Open Forum Friday: Are Today’s TV Shows Too Violent?
For today’s Open Forum topic, I thought we’d focus on the small screen for a change, although the inspiration for the discussion comes from the most famous big screen director of all: Steven Spielberg. He recently spoke out against the current state of television, calling for producers to be more responsible and aware of the effects of on-screen violence on children. In particular, he criticized shows like CSI and Heroes, the latter of which is apparently his favourite new show of the season, for being too gruesome. When an episode of Heroes recently depicted someone being cut in half, he was shocked and sent his younger children out of the room.
I think he has a point, in that the bar has been raised further and further over the years in terms of what is allowed on prime time TV. Some of this is probably a result of network television emulating edgier programming found on HBO and other cable channels, not to mention movies. But the thing is, Spielberg himself has been responsible for plenty of violence in media, from movies like Saving Private Ryan and Munich, to shows such as Band of Brothers and even the relatively graphic E.R. Is he being hypocritical here? While I’m not one for censorship of any kind, I do realize that there is a difference between standards for television, which is a lot more accessible and pretty much open for anyone to watch, and movies. What do you think? Is Spielberg just being an idealistic sissy, or is television really getting too violent? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.
Comments (5)
has Heroes become a good show or something? would i like it despite finding the pilot incredibly boring?
Posted by Goon on December 1st, 2006I’ve been watching Heroes and I’ve also taken notice that it shows quite a lot of blood and gore. I’m not complaining though but it got me thinking that if Heroes were a movie instead of a TV show, there’s no way they would be able to show as much blood, if any and still make it within it’s target market of a PG-13 audience. Take the X-Men movies for example where a character like Wolverine is constantly getting injured without shedding much blood (I’m taking his healing factor into account) and he’s stabbed plenty of people without gettign a single drop of blood on himself or his claws.
It seems that movies have a much stricter rating system than television which is unfortunate as it probably limits a lot of creative decisions in movies.
Posted by Nuno on December 1st, 2006Goon, I quite like Heroes but I’ve seen every episode except the pilot.
Posted by Nuno on December 1st, 2006I’ve stuck with Heroes so far and although I was iffy on some of it, it does seem to be getting stronger as it goes. They’re doing a good job of building up some interesting mysteries, but of course the payoff remains to be seen.
It’s hard to explain because it’s walking a line between a serious serialized drama and a campy comic book thing. In some ways I wish they would drop the comic book feel altogether, but then again, that’s some of what makes it fun.
And yes, it is surprising what they’ve gotten away with oin terms of violence, but I think that’s one of the things that has kept me watching. Claire waking up during her autopshy was pretty awesome. Maybe it should be in a later time slot… I don’t care, as long as they don’t end up having to scale it back to a PG-13.
Posted by Sean on December 1st, 2006I think the standards of how these two mediums are regulated are backwards. I understand the need for flagging movies with a rating, since you’re paying to see a movie and they’re long and you can’t just walk out of them or learn about everything involved before you watch them. Television should be unregulated. I have no sympathy for anyone pulling the “won’t somebody PLEASE think of the CHILDREN” argument because there is this magical thing called a remote, and an off button, and books, and DVDs. The producers of CSI and Heroes aren’t raising your kids…..i can’t believe this same old tired crap argument is still in use, and from Spielberg no less
Posted by manic panda on December 3rd, 2006Leave a Reply