I remember not so long ago that people were complaining about the content of certain television programs. So they forced the networks to implement a ratings program and television manufacturers were required to use the v-chip. At the time I theorized that this would result in television programs becoming worse then their critics could have imagined. And in some ways I think I’m right. Shows like Buffy and South Park come to mind.
So all televisions now have the ability to block out certain programs based on the ratings the networks are required to provide. (You can buy a v-chip device if you’re television was made before July 1999.) **What excuse does anyone have to complain about the level of violence, sex, or rough language one might find on television? And should we remove FCC standards of decency? **
I think they should be removed. With the v-chip and the rating system it is simple for any parent to restrict the use of the television by whatever standard they choose. So there’s no reason to crack down on any network for the content of their programs. (Uh, not counting bad writing of course.)
Marc, first, what is your objection to Buffy? (One of my favorite shows.)
I am against the rating systems for TV, movies, music, etc. I think they’re amazingly stupid.
Look. You have thousands of people who want to avoid cirtain things in entertainment, either for themselves or for their children. Their concerns vary greatly. For some, the problem is violence; for some it’s sex acts; for some it’s nudity; for some it’s gutter language. For some it’s more then one of these factors. And they’re supposed to know if a given program, movie, CD, or whatever is okay or not based on a simplistic, four-catagory rating system? Get real!
What’s needed is a free or lowcost newsletter, available on paper and on line. The newsletter would provide a brief rundown on each movie or program, addressing all of the facors listed above: sex, nudity, violence, gutter language. People who cared about avoiding any of these things, or keeping their children from being exposed to them, would consult the newsletter.
Perhaps in a decade or so I can see that being a very strong case; as it stands now there’s the whole mess of people not having the TVs with the v-chip, and not wanting to pay to have one installed when “we already have the FCC for that sort of thing.” Funyy, I thought you had your strong moral sense for that sort of thing and the FCC was just to make up for my lack of it. :rolleyes:
What would be interesting is if they implimented your idea in a different way. The v-chip is more than just a blocker/controller chip, but a decoder chip as well. Television broadcasts send a signal that normal TV audio couldn’t play, but the v-chips could decode and so you could hear all the naughties you want if you want, but the people who aren’t willing to comply won’t have to worry about it. The technology for this shouldn’t be terribly difficult to impliment if I remember my electronic communications classes well enough.
sigh Funny you should post this. I was just thinking about starting a thread about how long it would take before we hear “fuck” on regular television.
I think the MPAA’s movie rating system is almost completely worthless. Stand By Me and Friday the 13th both have the exact same rating. The television ones at least make some sense to me.
**
That’s not what I’m arguing for or against. What I’m saying is that there are currently methods in place that tell parents the contents of television programs. People who piss and moan about raunchy television can no longer complain that their children might have access to it.
Well, it seems that the FCC standards of decency were created so that a rating system wouldn’t be needed. And it seems that the rating system (combined with the all-powerful V-Chip) makes the old rating system obsolete.
So, yes, I believe that one or the other should be removed… otherwise, it’s just unnecessary overkill. Like making five different laws that make “Murder” illegal.
I personally think that there are more than enough safeguards in place on American television. I’m English and live in the UK but last year I took a fortnights holiday in america and frankly I was shocked at the amount of censorship there was. Swearing was cut, violence and sex was cut, everything that could be construed as shocking was either beeped out or left on the cutting room floor entirely. One quite funny example was when I was watching the film Weird Science and there’s a part where Kelly le Brock (I think) says to the two nerds “You donkey dicks couldn’t get laid in a morgue” I know this because I’d seen it in England first. On the American network version we got “You two donkey <awkward silence where network censors had cut out the swearing> a morgue”.
Now, this was at 11:25 at night. In the UK TV is kept clean until after 9:00pm watershed when more graphic television can be shown. In Holland there are no real safeguards as far as I can tell (I saw Deliverance in its entirity at 3:35 in the afternoon last time I was over there).
To my mind people who still complain over the sex/violence/swearing on television are an embarrassing joke. They already have [ul]
[li]Ratings systems - warning you of what to expect in a program.[/li][li]V-Chips[/li][li]Network imposed censorship[/li][/ul]
What more do they possibly need? If these people weren’t so concerned with appearing to be good and concerned parents and started acting like good and concerned parents (ie. monitoring what their child watches instead of expecting the powers that be to do it for them) then perhaps the result could be an overall improvement in the quailty of American television.
Why not follow HBO’s lead? Way back in its infancy, HBO started broadcasting a dislaimer at the beginning of each movie or show letting the viewer know what to expect in said show: “The following presentation is rated ‘R’ and contains adult language, violence, and nudity. Parental guidance is suggested.” Just apply the same types of warnings to TV shows.
I’m a fairly serious civil libertarian, but I have no real objection to the TV ratings system other than its being completely useless. Similiarly, the V-Chip is just an extension of the ability to block out certain channels on your cable box, which has existed for years; no big deal, really.
Of course, we don’t have much use fr either of them here. My little brothers (7 and 4) can watch pretty much anything they want. The only exceptions to date have been a “Sopranos” containing a fairly explicit rape and last night’s South Park (they were jacking off dogs, and I just didn’t want to have that conversation).
Well, there is nothing wrong with rating systems per se, so long as they do not have legal effect. And the ones in the U.S. do not. (The fact that the rating systems - particularly the MPAA one - is ludicrous is another issue).
If a movie theater started letting in 15 year-olds into “R” rated films, the cops couldn’t shut down the theater (the theater may have contractual problems, but again, another issue). It’s a voluntary system. Yes, the feds have threatened to impose a system if the MPAA system wasn’t enacted, but the movie industry could probably beat it in court - they just don’t want the horrible publicity that would accompany such a fight.
Same with the TV system. No one goes to jail if a 10-year old watches a “TV-MA” show.
And that is a good thing. Hopefully the content will get worse and worse. Eventually the anime shown on tv wont have half of the plot removed. I am all for the networks standards of decency going down. The only people hurt by this are the people who want to complain more than they want quality television.
Except I belive the V-Chip is designed to block out individual shows, not entire channels. So you can still watch the Channel-9 news without having to worry about your two-year-old getting a dose of Jerry Springer. In theory.
I remember when they should a TV-ready viewing of Se7en. I remember commenting that the editing that they’d have to do to get by the censors must’ve taken longer than the making of the movie itself.
MGibson, maybe I’m not understanding you, but in the OP, when you said, “…this would result in television programs becoming worse then their critics could have imagined. And in some ways I think I’m right. Shows like Buffy and South Park come to mind,” I thought you were saying that Buffy and South Park were bad in some way; a problem.
Gomez, you asked, “To my mind people who still complain over the sex/violence/swearing on television are an embarrassing joke. They already have ratings systems warning you of what to expect in a program, V-Chips, and Network imposed censorship. What more do they possibly need?”
I think want they really want is to have everything that is the least bit “naughty” banned for everyone.
No one is making them watch/listen to these things, and no one is preventing them from closely supervising their children’s entertainment options. But what they watch isn’t really the issue. Nor is what their children watch. The issue is that they don’t want anyone to be allowed to watch things of which they disapprove. They don’t want anyone to be allowed to produce naughty entertainment, either.
The TV producers are such wussies. Here they have the rating TV-MA, so they have the opportunity to go all the way. Yet they still make kiddy stuff, add a few curses, and slap teh show with a TV-MA rating. Even The Sopranos and South Park is kid’s stuff compared to what I want to see. Action, on Fox failed because it wasn’t hardcore enough. I want hardcore sex and violence that makes John Woo blush. That is what TV-MA is for, isn’t it? Come on, only Steven Spielberg gets to show full frontal nudity, hardcore violence and sex on TV? He should direct a porn film; maybe that gets shown on network TV.
I don’t think networks are super worried about a little bad media from a violent show on television, I think they get worried about when the time comes around to get that FCC license renewed.
“HmmmmMister Anderson. We’ve been watching you for some time now. Seems you’ve been living two lives. In one life, you offer quality, family-oriened programming. You even have religous old ladies help people find God. In your other life you show people getting shot and killed, deal with adult sexuality, and make jokes about human excrement.” :eek:
Yeah I thought that at first, too, I think he just means that they’ve become “worse” not in general, but in terms of profanity, etc. Worse to the people who would criticize bad language and inapprorpiate themes on TV. (The Sex Education episode of South Park leaps to mind…;))