Out, Damn Spot!

Those who suffer from perpetual moral panic have found a fresh reason to cry out for the protection of poor innocent children: commercials.

Even parents who go to great lengths to control their children's viewing habits — using channel blockers, on-demand menus, and old-fashioned willpower — say there is a sizable hole in the increasingly high-tech armor. No matter how much they prescreen the shows, they can't control the commercials. ...

Reports of objectionable commercials, which seldom came up five years ago, now account for at least half of the complaints to the [Parents Television Council], [PTC spokeswoman Melissa Caldwell] said. And during this year's Super Bowl, her group drew far more complaints about violent ads than about the Prince halftime show. ... Cathy Breen, an occupational therapist from Walpole, says she routinely orders her children to cover their eyes during commercial breaks.

I don't recall ever seeing a plethora of violent spots on TV. Admakers, in fact, are pretty well resolved to avoid showing violence, though if they're promoting a scary movie, sure, there might be some implied violence. For a look at how incredibly mild that is, take a look at this commercial for Hannibal Rising, which was singled out for criticism in the Boston Globe story quoted above. The spot also happens to have been banned from this year's Superbowl, even though it arguably shows not a single frame of murder and mayhem. Apparently, a commercial doesn't have to be violent to be objectionable; sinister-sounding music and vaguely creepy visuals will do it.

This is how low the bar has become? And the people who complain about this have honestly nothing better to do with their time?

If they had a genuine interest in not subjecting their kids to commercials, they could have done what I did five years ago: buy a DVR, such as a Tivo, and skip past the spots.

Of course, to the Parents Television Council and those who admire its handiwork, such an easy workaround is just not acceptable. That's because to nannies, it's never about finding a simple, low-key, private solution (V-chip, anyone?); to them it's much more fun and fulfilling to loudly announce their profound shock and moral purity from the rooftops.

I've quoted A.C. Benson before, and I'll do it again:

"To be shocked is often nothing but a mark of vanity, a desire that others should know how high one's standards, how sensitive one's conscience is."

I recently dissected the uproar over another "unacceptable" commercial here.

Comments

[Martin Owens]

Moral indignation is in most cases 2% moral, 48% indignation and 50% envy.
-- Vittorio de Sica

[ben]

That's certainly an excellent way to educate children: hide the reality from them.

But of course those children can always watch Harry Potter to get to know the real world.

Some self-elected "parents" seem to think that all citiziens are their children and that they have to protect them from the evil. I just hope they act the same way when the news show pictures of all the cruelties happening at their doorstep and around the world, such as Iraq.

[Emily]

You raise some good points in your post. Here are some facts that you might find interesting. An overwhelming majority of Americans (91%) object to government deciding what they are able to watch on television. When activists talk about protecting children instead of parents—here’s what they’re talking about: sixty-eight percent of the country’s 110 million television-viewing households do not include children under age 18 and households with children have different challenges to face due to the varying ages of kids within each family. Currently, there are 11 million households with children age 6-11, 15 million households with children age 0-5 and 9 million households with children 12-17.

TV has come a long way from the days of three channels and rabbit ears antennas. Today’s TV audiences are putting to use broadband, DVRs, TV video on demand, iPods and cell phones to greatly expand their choices about what, when, where and how to watch TV. New technology means consumers have more selection than ever and more control than ever over what they see on TV. We all have more choices and parents have more tools to ensure their kids only see what’s right for them. Let’s let parents decide—not government, for all of us.

There is more information to be found at www.TelevisionWatch.org