http://www.yahoo.com/s/258402

"Families should not be deceived," he said. "The top three worst shows all contain crude and raunchy dialogue with sex-themed jokes and foul language. Even worse is the fact that Hollywood is peddling its filth to families with cartoons."

 

Okay I'm as conservative as they come but come on now. Family Guy is slap-stick comedy rated TV14 that takes pot shots at contemporary issues. Like the Simpsons it tries to teach a moral in between there somewhere. As for sex-themed jokes there are plenty of those in Shrek & Shrek 2 or maybe they go over some people's heads.

 

I just think picking on cartoons like this is going overboard.

 

I nearly fell over when I found that Desperate Housewives is mentioned as simply being on the list. That's the worst family show on TV right now. All that's missing I suppose is incest though I don't watch the show personally so I'd never know. I learn about it from WOM. I mean how can a show featuring Mom's hooked on Ritalin chasing after high school boys not make the top of the list?

Seth MacFarlane has known for quite a while that as soon as they got back on the air they were going to face an onslaught. He's been saying for a couple years now that the censorship environment has been getting worse and worse, particularly with all of the super bowl related B.S.

 

And also, I'm not sure how exactly they come up with the idea that Family Guy is marketed as a family show. The ads run during other prime time programming or during things like football...the show is overloaded with disclaimers, and i can't think of really any ads for the thing that woudl suggest that it's a show to watch with the whole family. Maybe they're just reading the name and not thinking any more than that?

Maybe they are just looking at shows that run in the primetime slot, which is considered prime family viewing time. They dont want to discern which show is actually a family show or TV14, they just want to tell everyone that it is a bad show.

Maybe they are just looking at shows that run in the primetime slot, which is considered prime family viewing time.  They dont want to discern which show is actually a family show or TV14, they just want to tell everyone that it is a bad show.

9 p.m. on the East and west coasts is family viewing time? I'm pretty sure that's even when Nickelodian (Spelling?) switches to Nick at Nite prorgramming...because it's not prime family viewing time.

9 p.m. on the East and west coasts is family viewing time?  I'm pretty sure that's even when Nickelodian (Spelling?) switches to Nick at Nite prorgramming...because it's not prime family viewing time.

 

I said "Maybe" Not all of those shows are in primetime, but alot of them are.

 

it just looks like a big gripe report to me.

it just looks like a big gripe report to me.

Of course it is...problem is, we have people on capital hill who will listen to these people about how primetime TV is corrupting and destroying our children, and then they'll convince the FCC to levee multi-million dollar fines because of it, and then those of us who thoroughly enjoy that programming may very well lose it entirely because some parents don't watch what TV channels their kids flip to.

Bleh.

Ridiculous.

Surprisingly somebody somewhere actually gives a good goddamn what the Parents TV Council thinks.

Let's not confuse this with censorship. No one is preventing Family Guy from being aired & FOX isn't about to pull or change a top drawing show.

 

As for whether or not any one cares about the PTC many people do. Or more precisely many parents do. It does make a difference. We found that out with the SB incident.

 

But I can't stand double standards & jumping all over FOX for 2 toons & an off-the-wall sitcom (like Married With Children) & not saying much about DHW in my opinion is a BIG double standard.

 

It's like saying Disney is bad but FOX is much worse. So let's get FOX.

 

Outside of their double standard they do have a point but they lose focus with it. I think they have a valid point that TV14 is insufficent for shows that are heavily immersed in sexual themes. Toons or otherwise. It's hard to control tweeners now (my only personal testament to that) & things of this nature becoming pop culture in junior high & elsewhere make it even more difficult. Such shows should be given TVMA.

 

If you look at other animated ratings for VG, anime, etc. they have about the same amount of sexual themes & yet they get an MA rating. Yet somehow FOX is able to get a TV14 for FG. Again the double standard.

 

That's why the PTC would be better off to emphasize that these shows should deserve an MA rating than to suggest they should be taken off the air.

No one cares about TV ratings so it's moot.

...the show is overloaded with disclaimers

Yes! My favorite's the one about killing strippers.

No one cares about TV ratings so it's moot.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I could produce links where the cable company has estimated the number of homes that have made use of parental controls but why bother? I'll agree with you that maybe no one in a Dem household cares but there are plenty who care amongst GOP households.

I could produce links where the cable company has estimated the number of homes that have made use of parental controls but why bother?  I'll agree with you that maybe no one in a Dem household cares but there are plenty who care amongst GOP households.

 

See you are over generalizing. I use the parental controls all the time.

There's a professor here that works for the National Institute on Media nd the Family who I talked with about the ratings system.

 

[paraphrase]

"The biggest issue concerning the rating system is many people don't give a damn about TV ratings.[/]

Everytime I read the title I keep thinking it is saying Pick-To-Click slams Fox and then wonder why it isn't in one of the sports forums lol.

Im not a big fan of the PTC

 

I decide for myself what shows I want to watch

Ive never understoood why sex or even seeing a nipple for a split second conjures up such a backlash and is viewed as a taboo while violence and murder are dealt with with much more leniance. Would you rather your kids emulate the media (not that anyone is necessarily moved by the media to take any action) by picking up a gun and wreaking havoc or by participating in a consentual healthy act? I'd really like to hear a responce on that one from some parents.

 

By the way, if you don't like something, change the channel- but please let people make up their own minds.

Edited October 21, 200520 yr by CubsSuck1

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This is extremely easy to answer. How much temptation & peer pressure does a child face on a daily basis to pick up a gun or engage in violence? Now ask the same question in relation to health.

 

You may view sexually active minors & kids as being healthy behavior. Many people including myself strongly disagree with that.

Edited October 21, 200520 yr by JUGGERNAUT

This is extremely easy to answer.  How much temptation & peer pressure does a child face on a daily basis to pick up a gun or engage in violence?  Now ask the same question in relation to health.

 

You may view sexually active minors & kids as being healthy behavior.  Many people including myself don't strongly disagree with that.

 

True... BUT considering the consequeces of violence it should be a no-brainer IMO. Also, maybe not picking up a gun, but violence in some shape or form is more prevalent than a lot of people think, and I can't even account for how it much be in the inner city with all the more gang influence. There is a way to have safe sex- can't say that about fights or other forms of violence.

First off there is little evidence supporting a link between fictional violence & violence in the real world. There is plenty of evidence supporting a link between fictional sex & sex in the real world. Even more so amongst the youth of America.

 

Secondly the consequences of STD's from the prevalence of undisciplined sex is far more harmful to society than the occasional nut job with a gun or gang violence in general. Gang violence arises from the environment a person grows up in. Not the media they entertain themselves with.

 

Now you can argue safe sex but psychologically it's not likely to be practiced by the vast majority because you are trying to add responsibilty to control a vice. Minors engaging in this activity are acting irresponsible in the first place. Not just with respect to their bodies but likewise their minds. Sleeping around at such a young age will undoubtedly have consequences as they get older. They will find it difficult to have lasting & trusting relationships.

 

Finally there is plenty of evidence showing a correlation between teenage sex & drug abuse. You can't very well expect drug users to practice safe sex for the betterment of society. Can you?

This is extremely easy to answer.  How much temptation & peer pressure does a child face on a daily basis to pick up a gun or engage in violence?  Now ask the same question in relation to health.

 

You may view sexually active minors & kids as being healthy behavior.  Many people including myself strongly disagree with that.

 

Spend a week in an urban High School setting and then laugh at the ignorance of what you just said. There is PLENTY of violence that goes on in schools. Way more than ever gets talked about because the High Schools don't report it, because they don't want to look bad. Trust me, I know first hand it happens.

I think that the whole violent movies don't affect kids because they're not going to go and shoot up a school argument is pretty bogus.

 

Okay, fair enough, most kids are not going to go and shoot up the school. But does that mean that prominent violence in the media DOESN'T condone other forms of violence? Or does it minimize, hitting your girlfriend, kids, some kid at school, etc so that seems more acceptable and mainstream.

Let me simplify this further. What % of viewers or participants of violence in films, or VG's is likely to commit a violent crime? What % of viewers or participants of sexual promiscuity on TV, films, or VG's is likely to engage in underage sex, date-rape, drug usage, adultery, betrayal, or cheating?

 

It's like comparing apples to oranges.

 

BTW, another interesting addendum to this story. Though the PTC hi-lighted FOX shows in this article it's DH that is getting the most backlash & it does seem to to be reducing ratings. I think it's about time. When a series based on the Graduate becomes a top 10 show for 9-14 there is definitely something wrong there.

True... BUT considering the consequeces of violence it should be a no-brainer IMO.

 

The odds of the average kid picking up a gun, going to school, and shooting people is never good. That doesn't mean that violence doesn't exist...but a kid getting beaten up, kids getting jumped, kids getting mugged, while all are very horrible, are nothing compared to a kid having unprotected sex one time and waking up 10 months later to the sound of a child crying.