It's Even Worse Than I Thought

September 20, 2006 12:31 PM

s I discussed here, Spanish television is bad. And not just bad in terms of quality or whatever, but bad in terms of being exploitative and pandering. If the American values and decency people think they have something to complain about on Fox, they should take a look at Univision every now and then.

As it turns out, the whole thing is even worse than I thought. I found this article on CNN.com today. The show is called Sin Tetas no hay Paraiso, or "Without Breasts, There's no Paradise." Let me quote the synopsis:

[The show] revolves around a 17-year old call girl who agonizes that her flat chest is a barrier to deliverance from poverty and a life of ease as a drug trafficker's pampered plaything.

I mean, yes, I think that the TV stations have the right to make this show and shows that are much worse. But that doesn't mean that they shouldn't consider the results of their actions. I mean, what message does a show like this send to young women? The article implies that girls as young as 10 or 11 are watching the show which, aside from bringing to mind the question "Where in the fuck are these girls' parents?", makes me wonder what these girls are going to think of themselves as they grow older.

I have always held that the primary responsibility of a television producer is to the advertisers - if it sells, then sell it and make your money. I stll hold to that principal. I don't think it's the producers' responsibility to make sure young girls aren't watching. The show may have awesome artistic value that I can't gleam from the CNN article. I don't know. But the point is that it is within the producers' rights to make this show and it's within the TV station's rights to broadcast it. And things are working out, at least from a monetary point of view: the article's focus is on the show's high ratings.

And there's the problem. The media only gives the public what it wants. The media isn't the projector, it's the screen - it only shows us what we want to see. If the public doesn't want to see something, they won't see it, and the media won't show it. That means that if the public wanted hard-core pornography on during primetime, the media would give it us. Similarly, if the public wanted "NOVA" or the Boston Symphony Orchestra on during primetime, the media would give it to us.

So, as far as I'm concerned, the problem here isn't that this show exists, but rather that people are choosing to watch it. People almost always buy into the sensationalistic, racy, stupid shit. That's the problem. Unfortunately, it's a much bigger problem than this show's creation. It's a problem that requires a much more nuanced response. And, take note: cancelling the show won't do anything about peoples' attention spans or interest in non-shit television.

5 Comments

morenonesense said:

Not really related, but what do you think of the new racial survivor on cbs. furthermore, how do you have time to watch tv at all?

September 20, 2006 3:02 PM

Joint Tortfeasor said:

Ismael,
I completely agree! I think that flipping through a chanel guide is a very depressing thing, because looking the contents of our tv chanels is akin to looking in the mirror. Now I happen to watch very little TV (with the exception of ocasional Law & Order and 24 episode, you could say I don't watch it at all). And I refuse to pay for cable, because frankly, the programing is utter shit. (pardon my language) That's why I think things like YouTube and GoogleVideo and the like are a sort of popular revolution -- the people are taking entertainment out of the hands of the stupid masses and tv execs and putting it into the hands of... well... anyone who is up for the job. Anyway, that's my two cents. Maybe even just one cent :D

September 20, 2006 11:20 PM

Ismael Tapia II said:

Youtube is the best. It's fucking awesome!

I have to say, though, that there's a lot of awesome stuff on TV, particularly on the Discovery Channel, and particularly on HD Discovery. Also, I love poker.

But the things that show up on Youtube are sometimes very creative, original, and entertaining. It's pretty much awesome.

September 21, 2006 2:32 PM

Tasmine said:

Short, sweet, to the point, FREE—exactly as information slhoud be!

July 11, 2011 11:21 AM

qaoioojgqzp said:

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July 14, 2011 5:17 AM

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