The thesis on moral philosophy is the angle line that says absolutely that there is no just truth; it is only based on the moral context from where it is got.
The presumption is that an individual considering he/she is right is likely to be proved otherwise by somebody else or a society (Rachels 8). Thus, to understand different cultures, there is a need to know that one community’s beliefs and practices are not usually the same as the other community.
Despite the fact that cultural relativism seems the most applicable approach to be undertaken for communicational purposes, as well as the means to shape the world media and entertainment sphere in the light of the current globalization process and the continuous cultural fusion, it cannot be doubted that general norms, as well as the tendencies of preserving national and cultural specifics, must persist, which means that Kantian Virtue ethics should also be taken into consideration when introducing moral principles into the sphere of entertainment.
To approve these statements, we base our argument on ‘satisfactory moral theory’ of Rachel’s book ‘elements of moral philosophy.
Cultural values differ from one society to another and therefore whatever is considered right in one society may not be like so in another simply because of these differences.
The differences are reflected in people’s perception of political lexis, dietary, human rights and issues relating to life and death. These different perceptions make one society different from another and for their coexistence, there is a need to accept the cultures as they are.
It is true to say that there is no laid down standard that can be used to evaluate a society’s moral code compared to another one. This is because the moral code in any particular society is just but one among the many in the world.
Therefore, judging the moral conducts of an individual or a society is unfair; one has to accept and endure to the life out of other cultures. This will reduce any conflicts that may arise among different societies as they will accept one another regardless of their different customs or norms.
The moral codes in any society are so much fixed in the people’s minds such that to admit change takes quite some time. This will mean changing what they had known from when they were children up to the current time when they are adults.
To change the mindset of such a person will need a lot of persuasion on the part of the one who wants to bring the change and also the party should be willing to accept. Thus changing one’s way of life or culture is the most difficult thing (Rivers and Summers 53).
Cultures may be different but if we are to live peaceably with one another. We have to be ready to agree to disagree with other cultures. African moral norms are still existent in African cultures. Most of the African norms are good, and they have been very profitable to society.
This had kept the Africans peaceful and ordered their ways of life until when westernization crept in.
Resistance is always inevitable whether a change is introduced. Moral reformers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi among others were proved wrong to move against the existing moral codes. This made them face a lot of oppression. It was a way of life for a long period.
The society made up of predominantly white people saw it right to treat them this way. In this respect, it was morally right. However, in the true sense, this was an injustice committed against fellow human beings.
Some cultural practices may not be tolerated in another society but accepted in another.
Understanding such ways by different societies and their moral standing will provide coherence and peaceful coexistence with one another and where there is a need for change it will take place (Fordyce 23).
It should also be mentioned that the theory of ethical relativism has its flaws.
While it is necessary that the censorship should not prevent the viewer from learning about different media and different viewpoints, at the same time keeping the politically incorrect and harmful content away from the viewers, the cultural context must be brought up.
What is offensive in one culture can be considered completely harmless in another one; therefore, it must be admitted that a more elaborate approach must be undertaken towards filtering modern media.
For example, it will be required to get rid of the content that is considered unacceptable in all cultures, like the images of violence, terrorism, child pornography, etc.
For example, while the scenes of terrorism are to be banned from media and entertainment, the political and social satire associated with such issues as terrorism should not be censored, since satire helps define the boundaries between moral and immoral without promoting the latter.
Therefore, it is clear that the ethics of the modern media and entertainment should be based on the postulates of social relativism; i.e., as long as the messages in the media do not harm anyone, they should be allowed to be broadcasted.
When dealing with the issue of morals in the sphere of entertainment, it is crucial to check how the accepted moral standards are translated into the realm of media.
Considering the example of certain TV shows and elements of the entertainment industry will be rather reasonable, given the controversy of some of the modern ones. Speaking of my personal preferences, I must admit that TV shows are typically not among them, as well as video games.
However, sometimes I watch the show called Chopped, which offers rather decent food for thoughts concerning ethics in modern media. The same can be said about the shows produced by Chef Ramsey.
While both of these elements of modern entertainment industry concern the same issue, i.e., cooking, each uses a different means of attracting its target audience, which creates different environments for the laws of the TV ethics to be applied in.
For instance, in Chopped, the emphasis is on the competition, while everything with Chef Ramsey in it is based on his knowledge of the issue and his critique of the skills in other participants.
Since the critique in the latter often transcends the professional skills of the participants and becomes rather personal, the ethical correctness of the given show can be easily questioned.
Two other my favorite shows, Family Guy and Allen, the episode of the Adult Swim animated TV series, feature very risky humor that borders political incorrectness.
I would be quite disappointed if the given shows were taken off the air, but I also have to admit that they can easily be considered offensive by the people whom the humor in these series targets at.
The media has come with different moral codes due to the different societies the media is coming from. This may be the soap operas showing the way relationships are, which is different from the society watching it.
Some people in the society may adopt the practices in the foreign media and others would choose to criticizes or just leave it at that. Hence, for there to be cohesion among different cultures, we need to find out how to coexist with another.
Works Cited
Fordyce, David. The Elements of Moral Philosophy in Three books. I. Of Man and His Connexions…. 3. Of Practical Ethics… By the Late Rev. Mr. David Fordyce…. The 4th Ed. London: Printed for J. Dodsley, 1769. Print.
Rachels, James. The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1986. Print.
Rivers, Richard H., and Thomas O. Summers. Elements of Moral Philosophy. Nashville, Tenn.: Southern Methodist Pub. House, 1861. Print.