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T.V. decency going down the tubes?

SFG75

SFG75

Well-Known Member
Interesting editorial in the Washington Post. I'm not a prude by any means, but there have been times during the evening where I've heard off-color comments and jokes and thought that it was perhaps "pushing it" in regards to little ones being around. Any thoughts?

From the article:

For starters, the fundamental problem with broadcast television isn't the occasional outburst of indecency during the hours between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when the indecency rules apply. It's the constant avalanche of the inappropriate -- from talk shows to reality TV to prime-time dramas.

A Kaiser Family Foundation study last year found that 77 percent of prime-time shows contained sexual content, up from 67 percent in 1998. More than one in 10 shows overall featured "scenes in which sexual intercourse is either depicted or strongly implied." Anyone who complacently relies on indecency rules to shield his or her children is committing parental malpractice.

Moreover, the quest to define indecency inevitably devolves into the ludicrously subjective. A few months back, the solons of the Federal Communications Commission found that a term for bovine excrement is "so grossly offensive" as to be "presumptively profane."
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I'm not familiar with the US media, in print or on screen. Is the Washington Post a conservative paper?

A Kaiser Family Foundation study last year found that 77 percent of prime-time shows contained sexual content
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This is meaningless unless they say what 'sexual content' means. From the subsequent sentence, it could include two people kissing and the screen fading to black and then them waking up together the next morning. That's not what I define as sexual content.

And I don't think children need to be protected from all references to sexuality anyway. Violence, yes; bigotry and prejudice, yes; lowest-common-denominator stupidity on reality TV, yes; breasts, no.
 
Motokid;
Who decides what's decent, and what is not?
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The viewer? If I don't like something, I switch off the box and pick up a book instead.;)
If 'indecency' is increasing, it simply means that people want to see it.

Shade:
lowest-common-denominator stupidity on reality TV, yes; breasts, no.
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Lowest common denominator stupidity can be very entertaining - I refer you to the Goodkind Quotes thread. :D
 
It all boils down to the notion that sex sells. The broadcast media will follow the cash flow. Although don't forget that wonderful quote: "There are lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics."
 
Gem said:
Stewart

Lowest common denominator stupidity + Breasts = Big Brother:p
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And that's the thing. What is wrong with setting some standard whereby you don't advocate the flashing of a breast at the super bowl? I mean, it's one thing to monitor your children's viewing of t.v. and as well you should. It's quite another when those in the contemporary media spring surprises on a person like that, which can't be effectively monitored. Personally, I'm thrilled the network got slapped down and I think it should happen more often.
 
Zolipara said:
Why is it horrible for a kid to see a breast for about 10 seconds?
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I don't think the complaint was about the 10 second peep show so much as the 'peep show' mentality of the event.

But there's always people who complain..just recently in Kansas there was a big ruckus over breastfeeding in public. It seems some public places, such as eating establishments, banks, and stores, had told breastfeeding moms they'd have to do that elsewhere. Having nursed a few babies in public myself, I've never had anyone tell me that..I merely had to deal with lack of comfortable space on occassion. There was one restaruant where the only spaces large enough to accomodate both my baby and myself were the bathroom, a bench in the lobby, or a chair set in the aisle. Since I don't eat in the restroom, I didn't want to feed my kid there.. and I was eating with my hubby, so I didn't want to sit alone in the foyer, I opted for the inconvienient chair in the aisle. The waiter wasn't too happy with me, but that's the breaks.
 
I think American Television offers nothing but a bunch of shite. Daytime and primetime have had raunchy content. My kid watch some TV, but not very often. I have informed them of this type of nonsense crap, and they tend to ignore it. It doesn't seem to shock them at all.
 
Isabell said:
I think American Television offers nothing but a bunch of shite. Daytime and primetime have had raunchy content. My kid watch some TV, but not very often. I have informed them of this type of nonsense crap, and they tend to ignore it. It doesn't seem to shock them at all.
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I agree Isabell, there is nothing out there. And I have to commend you on pre-arming your kids. The best offense is a good defense. :)
 
I haven't watched TV in a while, so I wouldn't know if there was some sort of sexual content increase.

But honestly, if there is, then it's the parents job to monitor their kids and what they are watching. And if the parent doesn't want to watch a show featuring sexual content, then just turn it off. It's that simple.
 
Being a teenager still, I wouldn't know if there's been an increase in sexual content. But I am a strong believer that it is the parent's job to monitor television. If there is a show the parents believe is inappropriate, they should make sure the kids don't see that show.

Honestly, I think people make too big of a deal out of how much sexual content is on TV. I mean, in Japan, there's tons of sex on TV, and they have lower crime rates than us and everything. Clearly, we don't want small children watching sex scenes. As for the other sexual content...well, as my mother once put it, if a kid is old enough to get the dirty jokes, they are old enough to hear the dirty jokes.

And furthermore, if a parent wants their child to be able to watch television without restrictions and still have morals, why don't the parents tell them, "It's okay to watch this, but this is not the way we believe we should behave, because (insert explanation here)." This is my same stance on books and video games and movies. Are my parents the only ones who did this? I watch a lot of movies that are extraordinarily violent and have sexual content, yet I have properly managed to be a non-violent and sexually abstinent person, because my parents reminded me constantly as a child that it was all pretend and I was not to act in such a way. Clearly something is working here.

I think what's on TV is fine. As someone else said, if I don't like it, I don't watch it. I turn something else on, or I turn the TV off and do something else.
 
More T*ssers on tv.

Anybody going to be in London on the 5th August? Want to participate in THIS?

Is this going too far?(or is that a stupid question?)
 
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