Folk Devils and Moral Panics in Malaysian Context

------------------------------------------------- Discuss the notion of ‘moral panics’. Illustrate your discussions with examples of ‘folk devils,’ and incorporating concepts such as ‘the deviancy amplification spiral’ and the need for law and order. ------------------------------------------------- In one if his countless speeches, Adolf Hitler once said, â€Å"If we do not take steps to preserve the purity of blood, the Jew will destroy civilisation by poisoning us all.† Societies all around the world have been under the ‘attack’ of the moral panics countless of times in history. Moral panics, a term used to describe a state of panic in a society due to the occurrence of a certain event, fearing that the values uphold in the society are†¦show more content†¦News had spread that the recruitments of this cult, which are typically targeted at youths, have been taken place at places such as shopping malls. Stories that include the involvement of people in music scenes being labelled as deviants have gone way back since the 1920s. Jazz was once perceived as providing ‘fuel for racial fears’ and was considered as a threat to the society. More often than not, music is often perceived as the prime cause of â€Å"corruption† of audience’s minds because it has the ability to â€Å"hypnotize† its listeners or audiences, while ‘destabilizing youth, transporting them out of their senses into ‘zombie-like’ states,’ (Shepherd, 2003). Shepherd (2003) has also noted that the media plays a big role in â€Å"pouring† fuel in creating moral panic. This issue had been made as headlines during the controversial period. Exaggeration and unconfirmed rumours had been taken as evidence of the existence of the ritual activities. The media had perhaps exaggerated certain facts such as the actual number of people that were involved in the activ ities and the nature of violence that the members of the black metal culture had committed. More often than not, the total amount of damage inflicted in the society as a whole are exaggerated