The
“Family Hour”
the good, the bad and the ugly
Once upon a time, watching TV together as a family was fun. Parents
trusted networks to hold adult-teme programs after young viewers are
asleep. Now, even the cartoons lend themselves to violence and
disrespect. Now, with the remote-in-hand, we patrol the TV like
soldiers.
I am fed-up with programs based on
low-level lifestyles. Where have all the creative writers gone?
Mysteries are compelling to watch, but consider the ubiquitous 8:00
o’clock PM crime shows with images of maggot-infested corpses.
Consider Family Guy’s themes of incest, bestiality, rape and
repulsive sex jokes.
Parents must monitor every single
program on TV. Many popular shows like SpongeBob depict
sexual undertones to young fans, knowing children “soak up”
animation. South Park pushes profanity and pedophilia – awful
assaults on innocent children! What’s good about that?
Hero
material?
(photo taken from
http://www.startribune.com/535/story/1030783.html)
Where’s the TV-free space where families can roam the airwaves
without one ear plugged and one eyes closed? Parents have the right
to keep their children innocent and untouched by despicable images
and vile language. The opposition shouts, “Block it! Control your
kid.” Since when are parents isolated in the effort to create a
healthy culture? Furthermore, why pay for what we must block?
The American public is disgusted. In a March 2007 Zogby Poll, 79% of
respondents agreed: too much sex, violence and coarse language on
television. We celebrate Hollywood’s writer’s strike. Will doors
open for new talent or more trends-of-terrible?
The Parents Television Council
recently provided an in-depth analysis of Family Hour programming,
providing evidence of 2246 instances of violent, profane and sexual
content in 180 hours of programming (12.48 instances per television
hour). Airing in the Family Hour, more than ¾ of all the programs
(76.4%) use foul language -- 4.53 per hour. Well over half of all
programs (54.8%) contained sexual content -- 3.76 incidents per
hour. Nearly all programs (46.2%) contained violent content. So. Why
be surprised about the vulgarity and violence on the street, at work
and home? What we plant today grows into tomorrow.
Real bad news: some parents are
silent, sleeping or submissive to their children. That doesn’t build
character or hope. It’s easy
to push indecency but difficult to confront and eliminate.
No pressure is put on local broadcast affiliates; no pressure on
cable companies or broadcasters who annually agree to upgrade absurd
disorder each season; no pressure on city council to uphold high
community standards when granting broadcaster’s licenses. If we get
swept into consumerism, no pressure on advertisers that we’re not
“buying it.” It’s your turn to participate.
Taxpayers own the airwave. We’re
not caught between the “ropes” in this wrestling match unless we
remain inactive while forking-over our paychecks to the “anything
goes” monopolies.
Opponents of grassroots
organizations like the Parents Television Council, accuse parents of
making an “unnecessary fuss.” Now, sides are drawn, and that's a
poor result of "entertainment" programs.
Having to speak against “entertainment” paints a sad picture. It
teaches children that leaders aren’t interested in their safety. I
spend a lot of time talking to parents concerned with protecting
their children from exposure to the bad and ugly on all
screens-of-entertainment. To avoid introducing low moral standards,
they unplug the TV.
That can’t be good news for advertisers. But. Its good news for the
family – more laughter and memory-building events together – like
discovering mud puddles, cocoons and pianos.
Why let the bad and ugly out rank the good? Visit Parents
Television Council (wwwparentstv.org) to view the trends-of-trouble
and what you can do to trim it.
