, Prohibitionists And Porn: A Bad Combination
Let’s not allow outrage at inappropriate workplace behaviour by an MP to further embolden the moralising opportunists.
Louise Woodward: The Making Of A Media Martyr
The conflicting evidence, lost facts, fervent nationalism and tabloid-driven hysteria surrounding one of the most notorious trials of the 1990s.
Pandering To The Masses: The Hypocritical Fixation With Public Opinion
Why do people put so much time and effort into pretending that the opinions of the person on the street actually matter?
This Year’s Halloween Costume Hysteria
The moral panic over the malign influence of Squid Game and the theoretical dangers of children wearing ‘dangerous’ fancy dress.
The Mass Panic That Came To Tea
How the throwaway comments of a single campaigner led to hysterical press reports around the world.
The Relentless Lies And Contrived Hysteria Over The Existential Threat Of Porn
We would never take people seriously if they suggested that the whole of any industry or culture was represented solely by its worst elements. So why do we accept such blanket criticisms of adult entertainment?
The BBFC’s Lust For Power Has No Limits
The latest self-serving study by the BBFC is another exercise in manipulation and nudge-policy towards having everything we see under their control.
The Video Nasties Documentaries
A selection of predictably hysterical and ill-informed British TV documentaries and discussion shows from the height of the Video Nasty moral panic.