TV over the last 40 years and morality

**edwest2** · #1 Jul 17, '12, 7:59 pm

How has morality, especially in the United States, been helped or hindered by the programs that aired during those four decades? Please be specific.

Thanks,
Ed

**JimG** · #2 Jul 17, '12, 8:22 pm

Well, we've gone from Fulton Sheen and My Three Sons to Two and a Half Men, where sexual innuendo reigns supreme. I need not even mention the rest.

Crescentinus · #3 Jul 17, '12, 9:03 pm

It's far saner here in the Far East.

Veronica97 · #4 Jul 17, '12, 9:04 pm

Well, let's see...married couples used to have to have twin beds on tv ("Bewitched" was the first show to have married couples share a bed I believe), and they couldn't even say "pregnant" on "I Love Lucy" when talking about a married woman expecting a baby. And now...let's see...there AREN'T any jokes except sexual ones...the gay agenda is shoved down our throats as "normal" at every turn...
What is the affect of this? Well, basically the people who watch current tv shows think they are "funny" and that they show "normal" life; therefore they are not only a reflection of our current society but they encourage those who watch them to live that way, making them think it is all "normal" and "okay". A vicious cycle, and I see no end in sight.

Miguelita · #5 Jul 17, '12, 9:08 pm

You're obsessed with this you know that?

Wampa · #6 Jul 17, '12, 9:33 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veronica97

there AREN'T any jokes except sexual ones

Answer summed up in 7 words.

Robert Sock · #7 Jul 17, '12, 9:41 pm

Given the social changes that took place in the past 40 years, in a vastly turbulent time socially, I believe TV has done an excellent job guiding and controlling our social cognition during this time of social change.

Elizabeth502 · #8 Jul 17, '12, 9:48 pm

Clear your PM box, Crescentinus. I keep trying to find you.

Crescentinus · #9 Jul 17, '12, 9:55 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elizabeth502

Clear your PM box, Crescentinus. I keep trying to find you.

Here.

lerapt78 · #10 Jul 17, '12, 10:19 pm

OP, I tend to think it has not only hindered morality, but often attacks it. I'm specifically referring to pop-culture TV, "reality TV" and current sitcoms. Some documentaries are great, and I love channels like NAT-GEO, Animal Planet. These are several offensive shows, some of which are "good" (as far as the writing/acting goes), but which paint immorality in either a comical or positive light:

How I Met Your Mother - very funny episodes overall, but I don't think I've seen one in which the character Barney is not regaling the group with his latest sexual conquest. In fact, he always takes pride in the fact that he sleeps with women whose names he doesn't remember.

Two and 1/2 men - have never seen it, but have seen commercials in which Charlie Sheen jokes about going to strip clubs.

That 70's Show - again, haven't seen it, but commercials are filled with disrespectful sexual comments/innuendo.

Showtime's series Gigolos - it's about, well.....gigolos. Real ones. And it's not a documentary, but rather an entertainment program that shows them in bed with their clients.

Housewives of Orange County/NJ/NY/Beverly Hills, etc - the "reality" show revolves around narcissistic women who have little better to do with their time than gossip about the other members.

Bad Girls Club - "reality" show on Oxygen that films a group of young women getting drunk, having one-night-stands, cursing, and beating on each other.

The last two shows really show women at their worst and seem to glorify the very worst feminine traits.

And it just came to my attention recently (because I don't normally watch ComedyCentral) that they do not censor profane language after a certain time (around midnight, I think).

I'm sure I could think of many, many more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miguelita

You're obsessed with this you know that?

Perhaps he is concerned with what is spewing from our media, and rightfully so, considering that millions of Americans are addicted to it, many of them who are impressionable children.

lerapt78 · #11 Jul 17, '12, 10:40 pm

Oh, forgot to mention. I watch a bit of G4 from time to time, usually to see MMA or UFC competitions, and if I'm watching it late at night there are often commercials advertising phone-sex companies or a ladies' sex toy made by Trojan.

Crescentinus · #12 Jul 17, '12, 10:57 pm

It's saddening that I see more garbage from the Western entertainment industry go here to the Far East. Shows such as "Glee", "Family Guy", "Ellen" among many others are swarming the airwaves and trying to kill the local shows. D:

lerapt78 · #13 Jul 17, '12, 11:03 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crescentinus

It's saddening that I see more garbage from the Western entertainment industry go here to the Far East. Shows such as "Glee", "Family Guy", "Ellen" among many others are swarming the airwaves and trying to kill the local shows. D:

You guys could always put a stop to it, though.

Crescentinus · #14 Jul 17, '12, 11:06 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by lerapt78

You guys could always put a stop to it, though.

Here in the Philippines, there is growing demand for such garbage among Metro Manila residents.
Good thing that there's hope though. Why? Because there's decent programming like the shows from EWTN and TV Maria.

TV Maria = one of the Catholic cable TV channels here in the Philippines

Bradski · #15 Jul 17, '12, 11:15 pm

I have some sympathies with some views expressed.

Popular culture feeds on itself. There is always someone, quite rightly in my mind, pushing the boundaries a little. It started in the 60’s when plays – live and on screen, tried to better reflect society. Prior to that things were a little restricted – more so than in the real world.

So when people had access to TV and were able to see what other people were doing and thinking and saying, then rather than living in a restrictive sense, society started to reflect itself more accurately.

Then everyone got bored just watching reflections of themselves so popular culture started concentrating on the edges of society. And we all started taking this new view as the norm. And so it went on.

I’m not sure when we’ll get to a point where the majority say: enough. But I’m sure it will happen. I have no problem with most of what’s on TV at the moment (as long as it’s written well and doesn’t insult my intelligence – which actually takes out a fair proportion of what’s on). But if my parents were alive today, they’d be horrified at what passes for entertainment. So I am assuming that I’ll be in the same position in years to come. But then, maybe not.