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Vita duken under statlig kontroll - en rättshistorisk studie om den svenska filmcensuren under perioden 1911-2011

Johnsson, Linnéa LU (2020) LAGF03 20201
Faculty of Law
Department of Law
Abstract
This paper examines the development of the Swedish film censorship from its establishment in 1911 until 2011 when the film censorship for adults was abolished. The purpose is to show how the regulation has evolved, how the legislation has been justified and how the legislators’ view of the film censorship has changed over time. This is done by using a legal historical method. State censorship of cultural expressions is not a novelty in Swedish legal history. The Swedish government has used various means to suppress or regulate content deemed to be offensive or harmful to public welfare at least since the 17th century. When the film made its breakthrough in to the public domain in the early 1900s its harmful influence on the audience became... (More)
This paper examines the development of the Swedish film censorship from its establishment in 1911 until 2011 when the film censorship for adults was abolished. The purpose is to show how the regulation has evolved, how the legislation has been justified and how the legislators’ view of the film censorship has changed over time. This is done by using a legal historical method. State censorship of cultural expressions is not a novelty in Swedish legal history. The Swedish government has used various means to suppress or regulate content deemed to be offensive or harmful to public welfare at least since the 17th century. When the film made its breakthrough in to the public domain in the early 1900s its harmful influence on the audience became the growing concern of the public authorities. In order to control this new form of expression the censorship law was adopted in 1911, which established a national Censorship Board in charge of previewing all films that were to be shown in public. The main objective behind the law was to protect the public interest by preventing the working class and the young people in society from taking part of images that could have a brutalizing effect or were in conflict with the given customs or public law. Although the Swedish film censorship more or less constantly was the subject of intense debate, it would take the Swedish Parliament until 2011 before it decided to abolish the film censorship for adults. The essay shows how the legislation and the censorship standards developed and came to be revised as the values of society changed. An examination of the major reports on the film censorship issue, that were presented during the 20th century, shows how the legislators’ view of the film censorship has changed over time. As the institutionalized censorship grew older it changed from being seen as a vital tool for protecting public welfare to be considered as an antiquated institution with an elusive regulatory framework. Technological developments and changing media habits, as well as the stronger legal status of human rights, were contributing factors to this change. The essay shows how the rationales behind the government film censorship can be derived from an in-depth notion of the harmful effects of moving images and a strong will to protect children and young people from such harmful effects. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Den här uppsatsen undersöker den svenska filmcensurens utveckling från dess inrättande 1911 fram till 2011 då filmcensuren för vuxna avskaffades. Syftet är att visa hur regleringen av den statlig förhandsgranskning har utvecklats, hur lagstiftningen har motiverats och hur synen på filmcensuren har förändrats över tid. Detta görs med hjälp av en rättshistorisk metod. Statlig censur av kulturella uttryck är ingen nyhet i den svenska rättshistorien. Den svenska staten har använt olika former av censuringrepp för att undertrycka eller reglera innehåll som anses vara kränkande eller skadligt för den allmänna välfärden åtminstone sedan 1600-talet. När filmen fick sitt stora genombrott i början av 1900-talet fanns det hos den politiska makten en... (More)
Den här uppsatsen undersöker den svenska filmcensurens utveckling från dess inrättande 1911 fram till 2011 då filmcensuren för vuxna avskaffades. Syftet är att visa hur regleringen av den statlig förhandsgranskning har utvecklats, hur lagstiftningen har motiverats och hur synen på filmcensuren har förändrats över tid. Detta görs med hjälp av en rättshistorisk metod. Statlig censur av kulturella uttryck är ingen nyhet i den svenska rättshistorien. Den svenska staten har använt olika former av censuringrepp för att undertrycka eller reglera innehåll som anses vara kränkande eller skadligt för den allmänna välfärden åtminstone sedan 1600-talet. När filmen fick sitt stora genombrott i början av 1900-talet fanns det hos den politiska makten en växande oro över filmen och dess skadliga inflytande på publiken. För att kontrollera denna nya form av yttrande antogs biografförordningen 1911 som därmed etablerade den statliga förhandsgranskningen av film. Det främsta syftet var att skydda den allmänna välfärden och gemenskapens värdesystem genom att hindra främst arbetarklassen och de unga i samhället från att ta del av rörliga bilder som kunde ha en förråande effekt eller som stred mot goda seder eller allmän lag. Trots att den svenska filmcensuren mer eller mindre ständigt var föremål för intensiv debatt skulle det dröja fram till 2011 innan riksdagen beslutade att avskaffa filmcensuren för vuxna. Framställningen visar hur lagstiftningen utvecklades och grunderna för censuren reviderades i takt med förändrade värderingar i samhället. En undersökning av de betänkanden som har behandlat filmcensurfrågan under 1900-talet har visat hur synen på den statliga kontrollen av film har förändrats över tid. I takt med att den institutionaliserade filmcensuren blev äldre gick filmcensuren från att ses som ett viktigt verktyg för att skydda den allmänna välfärden till att betraktas som en föråldrad institution med ett otympligt regelverk. Teknisk utveckling och förändrade medievanor såväl som de mänskliga rättigheternas starkare rättsliga ställning var bidragande faktorer till denna förändring. Framställningen visar därutöver att motiven bakom den statliga filmcensuren kan härledas till en djupgående föreställning om rörliga bilders skadliga påverkan på sin publik samt en stark vilja att skydda barn och unga mot sådan skadlig påverkan. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Johnsson, Linnéa LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20201
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
rättshistoria, filmcensur, yttrandefrihet
language
Swedish
id
9010698
date added to LUP
2020-09-17 20:40:57
date last changed
2020-09-17 20:40:57
@misc{9010698,
  abstract     = {{This paper examines the development of the Swedish film censorship from its establishment in 1911 until 2011 when the film censorship for adults was abolished. The purpose is to show how the regulation has evolved, how the legislation has been justified and how the legislators’ view of the film censorship has changed over time. This is done by using a legal historical method. State censorship of cultural expressions is not a novelty in Swedish legal history. The Swedish government has used various means to suppress or regulate content deemed to be offensive or harmful to public welfare at least since the 17th century. When the film made its breakthrough in to the public domain in the early 1900s its harmful influence on the audience became the growing concern of the public authorities. In order to control this new form of expression the censorship law was adopted in 1911, which established a national Censorship Board in charge of previewing all films that were to be shown in public. The main objective behind the law was to protect the public interest by preventing the working class and the young people in society from taking part of images that could have a brutalizing effect or were in conflict with the given customs or public law. Although the Swedish film censorship more or less constantly was the subject of intense debate, it would take the Swedish Parliament until 2011 before it decided to abolish the film censorship for adults. The essay shows how the legislation and the censorship standards developed and came to be revised as the values of society changed. An examination of the major reports on the film censorship issue, that were presented during the 20th century, shows how the legislators’ view of the film censorship has changed over time. As the institutionalized censorship grew older it changed from being seen as a vital tool for protecting public welfare to be considered as an antiquated institution with an elusive regulatory framework. Technological developments and changing media habits, as well as the stronger legal status of human rights, were contributing factors to this change. The essay shows how the rationales behind the government film censorship can be derived from an in-depth notion of the harmful effects of moving images and a strong will to protect children and young people from such harmful effects.}},
  author       = {{Johnsson, Linnéa}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Vita duken under statlig kontroll - en rättshistorisk studie om den svenska filmcensuren under perioden 1911-2011}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}