entry 2

I came across an interesting article titled "Manga Collection Ruled 'Child Pornography' by US Court." This case is interesting because it draws on the conflict between free speech and protecting children. The article tells of a man who was found to have manga depicting minors in sexual acts. The manga were found because customs officials seized it (article doesn't say why it was seized). The author of the article also wonders how the court decides whether a drawn, fictional character is a minor or not. The man who had the manga plead guilty because his lawyer didn't think the jury would acquit him. The Protection Law of 2003 relies on the local community standards of what is "obscene." The lawyer thought that a jury from Southern Iowa would find the pictures obscene.
The intent behind anti-child pornography laws is to protect children from performing the sex acts depicted. In manga, as far as I am aware, the artist does not use live models.
I am no expert on manga, but I know that there are various subject matters covered. There are manga for children and for adults. Some are quite tame, while others have a variety of explicit material.
I personally do not have any interest in sexually explicit manga. I do not, however, feel that it should be treated as illegal child pornography. I have not viewed such manga, but if it is as explicit as pornography, then it can be regulated as such. Children will not be harmed because they cannot buy it and they will not be involved in the making of the manga.
The man from this article faces up to 15 years in prison. The laws need to be more clear on definitions of pornography and child pornography. There is no reason for this man to be sent to prison for 15 years because of possession of manga. Also, his fate is up to a jury in Southern Iowa. If this man was on trial in a different part of the US it might be different. This all seems so arbitrary! He should be free or know that he is not and face the consequences.

http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1287BB78196075C0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0ED5223F5C1C57DF

entry 1

This week’s readings about intellectual freedom have made me think more about parents’ rights and children’s rights as well as parental responsibility. PABBIS brings up some good issues when it states that it is difficult to be informed about every piece of information that a child will be exposed to. PABBIS does a good job with their section with excerpts from commonly challenged books. A parent might find that helpful. I would hope that the parent would also find out why the book was being used in the classroom, or why it was included on a reading list, or why it was on the library shelf. I also find it important for parents to protect their own child and not assume that all parents feel the same way. Unfortunately, not all parents are involved with their children’s reading and viewing habits. In that case, it is important that children are taught how to make good decisions on their own. I’m not a parent or an educator, but I see evidence of these issues at my job at a video store. There are families that come in together and choose movies and video games that meet the approval of the parent. Other times, children come in alone and choose for themselves. In these cases, I sometimes have to make a judgment calls. Some parents state on their membership files what ratings their children are allowed to rent. Other times, I call the parent to get their permission. (It is store policy to make sure parents approve rated-R movies and rated-M video games.) Most children know what their parents will say. I’ve only occasionally had a parent not give permission. I can relate to librarians who err on the cautious side. I have seen a parent get irate and cause a scene in the store because her teenager rented a rated-R movie. In this case, I would think the parent should be more concerned with the child’s judgment. It would be an opportunity to discuss why the movie was or was not appropriate for the child. In most cases, movie ratings are not law. Again, it is up to the parent to protect their children and educate them about decision-making. Librarians can protect themselves the most by having written policies in place and following guidlines such as those found in part 5 of the Intellectual Freedom Manual.

References

American Library Association, & NetLibrary, Inc. (2006). Intellectual freedom manual. Chicago: American Library Association. www.mpaa.org/FilmRatings.asp

www.pabbis.com

www.pabbis.com/listoflistsintro.html