Editorial: Offended? Then use the remote

Opinion

During the discussion of cartoons that Muslims found offensive, many Christians wondered whether the same sensitivity would be extended to Christianity. Sooner rather than later, a possibly comparable issue has come along. A cartoon show, South Park, which screens on the television channel C4, has an episode tonight called "Bloody Mary" which shows blood coming from a statue of the mother of Christ.

The blood is taken to be a miracle until a character representing Pope Benedict proclaims it to be simply menstruation. At that, the bleeding becomes spurting. The item is plainly ridicule at Roman Catholic belief in one or two sacred relics that are said to bleed at certain times. Is it offensive?

New Zealand's Catholic bishops believe so. In a letter read at Catholic services last Sunday the bishops describe the item as ugly and tasteless and demeaning not only of the Virgin Mary but of women in general. They urged their congregation to respond to the insult by boycotting the channels operated by CanWest - TV3 and C4 - and the products advertised on them.

The programmers do not dispute that it is offensive. Rick Friesen, chief operating officer of CanWest's subsidiary TV Works, said: "We absolutely expect there are segments of society that would be offended by the programme."

That, in fact, was the reason he was running it. It was "edgy", he said. "C4 viewers expect an edgier channel ..."

Like the media editors who decided to run the Danish cartoons, Mr Friesen casts the issue as one of press freedom. It is not; nobody in this country will stop him running material offensive to some Christians if he wants to. It is entirely his decision, just as every editor in this country was free to run the cartoons they knew to be offensive to Muslims. If every decision on offensive matter was treated as an issue of press freedom, there would be no decision to make; the only option would be to publish every time.

Mr Friesen has decided to offend a certain religious group because by doing so he hopes to appeal to an audience for "edgy" material. That is his right, but it does not leave him immune to criticism or protect CanWest's channels from the kind of lawful retaliation the Catholic bishops have suggested. That is the bishops' right, too, though they ought to wonder whether the attention they are giving C4 will be worth more than any revenue it might lose.

Decisions of taste cannot be divorced from the context of the material, the purpose of its publication and the character of the media outlet. We know little of the context of the "Bloody Mary" item which CanWest has provocatively, and opportunistically, decided to screen tonight. The bishops' letter does not suggest they have viewed the episode either. Conceivably it could be an attempted parody of stigmatic miracles; unlikely, though, given South Park's wanton, shock iconoclasm. While cleverness can mitigate offensiveness because it suggests the creators have a better purpose, a bare description of the item makes it difficult to ascribe a mitigating value to it.

And neither we nor the offended Catholics were ever likely to watch it. It is one thing to be offended by an image put in a newspaper or on a television channel with a mass audience, but less clear-cut when the item is intended for a niche publication or channel where it will be in character, however unappealing that might be, and not offensive to much of its regular audience.

Christianity remains the most prominent religion in this society and, as such, it probably can expect more satire than most. Satire is one thing. Gratuitous offence is altogether different. CanWest is free to make its choice. Catholics can choose, too: to take offence, change the channel and not change back.