Quote Originally Posted by fire_of_avalon View Post
RE: Janet Jackson

The uproar over the wardrobe malfunction was never about her breast being there. It was the fact that her breast was exposed on live TV with millions of people (and kids) watching, and that people who would normally censor images like that from themselves and their families were subjected to it. That's why it was a big deal - not because Americans don't like boobies.

Otherwise I kinda agree with Spuuky on why sex is seen as "worse" than violence. Most people see violent images like that and it's immediately filed away as fantasy. Images of sex are more complicated and can give people silly expectations or aspirations. I don't think it should be removed or that it's bad, I just think that more people should realize sex isn't really the way you see it in films - it IS the way you see it in hardcore porn. Gross and hairy and squishy and wears way, way too much make up.

You'll find that most news organizations take great pains to shield their audiences from undue violence - most of the violence you see in the news is either the result of a live action broadcast or editing mishap or it's intentionally placed to convey the reality of a certain situation (footage of post-bomb Sarajevo comes to mind.)
Something to keep in mind though regarding the news outlets is the presence of gore is more likely and acceptable the further it is from the viewers. While the "breakfast test" still applies in many cases, news organizations as a whole, at least American ones, at any rate, are more likely to show a more gruesome scene if it happened off American soil.

For example, there were some truly horrific images to come out of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Americans did not see most of them, like the bodies of the people who jumped to their deaths instead of staying in the building as it collapsed. However, we do often see the aftermath of bombings in Iraq. How close it is to home has a major effect on what we do and do not see.