So Now the 'S' Word Is Okay on Television? (sitcoms, channel, children)

[b75]

Exactly! They are plenty of programs that I find offensive (that I suspect some of the crowd that rails against profanity might think are just great). And yet I have never once advocated they be banned from being telecast.

Originally Posted by RoaminRed

Whatever. Don't like what you see or hear on television, there's always the OFF switch.

[detshen]

Originally Posted by b. frank

I'm pretty desensitized to "bad" words on TV.
If it fits the characters (as in The Sopranos or The Wire) then I hardly even notice the actual words.
One thing surprised me recently: I can't remember which show but I recently saw the word d**k used on TV on a non-pay network. I don't think I had seen that one before.

I think that was Nip/Tuck.

My parents weren't big on censorship, they taught me not to use TV as blueprint for real life. I turned out to be a upstanding member of society. Kids are going to hear much worse at school and it always seemed to come out of the mouths of the most censored kids at my school.

[b. frank]

Originally Posted by Acupunk

I think that was Nip/Tuck.

Maybe it was - I really can't remember. I don't watch Nip/Tuck and I was really surprised because I thought it was a regular network. But I think I was just passing by the TV so I don't know.
Anyway, as I'm typing this I think I remember them using "d**khead" on NYPD Blue and that was a long time ago...

[jkcoop]

Originally Posted by Acupunk

My parents weren't big on censorship, they taught me not to use TV as blueprint for real life. I turned out to be a upstanding member of society. Kids are going to hear much worse at school and it always seemed to come out of the mouths of the most censored kids at my school.

You are completely right there. I do think that some kids personalities lend themselves to needing to be censored more - in other words, they don't get the concept your parents taught you (and what we teach our own son). They will just repeat everything they here for shock value - but then again, that's part of being a teenager for some.
Our son is very conservative compared to my husband and I. But I also know he's no angel at school when around other kids.

The "S**T" episode on South Park a few years ago is really nothing compared to the other topics they've covered......

[John23]

I'm usually not one to believe in wild conspiracy theories (like 9/11 was an inside job, or the moon landing was a hoax).

But the dumbing down of tv has almost forced me to believe that it's been a conspiracy of some sorts. The whole tv complex is being controlled by a handful of people, network tv, pbs, cable. I know alot of the networks are owned by the same company, but it's been so uniformly dumbed down. And everything reinforces each other.

Nothing stands out to say, "ah hah! These other shows have been dumbed down."

Then all the repeats. Why are there so many repeats on tv? To dumb you down even further? You don't just watch something dumb once, now you can watch it 10 times.

It makes you believe that parts of it are different....say network tv vs cable. Or daytime shows vs prime time. But then alot of shows take daytime clips and air them at night (say Oprah on Larry King). Or network shows end up on cable. Or premium cable shows end up on basic cable (Sopranos on A&E). Does anyone see the scam in all this?

Makes me believe that it's a much bigger conspiracy than anyone is led to believe. Way beyond just corporate promotion and propaganda or social control.

I don't think people dumb themselves down on their own. Do you know people that want to get dumber or they want to start using the s word or f word when they've never used it before?

[aragx6]

huh???

I don't get what you think the conspiracy is...

Companies make bajillions of dollars doing exactly what they're doing- isn't that enough of a reason to do it?

[SuziSu]

Originally Posted by MrKrabs

TV keeps lowering its moral standards. Next thing you know, they'll be using the F-word.

Pathetic. Anyone who can't get their point across without profanity does not have much between the ears. These shows are catering to the lowest common denominator.

I have to agree!

Originally Posted by RoaminRed

Whatever. Don't like what you see or hear on television, there's always the OFF switch.

Very true! It just saddens me I guess to think of where the innocence of television has gone.

[Prince of Lombards]

Originally Posted by RoaminRed

Whatever. Don't like what you see or hear on television, there's always the OFF switch.

Gee, thanks for the tip...

[John23]

Originally Posted by aragx6

huh???

I don't get what you think the conspiracy is...

Companies make bajillions of dollars doing exactly what they're doing- isn't that enough of a reason to do it?

Yet ratings have been going down for years. You'd think they would make more money if it wasnt so dumbed down. You always hear people say, there's nothing on tv. Those people would be alot of money to advertisers.

Also, it's been so uniformly dumbed down, it's like someone turning a dial and suddenly everyone gets dumb.

[aragx6]

Ratings may well be down, but profits are up and that's all they care about

NBC has posted five consecutive quarters of growth and finished 2007 with $3.7 billion in profit, about 7 percent more than in 2006. Much of that growth was fueled by the strong performance of NBC's cable division, which includes the highly profitable channels CNBC, USA and Bravo.