Government Banning Vulgar
What should we do with the crap that is pushed upon our persons? China decided to ban the sales of horror related audio and video products.
Although I would agree that there is a lot of vulgar media out there that provides no benefit to ones life other than to subject us to violence, cruelty and terror. The solution can not be a government ban.
When a government body decides what it means to be vulgar the community pays the consequence. It encourages the populace not to think for themselves since they can appeal to a higher authority regardless of whether that authority is right or wrong. Instead they should be encouraged to think about not only the choice but what value that choice brings and what costs.
Not all horror lacks value so a governmental ban could exclude valuable content. There are many examples of horror that still has a value beyond the simple purpose of causing an adrenalin high. Take for example the cautionary tales of Event Horizon and The Trial (Der Prozess) by Franz Kafka.
On the plus side, the Chinese government unlike the American religious right realized that the Harry Potter series did provide a value to the children and it helped to inspire imagination and creativity. Thus they are not banning it. This being said though that doesn't mean that Harry Potter could not end up back on the ban list at a latter date. This is a problem that government regulation of this types face. Items getting banned not because of it's actual content but because of other political reasons.
Telling someone that they can not have something creates a desire to have it. Those in the populace who would normally recognize the lack of value in the vulgar content would be tempted to consume it just to see what the big deal is all about. Banning the content would increase demand.
Than there is the risk of driving the producers and consumers of this media underground. This would destroy any discourse where members of the populace would normally openly discuss the value or lack of value and the cost that the particular media has.
Banning content is not a means of getting rid of it. I think of the failed American experiment on prohibition and the war on drugs. The real solution would be to address the reason for the demand.