Blurred Lines: When Does Artistic Expression Become Obscene
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 11
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 15
Sakshi Mishra, Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science affiliated with National Forensic Science University
ABSTRACT
Something that might be the most beautiful creation, a masterpiece for someone might be hideous and immoral for someone else—a very subjective outlook, one must say. This article discusses the significant boundary between obscenity and artistic expression which is very much there yet stands undescribed in the current society. It examines the subjective perspectives surrounding obscenity, its evolution, and how the legal systems defined and regulated content to deem it as obscene or art. Historical analysis divulge on how ancient civilizations respected, or rather celebrated art in all its forms, even in the most sexually explicit ones. Yet as the time went on we can see that this attitude was influenced by religion and the ideas of morality and purity, imposing stricter norms. This article also discusses the legal frameworks and tests and how courts in India and other jurisdictions have evolved and defined obscenity while considering the social standards. Discussions regarding the influence of societal norms in judgments are also made. In the age of AI generated media, questions regarding authorship, intention and accountability while considering problems such as algorithm based censorship makes this topic even more complicated.
This article aims to talk about the need of legal clarity and objective outlook on obscenity and to clearly distinguish between artistic freedom and indecent and offensive content. Art is something that can push the society’s boundaries and shape it to make it more inclusive. This article focuses on doctrinal research taking a more qualitative and analytical approach to explore the themes of artistic freedom and obscenity, and how they are defined in the legal context. It examines important legal models used to define obscenity and what crosses the line to become obscene in different jurisdictions like Hicklin Test, Miller Test and Community Standard Test while also focusing on the problems posed by these models. It also compares how these laws are applied in different jurisdictions and how their frameworks differ from each other. This discussion also consist of case laws and the definitions given by the courts to define certain terms. This article does not include any interview or survey and is purely written with the help of analyzing the existing materials.
