When our “civilized” society needs sex to sell a hamburger, it is television that markets our moral state in colorful 30 second spots. With thousands of television channels to choose from, you should always be able to find something interesting to watch. In between scenes of our favorite shows and games, advertisers market their goods and services to their intended demographic audience. Today's commercials and programming have seen a steady downturn in taste, class and controversial content. What can we do about it? Let's review some of the “entertainment” available as we answer that question.
From the doe-eyed blonde washing a car with her half naked body to the costumed clown walking on his hands yet drinking a beer in the wrong place, television commercials advertise our general moral decay. Though tremendous negative response came from the initial Carl's Jr. advertisement showing a pop star seductively washing a car while eating one of their hamburgers, the restaurant chain defended their actions and refused to pull the commercial. A Bud Light advertisement during the 2003 Superbowl shows a man in a 'clown walking on his hands' costume. He enters a bar and orders a beer, drinking it through, what looks like, the wrong end. The camera pans to the bar patrons and shows their disgust with what they see, yet the ad runs anyway.
Lee Jeans may be an innocuous brand in the United States; abroad a pair sells for over $100US. To brand itself, the company has taken a huge step toward advertising pornography. “The two B&T opted not to print include a man disappearing up a girl's dress, while the other has a bare-chested girl about to suck on a phallic ice block.” (Jacobs, 2006 Will sex drive Lee over the edge?). Lee Jeans Australian marketing campaign includes several photographs that could be construed as soft-porn with models that barely appear to be of majority age.
Perhaps the worst offenders on the controversial stage are politicians. During election years we are inundated with mud-slinging, name calling, personal-life baring and historical misrepresentation commercials. From southern senatorial candidates representing each other as rich KKK members to showing images from the September 11th attacks, politicians scrape the bottom of the moral bucket with their advertisements. In California, Chuck Poochigian attempted to convince voters that because his opponent, Jerry Brown, did not support the death penalty that he condoned the actions of serial killers and mass murderers, showing a picture of Charles Manson next to a picture of his opponent.
While the red hot debate of stem cell research has hit the political campaign trail, both sides of the debate make their case with less than stellar results. A senator in Missouri enlisted Michael J. Fox to show his support for her because of her support of government funding of stem cell research. Rush Limbaugh's response to the actors commercial created a firestorm of response and raised the stem cell debate to unprecedented levels.
Alcohol advertising has been found to have a stronger effect on children and teenagers than adults. Humorous beer commercials such as the upside down clown cater to a child's level of understanding. In 1978 the Federal Trade Commission looked into restricting or banning advertising directed at children, deeming it to be harmful. Images of parties and social gatherings where alcohol seems to be the reason for the fun, appeal to teenagers who are striving for acceptance and involvement.
Warning labels, text and voice-overs on alcohol commercials are not deemed to be effective in deterring consumption of alcohol by minors. Federal policies regarding warning labels on bottles and advertisements allow the company the freedom to choose which label goes with which product, leaving room for misrepresentation of the risks. Many companies choose to use the warning labels regarding use of alcohol during pregnancy, knowing that most of their demographic does not include pregnant women.
Along with the commercials themselves, television programming has taken a downturn as well. Watch your favorite sitcom on any given night and you will see graphic examples of promiscuous sex (Desperate Housewives), racial and gender stereotypes (Everybody Loves Raymond), promotion of
alternative lifestyles (Will & Grace, The L Word) and people who will do anything and everything for money and fame (any reality show). One of the most damaging genres in advertising and broadcasting is the destruction of the traditional family and traditional family values. While we watch shows with neighbors committing adultery and wives degrading their husbands to lower class citizens, we then are sold products using the same tactics.
How many times during the last episode of your favorite TV show did you see a wife tell her husband how proud she is of him? How often did you see a traditional family sit down to dinner without harsh words or degrading jokes? What program includes scenes of a social get-together without alcohol or sex? Can you think of any? The examples I thought I found proved to be wrong later in the program. We are inundated with visual examples of dysfunctional families, raunchy advertising, greed driven leaders and fame seeking populations of the young and old. So what can we do to improve the level of entertainment available to us? The answer that I have found may be difficult for you to follow.
I do not watch television and have not for over 10 years. Now, you're saying in your mind, if you don't watch TV, who are you to give me advice on watching TV? Let me explain. When I tell people that I do not watch TV, the most common response is “Then what do you do?” I ask them right back “What do you DO? You don't DO anything. Sitting on your couch, flipping channels is not DOING anything. I go outside. I have conversations with my husband. I read books and the newspaper, magazines and articles online. I go to school and enter into discussions with my classmates. I play games and write letters to friends. I take bubble baths and cook dinner. What do you do? Or what could you do in the time you’re now watching TV?”
What can we do to improve the level of entertainment available to us? Create our own entertainment and do not allow ourselves to be 'sold' on what some advertiser or programmer wants to sell us. The American Time Use Survey states:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today that in 2005: Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time (2.6 hours per day), accounting for about half of leisure time on average, for both men and women. Also: In households with the youngest child under age 6, time spent providing primary childcare averaged 2.5 hours for women and 1.3 hours for men.
While most American men watch 2.6 hours of television a day, they spend half that time, 1.3 hours, caring for their children. What can these statistics show us about our priorities and values? In plain numbers it would seem that television is twice as important as caring for our children.
There certainly are positives to television and there are things to learn. Educational channels and shows can teach us about history and the world around us. News programming keeps us up to date on current events and issues that may affect us. Public access television allows for local talent, religious groups and community colleges to reach larger audiences. Sports channels entertain us with our favorite games and teams. Yet you can learn the same things at your local library, internet site, and stadium or by speaking to an elder who was there.
By turning off our TV's and taking our children outside, we are engaging our families in positive growth and helping our communities to grow as well. You can strengthen your family by sharing a family game night or a spiritual family home evening. You can learn science and nature by exploring tide pools or the local creek or pond. You can learn history by visiting a museum or retirement community. You can gain a healthy body for yourselves and your children by playing at the local playground. You can strengthen your marriage by taking a walk around your neighborhood and discussing anything that's on your mind. You can make your neighborhood safer by throwing a block party or neighborhood cleanup. The possibilities of what you can do are endless. All you have to do is choose to not be sold on anything by advertisers and television programmers, turn off your television and engage in the world around you. You don't have to change the world, you might do it anyway.
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