Cartoon characters and pornography
Last week, I drafted an article on a NSW Supreme Court decision, finding a man guilty of possessing child pornography, in the form of a cartoon depicting various members of the Simpsons family in sexual acts. But I didn’t publish it. I censored myself, because frankly in the current climate, where a man in Queensland is being investigated by what is in effect the child sex offences for what appears to be nothing more than uploading a video that depicts what may be considered child abuse (a child being swirled around rather roughly) to a video sharing site, who knows what will or won’t get you in hot water, or worse. The fact that the video had appeared on Television in the US, and viewed by millions around the world. Even viewing it in Australia may be an offence.
So, rather than putting my thoughts here, I’ll link to an article by the esteemed US journalist William Saletan, at Slate, and his thoughts on the specific situation here. I hope linking to it is not some kind if offence.