What Do You Think About The Level Of Censorship We're Faced With In Television?
 

So I was looking around for a few Snuffy clips recently, and I came across this: A woman explains the breast-feeding process to Big Bird while she's breast-feeding. At first I thought, "Wow, that's cool. It's really informative, but it's put in a language where kids can understand it. Also, you've got Big Bird there. What's not to love about Big Bird?" Then I thought "...Okay, if this is on now, I wanna see the resulting media covered flame war."

It's surprising to look back and see something like that - it is informative, and satisfies a child's curiosity, but at the same time hey, she's breast-feeding! On TV! OMG! I began to wonder why we, as a society, have become so closeted, so... "safe." Sure, there are things on the TV that if I had kids I would be uncomfortable with them watching, but my belief is that Sesame Street? Go nuts! Have fun! Make sure you bring cookies so you can pretend you're Cookie Monster, just like I did!

But is that nostalgia? Am I saying this purely for the reason that I liked the show as a kid? What kid wouldn't want to watch Ernie Gives Bert A Check-Up or Monsterpiece Theater Presents "1 Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" or Cookie Monster Writing To Santa?

But when they start talking about death, or breast-feeding, or mothers and their babies at all, (whether or not they're human) the decline of civilization is realized and the apocalypse is nigh.

Are we taking things too seriously as a culture? Or are we attacking perceived causes and not the real problem? Is there actually a problem, and is it on TV, or the radio, or the mainstream media?

I guess the real question is this, and I have a history of improperly wording my questions, just wanna point that out:

Why, as a culture, do we feel we need to rescind or alter things that we know young children watch because we feel that what they watch is affecting them negatively both mentally and emotionally? Is there a better way to deal with what some people perceive as a problem, or is it just an over-reaction of people who just need someone to blame if their children don't grow up with the same values and philosophies that they do?

I find it funny they try and protect kids from vulgarity when the second they enter Middle School it's all rendered moot.

I mean, there are things you should keep kids away from, but it's not gonna matter at a certain point unless you keep your kid from going to any school, period.

Even then, you're not gonna prepare the kid for the world at large.

Back then, parents actually communicated with their children about what they saw on the TV, rather than just plopping them in front of it and going about their business. A show like Sesame Street would be able to help a parent explain that while Daddy might like to play with Mommy's breasts, Mommy's breasts are also there to feed the baby, if she is able to make milk. Notice I said help explain, not explain for the parent.

For a long time, I've felt like a lot of parents are abdicating their responsibility as parents to TV and schools. That way, if their children fail, these parents have someone to blame besides themselves. This, in my opinion, is why televisions that show anything that might stir up controversy, such as the aforementioned breastfeeding episode, can't be shown on TV anymore.


ETA:

There's absolutely nothing vulgar about breastfeeding.

I'm sure thats not what was meant, I think his comment was more about the irony of trying to protect young eyes from something not vulgar or harmful at all and then throwing them to the wolves in the poorly funded land of middle schools and junior highs where vulgarity thrives as both the currency and primary langauge.

Yeah, I can see that now. I just get a little grumpy at anything suggesting that showing breasts serving a biological rather than an aesthetic function is vulgar. Even today, women are discouraged from breastfeeding in public due to society thinking that any exposure to breasts at all will turn every innocent child into Ted Bundy...or Al Bundy.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to suggest anything like that, it was more of a generalization. :x

Ah, censorship... That useless, hilariously futile effort to protect our children from threats which aren't even threats.

Honestly, what kid hears a beep over a word on TV and doesn't know immediately what word it was?

I think the better question is, should the kid even be seeing this show at all if they need to beep out words?

I find it funny that with all the cries of "SAVE THE CHILDREN" floating around that there's so much trash on TV when they're awake and at home in the first place. I mean, it's fine to have adult TV. But it's all in the time slots that used to be dedicated to family shows.

Even "clean" TV is designed to stir up as much muck as possible. Ever see Trading Spouses? These people are the craziest they can find, because they WANT to put them all through Hell and high water.

Really, reality TV in general is just sick in some ways.

Then you have crap like Family Guy, which shows some incredibly bad role models getting away with bad behavior. I could kill my younger brother sometimes, because he's almost EXACTLY like Peter Griffin. Not so funny in real life. And there isn't a family sitcom on the air that doesn't deal with sex on a daily basis. And not even intelligently. It's poop joke sex humor.


I mean, a lot of these shows have some merit (except King of the Hill), but that merit is for an adult audience, and with cartoons being considered a kids' thing, it's sending a lot of messages that could be considered inappropriate.


I'm not saying that these shows are corrupting our youth or some crap, but I'm sure there are many parents who would make that argument. If people want to complain about bad TV being shown to their kids, they need only look at what's on the set when the entire family is home.

Just that sentance itself sounds pretty hilarious.