We now move from rhapsodizing about wedded bliss to seriously considering the implications of the axiom, “Ignorance is bliss.” I came across this thought-provoking article after checking out one of my favorite irreverent pop culture standbys, http://www.aintitcool.com. The Parents Television Council, a non-partisan grassroots organization based in the United States, just released its annual list of “Top Ten Best and Worst Shows for family viewing on prime time broadcast television” (http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/reports/top10bestandworst/main.asp.)


Aside from the rather unwieldy title (which carries all the stentorian elegance of such captivating social tracts such as Karl Marx’s “Introduction to a Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right” 1844, Deutsch-Französicher Jahrbucher), I was initially intrigued by the list formulated by The Parents Television Council (PTC) because of, I admit, selfish reasons: I am a father, and I’m trying very hard to be a good one. In this sense, I share the sentiments of the aforementioned body (which you can find at http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/aboutus/main.asp.), when it talks of how television can be used to educate, inspire and entertain children. To a certain extent, I also agree with the body’s assertion that the parents should play a key role in determining what their children watch. However, I would like to feature several observations that this body has made regarding the worst television programs for 2005:

On The Family Guy, ranked 2nd worst:
Fox/ 9:00 Sunday - Returning show

This unbelievably foul animated series made a strong come back after being off the air for two years, thanks to the success of DVD sales among young males. The raunchy series follows the Griffins, a blue-collar New England family which includes a martini-swilling, talking dog and a matricidal baby bent on world domination. The show bases its humor on scatological and sexual references (including masturbation, incest, bestiality, necrophilia), and spoofs on popular culture. Institutions such as the church and family are held up to ridicule on a near-weekly basis. One episode this season featured Meg being deflowered by Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live. Parents of young children should be especially concerned because Family Guy's animated format is sure to attract young viewers. Shockingly, since its return in May, Family Guy is the highest ranked show among 12-17 year olds, and the fifth highest ranked show among children ages 2 to 11.

On That ‘70s Show, ranked 8th worst:
Fox/Returning in November ‘05

That ‘70s Show follows a group of teens growing up in a small Wisconsin town during the 1970s. Frequently included on the PTC’s Top 10 Worst list, this series once again earns a spot for its casual and irresponsible treatment of teen sex and drug use, which are depicted as risk- and consequence-free. Frequent references are made to pornography and masturbation. In one episode, for example, Kelso decides that he has to start respecting women, so he gives Fez his entire collection of pornographic magazines. Jackie says that giving Fez a “box full of nudie magazines” is like giving a monkey a loaded gun, to which Fez replies, “No, it’s not. A monkey with a loaded gun can hurt a lot of people. I can only hurt myself.” When they see Fez later, he looks exhausted because he has done nothing but look at pornography all day. Episodes also endorse smoking marijuana as harmless fun.

On Arrested Development, ranked 9th worst:
Fox/ 8:00 Monday - Returning show

Arrested Development is the story of the Bluth family. The show picks up when George Sr. is arrested for securities fraud and his son Michael is left to pick up the pieces of the family and their business.
Arrested Development is designed to offend. Episodes regularly contain scripted bleeps. This enables the writers to use language, including “f**k” and “s**t,” network censors would never allow. Arrested Development also employs some of the most outrageous double-entendres ever to find their way into prime-time. In one episode, for example, Tobias says he was an analyst and a therapist, making him the first “analrapist.” Other episodes have delved into the bizarre sexual proclivities of the main characters, such as Lucille’s revelation that she and George derive sexual pleasure from being strangled with a belt.

It seems that the PTC, while well intentioned, actually encourages the development of lackadaisal parenting. Majority of their complaints regarding the aforementioned programs have a lot to do with presence of depictions of sex, the use of swear words, or the mention of such hot-button topics such as pornography and marijuana. Like it or not, these elements (sex, drug use, pornography) comprise part of the reality that our children will have to confront, sooner or later. My fear is that by suggesting that such topics become taboo to our children, we are in fact making these topics more appealing to them, by labeling these topics as falling under the heading of forbidden fruit. The best way to deal with the pernicious effects of a mistaken conception of sex, or the all-too real consequences of drug use would be to talk and process these topics with our children, rather than sitting on our rather ample behinds and let an organization such as the PTC do all the processing for us.

In fact, as an educator, I’m not very concerned with the dangers posed by taboo topics. Those topics, we can deal with: we just need time to process them properly with our children. It’s inane television that really gets my goat. Our kids need to be reasonably intelligent for us to process important topics with them, and television that seems designed to deliberately leech IQ points out of our kids’ brains pose more of a danger to their moral and spiritual health than Fez admitting that he can only hurt himself or puns on being the world’s first “analrapist”.

Though I do love 7th Heaven. In fact, I think that’s why we’ll never see a crossover episode between 7th Heaven and One Tree Hill. C’mon, Reverend Camden dealt with the evils of racial profiling and promoted the virtues of openness and understanding in less than 35 minutes. Two feuding brothers who share a passion for basketball would pose no problem for him.