Nuance missing in sex, violence warnings

By Ruth Ritchie
Updated November 22 2014 - 1:13am, first published 12:37am
Enter the macabre: Angela Bassett in <i>American Horror Story: Freak Show</i>.
Enter the macabre: Angela Bassett in <i>American Horror Story: Freak Show</i>.
Enter the macabre: Angela Bassett in <i>American Horror Story: Freak Show</i>.
Enter the macabre: Angela Bassett in <i>American Horror Story: Freak Show</i>.
Enter the macabre: Angela Bassett in <i>American Horror Story: Freak Show</i>.
Enter the macabre: Angela Bassett in <i>American Horror Story: Freak Show</i>.
Enter the macabre: Angela Bassett in <i>American Horror Story: Freak Show</i>.
Enter the macabre: Angela Bassett in <i>American Horror Story: Freak Show</i>.

The National Classifications Code of violence, sexual references, drugs and nudity that prefaces every show but Spongebob (which actually features occasional starfish nudity) may not have much impact on viewers' decisions about the suitability of content. These classifications lack nuance, a factor that is largely unimportant if nobody is reading them anyway. The notifications are as perfunctory as the terms and conditions we universally ignore before submitting to "AGREE" on any software update.