# "Problematic" or potentially harmful Film/Television Shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076 "2024-05-02T17:55:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/101 "2024-05-08T21:48:42Z")
> [@solost](#): > > In a similar vein I thought of Bear Grylls’ survival show ‘Man vs. Wild’. It was never about actual, practical survival advice, it was all about Grylls doing sensational stunts or eating and drinking gross things of questionable benefit to get eyeballs. > > He’d rappel down waterfalls, or climb a fallen tree that had angled at about 45 degrees over a river to avoid crocodiles, or explore an abandoned gold mine to see if anything inside was useful. He’d eat raw game meat, drink his own urine, and once he even squeezed water out of elephant poop and drank it. > > Even worse, he was a big ol’ faker-- those dangerous stunts were carefully planned and choreographed, and he even spent the night in hotel rooms in between ‘survival’ shooting. > > Following Grylls’ advice in an actual survival situation was just about guaranteed to _ **get** _ you killed. I have said the same thing many times. Bear’s shows are about 60% bullshit, 30% dangerous shit, and a few real survival tips tossed in. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0qXWSsU5dSg/maxresdefault.jpg "The Depressing Truths Behind Man Vs Wild") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qXWSsU5dSg) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/102 "2024-05-08T23:51:32Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I suppose _The Apprentice_ was somewhat the same way. The catch phrase was “you’re fired”; are there really so many people who enjoy watching others lose their jobs? Heh, this made me think of COPS. I used to love watching it, then I realized one day that I was just watching a long string of folks having what is probably the worst day of their lives. So I quit watching, and I think I’m probably happier because of it. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/103 "2024-05-09T02:22:35Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The current strategy is to select clues that are more likely to contain the Daily Doubles, partly to keep your opponents from getting them, but that only gets you so far. That’s the strategy for Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy, but there’s more to it for Final Jeopardy. First, if your score at the end of Double Jeopardy is more than twice as much as either of the other two contestants, you should never wager enough in Final Jeopardy that if your answer is wrong it would make your score less than one of the others in some cases. There’s an episode of _Cheers_ in which Cliff Clavin does exactly this. This only applies to regular episodes of _Jeopardy!_. There is a bigger problem with the episodes (which there have been a lot of recently) that are the ones to determine the best player for the past year or the best player ever. They often have contestants playing in several episodes, and the winner overall is the one who wins the most games or the most total money. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/104 "2024-05-09T02:33:09Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > That’s the strategy for Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy, but there’s more to it for Final Jeopardy. First, if your score at the end of Double Jeopardy is more than twice as much as either of the other two contestants, you should never wager enough in Final Jeopardy that if your answer is wrong it would make your score less than one of the others in some cases. Sure, but it’s been that way since the beginning of the Trebek version, at least. I was just trying to answer Winston’s question about how players now go looking for Daily Doubles. That grew out of a comment on whether _Jeopardy!_ promotes the same sort of skullduggery as _Survivor_. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/105 "2024-05-09T10:08:17Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > That’s the strategy for Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy, but there’s more to it for Final Jeopardy. First, if your score at the end of Double Jeopardy is more than twice as much as either of the other two contestants, you should never wager enough in Final Jeopardy that if your answer is wrong it would make your score less than one of the others in some cases. There’s an episode of _Cheers_ in which Cliff Clavin does exactly this. I did exactly that when I was on the Israeli version of Jeopardy in 1999 (a special newlyweds couples tournament - my wife and I had married seven months earlier). As Final Jeopardy began, we had around 12,000 shekels, and our closest competitor had something like 4,500. We bet 2,000, got the answer right, and went home with 14 grand. Sure, we could have bet more, but we had already won, and we weren’t going to risk throwing it away for a bit more cash. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/106 "2024-05-09T13:16:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > As Final Jeopardy began Do you remember the answer? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/107 "2024-05-09T13:19:14Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Do you remember the answer? I don’t remember a single question or answer. It’s weird, actually - I remember chatting with the other contestants in the green room, I remember the setup and the practice round, but the taping itself is all a big blank. A side effect of hyperfocus, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/108 "2024-05-09T18:32:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have said the same thing many times. Bear’s shows are about 60% bullshit, 30% dangerous shit, and a few real survival tips tossed in. I just watched the video. Wow, he’s even more fake than I thought. What a Fakey McFakerson. And of course the fact that he faked 90% of the shit he did is not the problem- if he had created staged, yet _ **realistic** _ setups or situations in order to demonstrate real survival skills, fine. It’s the stupid and sensationalistic stunts and ridiculous survival advice that could get a person killed if they actually tried that stuff in a real survival situation. > [@Alessan](#): > > > [@kayaker](#): > > > > Do you remember the answer? > > I don’t remember a single question or answer. It’s weird, actually - I remember chatting with the other contestants in the green room, I remember the setup and the practice round, but the taping itself is all a big blank. A side effect of hyperfocus, I guess. Don’t you have a taped copy of it? If I had been on Jeopardy and won, I not only would have a copy of the show, I’d play it for _ **everybody** _ who came by. “Here’s the pizza you ordered”. “Thanks, now sit down for a minute while I get the money-- there’s something I want you to watch”. 😏 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/109 "2024-05-09T18:53:36Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Don’t you have a taped copy of it? If I had been on Jeopardy and won, I not only would have a copy of the show, I’d play it for _ **everybody** _ who came by. “Here’s the pizza you ordered”. “Thanks, now sit down for a minute while I get the money-- there’s something I want you to watch”. 😏 Unfortunately, the local _Jeopardy_ (“Melech Ha-Trivia”) wasn’t that big a deal here. It only ran for three seasons, I think, and it doesn’t have much of a cultural footprint. Also, to be perfectly honest, I’m pretty sure it was easier than the OG _Jeopardy_. I had a VHS tape; it disappeared in a move 20-odd years ago. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/110 "2024-05-09T19:19:04Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I had a VHS tape; it disappeared in a move 20-odd years ago. ![](https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdXp0YmI3bWo0NzQ5NjdjaW1nN2R6cnRzcnNraGxzN3drdmFzeGs5aCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/R5YVnfV50plIGUNETe/giphy.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/111 "2024-05-09T19:29:50Z")
My wife is on a Bonanza binge. Now, they treated minorities better than most shows of the era. That being said, one of the shows she watched the other day had a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” vibe. Hoss ordered fireworks from a company in China, and instead got a mail order bride, played by Marlo Thomas in “yellow face”. At one point, she’s lecturing the cook, Hop Sing, on cultural pride. Oh, the irony. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/112 "2024-05-09T20:49:05Z")
> [@solost](#): > > if he had created staged, yet _ **realistic** _ setups or situations in order to demonstrate real survival skills, fine. It’s the stupid and sensationalistic stunts and ridiculous survival advice that could get a person killed if they actually tried that stuff in a real survival situation. For real survival stuff it’s Survivorman. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/113 "2024-05-09T21:44:35Z")
[_Me Before You_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Before_You_(film)) was a charming 2016 rom-com, starring Emilia Clarke (playing the complete opposite of Daenerys Targaryen) as a bubbly, sweet young woman hired by Sam Claflin’s parents as a caregiver, after a motorcycle accident has made the former athlete and banker a quadriplegic. He’s agreed to give his parents six months, but then he’ll go to Switzerland to be euthanized, as he can’t stand to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. They fall in love, natch, but in the end he finally does go to Switzerland and ends his life. A fun film, if only for the lead actors - Emilia Clarke is utterly adorable, and based on interviews and such I’ve seen with her, the character she plays in this is much closer to her real personality than Khaleesi - but it got a [lot of pushback from the disabled community](https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/me-before-you-film-disability-sam-claflin-emilia-clarke-assisted-suicide-death-a7052716.html), for its message that it’s better to be dead than disabled. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/114 "2024-05-09T22:09:45Z")
I’m not sure anything that results in the death of its lead can be considered a rom-com. Is it actually a comedy? Maybe a dramedy? The premise sounds terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/115 "2024-05-09T22:13:57Z")
What about Harold and Maude? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/116 "2024-05-09T22:14:58Z")
My dad didn’t let us watch M_A_S\*H because he didn’t want us thinking there was anything funny or entertaining about war. I’ve never seen a full episode. Over the years, I’ve heard far more parents say they had a problem with channels like Nickelodeon or Disney, because their programming, which often encouraged disrespect towards parents and included over-the-kids’-heads sexual content, than they did with channels like MTV or Spike, due to it being aimed at children. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/117 "2024-05-09T22:18:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I had a VHS tape; it disappeared in a move 20-odd years ago. I was on a TV show when I was in high school, and this before there even was VHS or VCRs. I had a b&w photo of the TV set showing me on camera. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/118 "2024-05-09T22:21:11Z")
“JFK” got people thinking, and that is a good thing. Dad also told my sibs and me not to believe the party line about the JFK assassination. My brother has done the same thing with his kids regarding climate change. (His opinion, which agrees with mine: Yes, we’re having climate change, but how much of it is directly caused by people is unknown and unknowable. This doesn’t mean we don’t need to take care of the planet.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/119 "2024-05-09T22:26:51Z")
At the time, I worked with a man who said he didn’t like the early “Beavis and Butthead” episodes, because their actions had no consequences, and he hadn’t like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” for the same reason. In the meantime, I worked with a woman who blamed her daughter’s drug addiction, etc. on MTV. (I told that to some friends who had raised teenagers and lived to tell about it; we were in a restaurant, and the husband nearly blew about half a glass of water out his nose.) I’m not the only person who suspected that her daughter had been molested, and her parents knew about it but blamed her and/or were in denial. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/120 "2024-05-09T22:28:04Z")
The newer episodes (2011-12, and more within the past of couple of years) included reaction videos, and also send-ups of “Teen Mom” and other TV shows. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076.md?page=7)