OT: Cruel but entertaining ...

[Guest guest]

I saw that too and it made me squirm.

 

I'm mainly a lurker but I just wanted to say that I think our culture has

become quite cruel in a very pervasive way..

I don't mean to sound preachy but this is something I've been thinking about

a lot.

 

Today's society - not to mention an entire generation of our teens who know

nothing else - is mesmerized by reality television, a genre that is fueled by

conflict and humiliation ( " American Idol " auditions, " America's Funniest Home

Videos " ). Think Kid Nation. Britney. Who's teaching them compassion?

 

Our culture is significantly crueler (maybe not a word??) today than it was a

decade ago: the endless tabloid coverage, gossip blogs and celeb weeklies

that pick apart stars, show close-ups of their cellulite and revel in their

superficial screw ups and profound addictions. This is defining the young people

that consume this entertainment. They have no counterweight to balance this

content. And they are our future ... it does concern me. And I think the huge

success of Ugly Betty suggests that we are hungry for examples of compassion,

decency and goodness.

Sorry I went on and on, I'll retreat to my more comfortable lurker status ...

Jody

DayBreak Lavender Farm

 

 

 

**************************************

See what's new at http://www.aol.com

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

The whole thing is we can choose not to focus on that... There are many

more kids that are not cruel, inane or otherwise inclined. I applaud

those children who are decidedly normal. Media does whatever it can to

sensationalize everything. Cause for the most part.... humans are a

bunch of drama seeking drones.

 

My focus is on teaching my children that they need to treat others as

they wish to be treated.

If someone is nasty to you it is because they were not thinking like

that. I'd rather have my children watch and understand why I think that

is wrong and understand that the reason the media does that is because

it sells more. And I will not let my children watch any Olympic

competitions with the announcers voices on, because invariably there is

at least one announcer that sits and condemns everything the person does

and points out all the faults.

 

Ours is a society that loves winners and loves to watch them fall. Soon

people will get bored of all the " celebrity wrangling " and get back to

the business of their lives.

 

Also, it is a very humanizing thing. We believe that Celebrities are

" super human " so when they fall we love it because it shows them and

the world they are just like us.

 

I also think you get what you focus on...

 

Jennifer

 

trendsjody wrote:

>

> I saw that too and it made me squirm.

>

> I'm mainly a lurker but I just wanted to say that I think our culture has

> become quite cruel in a very pervasive way..

> I don't mean to sound preachy but this is something I've been thinking

> about

> a lot.

>

>

> M

>

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[Guest guest]

> Our culture is significantly crueler...I think the huge

> success of Ugly Betty suggests that we are hungry for

> examples of compassion, decency and goodness.

> Sorry I went on and on, I'll retreat to my more comfortable

> lurker status ...

 

[Dave]: Don't be sorry, what you said was important. I agree with you.

I'm one who rarely watches TV, and I sometimes go more than a year without

seeing any of the current shows. Every time I turn it on I am a little more

nauseated than the last time. You're right about Ugly Betty. But isn't it

pathetic that when the networks TRY to air a program about decency, THAT is

the best they can do???

 

 

 

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