Folk Devils and Moral Panic

Stan Cohen:

• Cohen’s Folk Devils and Moral Panics outlines the relationship between media, police and acts of deviance

• Highly influential in looking at the relationship between media, crime and the representation of different social groups

Mods and Rockers:

• Cohen examined youth subcultures in the 1960s and clashes at seaside resorts in the UK

• ‘Mods’ and ‘Rockers’ clashed and the media reacted to this by creating these subcultures

• Cohen followed the proceeding from beaches to the courts using a variety of methods

Moral Panics:

• Cohen found that the reality of what happened was different from that which was reported

• Media created a moral panic- suggesting actions of young people were damaging to society’s morality

• They were one of several agencies to take on the role of moral entrepreneur- enforcing their morality onto others in society as part of a moral crusade

Folk Devils:

• As a by-product of creating moral panics, the media and other agencies also created folk devils

• These were oversimplified and ill-informed generalisations of individuals involved in deviant behaviour

• Mods and rockers became folk devils and this elicited a reaction from the authorities

Deviancy Amplification:

• After first reporting of events, Cohen noticed harsher policing against those deemed ‘Folk devils’

• Government and police clampdowns increased the criminality of actions, while media reporting increased the number of young people involved

• This led to deviancy amplification, and more crime as a result of reporting

Further applications:

• Rave culture in the late 1980s

• Terrorism

• Xenophobia and the rise of nationalism

• Knife crime in the UK

• Welfare dependency

• Urban Music

Evaluations:

• McRobbie and Thornton (1995)- moral panics have diminished due to the diversity of media

• Some youth subcultures have become mainstream (e.g. race culture, grime) which diminishes the impact of moral panics

• Elements of Cohen’s work that can be seen in contemporary issues- from reaction to Covid (Covidiots) and Black Lives Matter