Commercials and Programming
Part 2 of a three-part series: TV - The Good, The Bad, & The Entertaining. Today’s installment: The Bad.
Around our neighborhood, people have already started putting up their Christmas lights. It’s only November 20th. I saw Christmas commercials on tv at the beginning of November. And, I’m noticing that these commercials are so very… subliminal. Maybe I’m just naive enough to think that stores and marketing reps aren’t really trying to lure me in with their commercials. (And if I have the “gimmes”, I can’t imagine what children viewing commercials might think.)
Kevin and I have recently made an effort to watch much less tv. We don’t keep it on during the day, and it is not just background noise for our conversations. We tape the few shows we want to watch and are very conscious of the shows Colby and Kennedy see. This is mainly because of the commercials.
Colby’s favorite (and only) movie to watch is “The Sound of Music”. We found it on ABC Family one night and it has always been one of my favorites too. So, we’ve kept it on our PVR and he watches it every once in awhile; we fast-forward through the commercials. One day I noticed that this particular channel was advertising another show that was NOT family friendly. (I actually don’t know how it got on ABC family’s programming list.) I was outraged that this network would show such a commercial during “The Sound of Music”.
Many people, when they get angry about an issue, will write their Congressman. They’ll pick up the phone and let their voice be heard. Me, I pray. A few years ago, Kevin attended a Church Media Leaders’ conference (I’ve forgotten their official organization name but it’s international.) He got to rub elbows with some of the big names in tv broadcasting and journalism, at least some of those that are Christians. He met some men that were writers for the tv show “Charmed”. (I think the show is about 4 witches? I think the girl from “Who’s the Boss?” was on the previews; I never watched the show.) Some people at the conference were confused that these Christians could support and endorse a show that would be about something so opposite our beliefs. These writers shot back at them, “Imagine what the script would be without us.”
I am tired of those that loudly say, “WE WILL NOT WATCH TELEVISION! IT IS THE DEVIL’S UGLY FINGERS!”. Doing so only makes a statement for legalism’s sake. I am also tired of those that only sit idly by and let tv consume their lives. Read a book! So, while I do think it is good to let tv networks know when I am unhappy with their programming choices, I should be equally eager to let them know when I am happy with their choice. And, if I’m not happy, then I don’t watch. When I don’t watch, their ratings drop and they don’t get paid. Can you say “writer’s strike, continued”?
But, am I against the majority of tv viewing? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s installment.
1 comment November 20th, 2007