The PTC is a special interest group that wants to "clean" up television because they claim that violent or sexually tantalizing material is dangerous to society. T.V. is to blame for teen pregnancy, AIDS, abortion, teen violence, teen sex, and so on. But when pressed the PTC can't give you one study of how T.V. causes any harm to society as a whole. Usually the recourse to this is that the PTC uses the "children excuse". "Oh, what about the children, they shouldn't be exposed to such sexual themes and being exposed to those themes harms children." Once again, when pressed the PTC cannot offer any peer reviewed studies on how sexuality on T.V. harms children.
Why won't the PTC just change the channel, turn off the t.v., use the V-chip (which is in all televisions now), use a cable lock box and so forth? It's because they want everyone to submit to live in their very own mickey mouse imaginary fluff world where teens don't have sex and there are no gay people. This leads us to the real issue, if society really had a problem with programing on t.v., why is the Janet Jackson nipple "slip" the most TiVo'd clip ever? It's not just the immoral majority that wants to see this stuff, it's the very crusaders who want to take this viewing freedom away from you. The marketplace has spoken, they want to see shows with sexual and violent themes. And these themes may actually end up being toned down to become more realistic if groups like the PTC weren't trying to censor television. One extreme begets another.
I know, the PTC says it's not out to censor t.v., it's only here to warn you the consumer of what is family appropriate. But according to this news article, that's not what they really want to do:
The Parents Television Council is filing an indecency complaint with the FCC and urging its members and "concerned citizens" to do the same after a three-minute strip club scene featuring a lap dance aired on CBS's Two and a Half Men.
The episode at issue aired on Monday, Oct. 20, at 9 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones/8 p.m. in the Central and Mountain time zones.
PTC said the strip club scene featured the main character attempting to have a conversation with his nephew's former teacher turned stripper while she gives his brother a private lap dance. The stripper grinds on his brother's lap eliciting moans and cries of "yes, yes, yes" before the scene ends.
"We believe that the patently offensive sexual content in this episode of Two and a Half Men crossed the broadcast indecency line," said PTC President Tim Winter. "Rather than airing the program after 10 p.m., and rather than assigning a content rating that accurately reflects the material contained within the episode, CBS chose to air it when millions of children were in the television viewing audience, and they deemed the material to be suitable for 14-year-olds."
PTC said the length of the scene made it "in no way ‘fleeting' or accidental; rather, it was specifically written into this scripted program."
"In addition to our indecency complaint," Winter added, "we are urging parents to contact the FCC to let them know enough is enough from CBS. We will also be contacting advertisers that appeared in the episode to ensure they are aware of exactly what type of content they chose to associate with their hard-earned corporate brands."
(Source: http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/10/22/daily.7/)
The PTC doesn't think that you have the power to decide what you can and cannot watch. They don't think that you can be a parent to your child and so they need to make t.v. conform to their moral standards. Sexual and violent themes on t.v. give you a chance to communicate with your children about sex and violence. The PTC wants you and everyone else to live in a world where parents feel comfortable instead of a world where children and parents have lines of open communication about taboo subjects such as sex.
And finally, Dr. Marty Klein makes a great point in his book, "America's War on Sex":
"And there is one more point to be made about the alleged harm of sexual imagery on radio and television. Western Europe has been running the experiment America refuses to, for decades. Western European radio and television feature words, themes, and pictures (including nudity) that are prohibited to American audiences and broadcasters. According to the predictions of America's moral crusaders, Europe should therefore be a cesspool of sexual perversion. But it's the opposite. (see table below)
It's what parents are always telling their eight-year olds: "I know you're afraid, but that doesn't mean there is something to be afraid of."
Teen birth and abortion rates, by country
Nation/Teen Birth rates/Teen abortion rates (per 1000 women ages 15-19)
United States / 48.7 / 27.5
Netherlands / 4.5 /4.2
Germany /12.5 / 3.6
France / 10.0 / 10.2
Don't let your rights be taken away, stand up against these "moral crusaders". Decide what is right for you and your family, don't let special interest groups like the PTC decide for you.
D
No comments:
Post a Comment