The rules governing television in my home are straightforward and simple. If you are a child, you are restricted to watching cartoons. You need permission if you want to watch any PG-7 movies that are not animated. Homework must be completed first and the television then must go off at
I followed these rules most of my life. Of course, there were times when I landed on MTV or a movie channel when my parents weren’t around. Cartoons and shows such as The Simpsons, Bugs Bunny, and Full House were considered entertaining and sometimes educational. Reality TV,
As a young adult, I have to agree with most of the restrictions my parents have set on television. In Family Guy, the one year old baby is constantly trying to kill his mother and uses profanity and weapons. The sexual topics make me wonder why Cartoon Network, a program channel for young children, let Adult Swim on there in the first place. Were ratings and profit more important than the influence young children might be receiving?
I believe shows like Family Guy have people worrying about different things in relation to television. Is it really necessary to have such profanity and explicit content in television shows? There may be TV ratings implemented but not every parent can hover over the television. With busy lives, parents worry that their kids can easily change channels and be exposed to information they shouldn’t.
People worry that children will be influenced by the violence from the TV and feel pressured to be as cool as the characters they see. Parents worry their teens will be pressured to engage in sexual behavior and would want to look like the characters they see in order to “fit in” at school. Others worry a majority of people have given up their active lifestyles and watch TV most of the time. In the end, this brings an overall concern to the impact of TV on our people.
In the coming years, I believe the worries of influence and impact will only grow stronger. With new television shows like Gossip Girl and 90210…and with unsupervised children staying up late night watching Family Guy and Robot Chicken, I honestly don’t think this issue will go away any time soon. My friends argue these shows expose the truth in our society, but I believe it just creates damage to the minds of innocent people.
I haven't watched much television since high school. My decision had nothing to do with edicts from my parents, though. On the advice of a high school English teacher (boy, they're the worst)I read a book called Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television by Jerry Mander. Much of the technical information is now outdated, but it is still a fascinating read.
ReplyDeleteI actually think that shows like Family Guy and South Park are very crude forms of parody and satire. True satire (Huck Finn) is far more nuanced, thus more effective. The reason these shows (even The Simpsons, which I really like) don't work is that the viewer does not ponder the social issues that are raised in the episode. The issue disappears from the mind once the t.v. is turned off.