Crossed what line?
Even more bizarre than the prospect of O.J. Simpson "confessing" to the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in a book and TV show and getting a few million for it (proving crime can pay) was the cancellation of both by Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation. The most often heard indictment of this project was that the deal had "crossed the line."
Given what passes for entertainment on TV these days, I am relieved to know some people believe there is a line to cross. I just wish they would tell me where it is and what happens when it's violated. Some thought the line was crossed in that fraction of a second that Janet Jackson's breast was exposed during a Super Bowl halftime show. The Federal Communications Commission did and slapped CBS with a big fine.
Certain words are supposed to cross the line, but apparently only if they begin with the letter "F" (and we're not talking "Sesame Street" here). Words that begin with "B" apparently do not cross the line. One rhymes with "custard" and the other rhymes with "witch." One frequently hears those words on network TV.
Cal Thomas
If we choose to tear our society to little bits by turning unbridled lust and mayhem into a spectator sport, there is little any of the cultural brownshirts can do about it. That won't stop them from trying, of course, but they never seem to understand that the end result would be the same.
What concerns me most about the cultural landfill that telelvision has become is the numbing effect it has on the populace. While Joe and Jane Sixpack sit in front of the tube, slackjawed and ever more jaded, totalitarian and socialist forces are left free to snap up those freedoms they have left unattended. And since we play at democracy, the majority will pick their leaders from the group that can say the most soothing things on the teevee. Joe and Jane care less and less that their freedom is disappearing, so long as their leaders leave them free to rot in the glow of the little screen.
Given what passes for entertainment on TV these days, I am relieved to know some people believe there is a line to cross. I just wish they would tell me where it is and what happens when it's violated. Some thought the line was crossed in that fraction of a second that Janet Jackson's breast was exposed during a Super Bowl halftime show. The Federal Communications Commission did and slapped CBS with a big fine.
Certain words are supposed to cross the line, but apparently only if they begin with the letter "F" (and we're not talking "Sesame Street" here). Words that begin with "B" apparently do not cross the line. One rhymes with "custard" and the other rhymes with "witch." One frequently hears those words on network TV.
Cal Thomas
If we choose to tear our society to little bits by turning unbridled lust and mayhem into a spectator sport, there is little any of the cultural brownshirts can do about it. That won't stop them from trying, of course, but they never seem to understand that the end result would be the same.
What concerns me most about the cultural landfill that telelvision has become is the numbing effect it has on the populace. While Joe and Jane Sixpack sit in front of the tube, slackjawed and ever more jaded, totalitarian and socialist forces are left free to snap up those freedoms they have left unattended. And since we play at democracy, the majority will pick their leaders from the group that can say the most soothing things on the teevee. Joe and Jane care less and less that their freedom is disappearing, so long as their leaders leave them free to rot in the glow of the little screen.
posted by Anonymous | 7:48 AM
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