Moral Panic Definition Essay

Deborah Cameron is a linguist whose focus research is on what people’s attitudes are towards language. She writes a long definition on moral panic in Verbal Hygiene explaining how the media and general public exaggerate concerns beyond reason. Cameron reports that Jock Young describes moral panic as the public’s reaction that is â€Å"completely disproportionate to the actual problem.† Cameron explains that the causes of moral panic are analyzed in a simplistic manner, but the concern to the problem escalates to intolerable levels. She uses the term â€Å"folk devil† as an example of how they are identified in gang related violence and is a scape goat to the exaggerated issues reported by the media. Cameron also states from what scholars have suggested â€Å"that moral panic†¦is a product of modern mass media†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , if there is media attention the event will turn into an issue. However, if the media does not give attention, then the event wil l go unnoticed. In â€Å"American Werewolf in Kabul†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sean Brayton, a Ph.D student researching the specifics of critical race theory and media studies, analyzes the concept of moral panic as being an important cause of the potential threat of national security to the United States of America. He illustrates the three main elements of moral panic: folk devils, ambiguous terms, and moral entrepreneurs using the reality of John Walker Lindh’s journey through multiple identities. Comparing Cameron’s definition of moral panic to Brayton’s discussion of moral panic, which originated from Cohen’s developed description of the context in 1972, there is agreement that media overemphasize concerns beyond practicality. Both Cameron and Brayton use the term â€Å"folk devils† to represent a subgroup of individuals that is a leading cause of moral panic, yet with different purposes. Cameron suggests that the term â€Å"folk devil† is usually branded to social minorities that bear the burden enmity and blame by the socially ideal majority, whereas Brayton expands Cohen’s understanding of the term as a threat to the moral constitution of society on the whole. Although their research areas are not of a similar context, they both relate their writing to a â€Å"cultural history† in an era of media induced politics. As the previous paragraphs mentioned, the term â€Å"moral panic† is applied in both Cameron and Brayton’s writing, which Cameron realizes the crucial influence to expanded reports, while Brayton blames that those reports magnify the guilty to the individuals who commit. According to Brayton, three essential elements can be found in the concept moral panic: folk devils, moral entrepreneur, and ambiguous terms. Those elements are perfectly applied to a real life example during WWII, most of the innocent Japanese-Americans (devil folks) were forced to move into the internment camp by the U.S.A. Government (moral entrepreneur) after American military base in Pearl Harbour was destroyed by Japanese army. The U.S.A. Government treated the Japanese-Americans unfairly, as national enemies, traitors, or spies for the ir homeland (defined terms). Cameron is a linguist and uses moral panic theory to explain why negative attitudes arose toward youth literacy in 1980 – 1990’s England. Brayton looks at moral panic theory from the perspective of cultural politics and how moral panic was used post – 9/11 to preserve American ideals and create separation from conflicting cultural values. In both cases, Cameron and Brayton use moral panic theory to understand a culture’s reaction to some social problem exaggerated by the media. Moral panic theory provides researchers with a method of analyzing a situation resulting from a moral panic. Moral panic is, as Cameron describes, a problem â€Å"†¦discussed in an obsessive, moralistic and alarmist manner†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The theory may also be a useful model for researchers dealing with the study of human behavior or culture, such as cultural history, social theory, criminology, and anthropology. In particular, it could be useful in studying the effects of med ia on culture.