Op/ED by Mikey Sinns
Is it just me or is there a very obvious difference in the way violent and sexual content is regulated in this country? Networks and advertisers go to great lengths to insure that nothing sexual airs while kids are awake, yet the same regard is not shown for violence. It seems like at any time of day you can turn on your TV and be exposed to commercials for horror movies and violent video games regardless of the rating of the show you are watching. Movies are more likely to be rated NC-17 over sexual content than they are over violent content. I bet you can think of a movie off the top of your head that was rated NC-17 over sex, but can you name one without using the internet that was rated as such over violence?
You see companies like Paramount, Miramax, Activision, and Sony just to name a few spending billions of dollars annually to advertise movies, albums, and video games of all genres across every network, cable or otherwise around the clock. While there are strict standards in place to make sure we aren’t exposed to body parts and sexual situations in commercials, the same can’t be said for violence. It’s safe to assume that Girls Gone Wild commercials won’t air during programs rated TVPG, but the rules are different for R rated horror flicks or a video games where killing zombies is the main objective.
It’s not that Lionsgate pays so much to promote the Saw movies, it’s the fact that Lionsgate and other companies alike are forking over ridiculous sums of dough to promote ALL of their movies. Anybody who has ever worked in sales knows that if you keep your best customers happy, they will always be your best customers. If a network had an objection to an ad for a movie and refused to air it and the company who made the movie threatened to pull all advertising from that network over the fracas, who do you think would cave in first? It’s easier to tell Girls Gone Wild that your network will not promote their DVDs than it is to tell a billion dollar conglomerate the same thing over the content in one of their ads because of the possible ramifications of that company pulling all of their advertising. Girls Gone Wild is only selling GGW, whereas these movie companies are selling movies of all genres and are spending a lot more cash to do so.
We live in a violent country. We may not be war torn or ravaged, but America’s one of the more violent places on the planet. People are stabbed, shot, beaten and killed in this country every single day. All of these things happened here long before TV and movies were ever invented. I don’t believe in the argument of “this song made me do it” or “I killed those people because I played that video game”. I’m not saying airing these ads is leading us down the road to ruin. It’s the politicians looking to be re-elected, people with their own (usually religious) agendas, and folks related to the perpetrators who want to point fingers at movies, video games and music as the cause for these crimes. It’s always a lot easier to point fingers than it is to look at one self in the mirror and think about where you may have gone wrong. It’s less complicated to say Marilyn Manson’s music made my kid wig out and slaughter his classmates than it is to actually think about what you did wrong or what you could have done better to prevent the tragedy from happening in the first place. The way violence is regulated in this country only opens itself up for that kind of scrutiny though. Every country has regulations for what can and cannot air on TV and in some cases the do’s and don’ts are even more baffling than the good ol’ US of A.
For instance, in France you can show topless women in commercials, but are not allowed to show commercials for contraception. In the Netherlands you can show naked ladies on TV as long as they aren’t in lewd or indecent positions. Boobs are alright in Japan but pubic hair isn’t. In places with strong Christian & Muslim values there’s very little tolerance for nudity and sexual situations being depicted on TV. There is also heavier regulation when it comes to violence on TV in places where the violent crime rate is much lower than America. Is it coincidental that these nations with such a strict stance on nudity and sexuality happen to be some of the most dangerous places on the planet (the Middle East, Ireland, South Africa, etc)?
I think this country has a much larger problem with crime and violence than it does with sex yet sex is so much more scrutinized than violence. As a parent, I don’t have to worry about my kids seeing boobs on the tube, but rarely a day goes by where I don’t have to immediately change the channel when a show goes on break because I worry about a commercial scaring my kids or exposing them to the glorification of violence. I oppose censorship and am not calling for the ban on anything. It’s my duty, and not the government’s, to be the one to regulate what my kids can and can’t see on TV or in the theatres. But like it or not, censorship is everywhere and isn’t going anywhere. My point is: If sexual content is regulated to the degree that it is, shouldn’t the same standards apply for violent content?
I remember a few years back talking to my friend Daryl about the then new V-Chip. He was excited that it would mean late night TV will be more mature… namely nudity.
His augment that people could program their televisions to block out that kind of programming allowing the rest of us to have our cake. Tasty cake.
I didn’t think it would happen, people can be stupid, very. Here we are, years later and not much has changed. In fact if that happen, people would protest the skin, even though they could prevent it from entering their homes. *head shake*
This is Rome. So much fluff and snuff our culture calls entertainment; things to keep us from busy from dealing with genuine issues. Man, our highest rated shows are about dancing and karaoke – no plot or story. We have silver screens showing acts of high brutality. Not talking about films from the 1980s such as “Friday The 13th” or “Elm Street”, this is pure malice. The stuff of wet dream for masochists.
One of podcast I enjoy is Deadpit, it’s a show that specializes in horror films, funny stuff, they don’t take themselves seriously (very non-PC humor). They used to have a call-in portion. One of the callers said something that gave me a chill. Regular horror films don’t do it for him, boring. He gravitated to torture-porn movies for his entertainment. Such as the products from Toetag Pictures (DON’T seek it, you’re gonna be sick). Holy shit. The popularity of features like “Saw” has gotten me thinking that this fellow isn’t alone and multiplying.
And yeah; nations/cultures that have such a high irrational fear of sexuality tend to have the most violence. You keep that all corked up, rage builds and has to vent.
Isn’t this the 3rd time he’s written this piece?