By Troy Brownfield
04.13.04
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They
started it!
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One
More Time for the Slow Kids...
I'm not
sure how many of you follow our Message Boards (front page,
lower right), but the question was posed to me recently regarding
a double-standard with the First Amendment. The suggestion
was "why it was that the artistic/entertainment/"left"
side of the public debate seems to think that they are in
such desperate need of having their rights protected? Doesn't
the "right" get to speak freely too"?
And the
answer is: of course. The "right" gets to speak
freely, and therein lies part of the problem. The problem
is not that the "right" speaks freely. The problem
is that the "right" wants to remove every single
means of expression available to those that don't share their
worldview.
The current
debate in the public arena rests mainly with the question
of "indecency". I'll make one allowance to start
with: Janet Jackson and J.T. were dead wrong. The Super Bowl
move was a dunderheaded way to drum up publicity and instead
it's burning lots of people that had nothing to do with it.
The reason that JJ and JT were wrong isn't because of the
act itself. They were wrong because of the ill-considered
timing and venue. Logically, the Super Bowl should be a family
program, and parents shouldn't have to have a blindfold ready
for the little ones.
That said:
anyone who complains about the content of Howard Stern, wrestling,
The Shield, Victoria's Secret fashion shows, soaps,
comics, hip-hop, or any other form of easily described entertainment
is, almost without exception, a blithering idiot. I agree
that the Janet thing was dirty pool. But by this stage in
the game, there are enough ratings, program descriptions,
and entertainment websites, magazines and programs that give
an adequate assessment of what every single available item
in pop culture might contain. If you know you'll be offended
by something in advance, and if you know you don't want your
kids watching/listening/seeing it... DON'T WATCH, AND LEAVE
THE REST OF THE ADULTS ALONE.
Let's
break it down:
If you
use the TV to babysit your kid without previewing the content,
YOU have failed. TV hasn't failed YOU; YOU have failed your
kid. Certain groups bitch about the responsability of Hollywood.
If I say, "I'm making an adult program with adult content
for adults", then that's the end of my responsibility.
Adults can have their own entertainment. We're allowed. I
don't have to be stuck with ABC sitcoms and Nick Jr. for eternity;
if I want zombies, Hong Kong hitmen, and porn, I'm allowed.
It's the whole First Amendment. If you don't want your kids
to see it, do your friggin' job AT HOME.
It's not
enough anymore for parents to complain that they didn't know
what would be in a TV show. There are ratings for every program.
As a parent, it's YOUR job to discover what those ratings
mean. Hollywood DID take responsiblity by providing you with
a system by which you can make your own determination as to
what is approrpriate for you or your child. If you don't listen
or learn, that's your own fault.
Some geniuses,
like the Parents Television Council, continue to blather on
about "Family Hour" in primetime TV. Get this: there
are whole CHANNELS devoted to programming that's for kids,
families, the religious, the genteel, the meek, and the pious.
If you don't like what's on Fox, turn to PAX or Disney or
HBO Family or Nick or something else. That's the beauty of
choice (another word that the "right" has difficulty
with). And if your stance is that you shouldn't have to pay
for family friendly programming, then my response is: I have
to pay for unedited adult programs (like The Sopranos
and Curb Your Enthusiasm), so get over it. If you have
a problem with the TV, then God forbid you turn it off and
read to your kids or play a game with them or help with their
homework or just (gasp) talk.
As far
as Stern goes, the actions of the FCC are an embarrassment.
This appointed body is guilty of trying to stretch their created
authority as part of the bigger political agenda. Stern's
act has always been crude; it just behooves the Republicans
to attack it now. It seems that the '80s nostalgia craze is
in full-swing; when Iran-Contra got ugly, the porn witch-hunt
was created, and now we've got the anti-Howard crusade as
part of the "Ignore Iraq" strategy.
But part
of this goes back to the idea of "active parenting".
If there is a person alive in the U.S. that doesn't know what
Stern is about, that person is a simpleton. Kids are generally
in school (or should be) when he's on the air, so limiting
their access should be pretty simple. And if you're an adult
that's offended, it should be reiterated that you need to
GROW THE HELL UP AND TURN THE CHANNEL.
I'm not
religious, but I don't write in to complain about Benny Henn.
I don't whine that there are too many gospel shows on the
radio. I don't waste my time like that. They have a right
to worship, and I have a right not to like it. They'd have
a huge problem if I tried to take their Bible away, but they
seem okay with wanting to take my copies of Harry Potter
and Catcher in the Rye.
THAT is
why there's a double-standard with the First Amendment. The
Right wants it to apply to them as they eat away at anything
they don't like. The rest of us just want to keep what we
enjoy.
Codas:
If the
Columbine kids killed people because of music, why didn't
every fan of that music become a killer?
If porn
creates rapists, why aren't there 100 million rapists in the
United States?
If comic
books cause juvenile deliquency, then why do their fans do
better in school and test higher on reading comprehension?
If sex
between consenting adults is bad, where do babies come from?
If the
human body is something to be ashamed of, then why is it so
important to Christians that Jesus was human?
If homosexual
intercourse is "evil", how does it hurt you if you
aren't doing it, and why should you care if someone else is?
Why do
you think you need to tell me what I need to watch, read,
hear or think?
The old
arguements have never worked, and they never will, because
they are wrong.
Troy Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews.
Email Troy at psikotyk@aol.com
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