Kids' shows nowadays

[D'Snowth]

A ratings system on Television doesn't make much sense anyway. I mean with movies or video games, parents want to be able to judge something before they pay for it, and that's where the ratings system comes in. That at least makes some sense. But with Television you're not paying to see every individual episode of a kid's show. You're either paying for TV as whole or you're not. So just record one episode and watch it on your down time to see if it's appropriate for your kid. Case closed!

The problem too is that nobody is advertising shows properly anymore anyway... take shows like Glee and Modern Family, they're advertised as being family-friendly, yet both showshave a lot of adult-oritented and otherwise questionable content that really aren't appropriate for kids to be seeing... plus, the "TV-14" rating doesn't seem appropriate for a "family" show either (and how many times has Glee come under fire because of"inappropriate" conduct, both on and off camera?).

Then again, there's also a problem nowadays that when a show is billed as a "family show", it's apparently because the show is about a family, not because it's family-friendly... again, that's another example of terms being taken out of context in recent years.

 

[Sgt Floyd]

Wait, you mean that it is the parents job to monitor what their kids watch? Not the media? Oh what a concept!

 

[D'Snowth]

Wait, you mean that it is the parents job to monitor what their kids watch? Not the media? Oh what a concept!

Well, the media should also be held accountable and responsible just as well... if the parents aren't doing their job, who else are kids going to look to for guidance? Likewise, while the parents aren't doing their job teaching their kids the difference between right and wrong, where do the kids learn it from? Just like the recent study that says reality TV is responsible for young girls acting out and bucking the establishment because watching these "Real Housewives" and Jersey shows makes them believe women have to be aggressive, megalomaniacal, manipulative, liars and cheaters to make it in this world...

Also, shows like Toddlers and Tiaras is a nice example of how parents don't even really know the concept of parenthood.

 

[Drtooth]

The problem too is that nobody is advertising shows properly anymore anyway... take shows like Glee and Modern Family, they're advertised as being family-friendly, yet both showshave a lot of adult-oritented and otherwise questionable content that really aren't appropriate for kids to be seeing... plus, the "TV-14" rating doesn't seem appropriate for a "family" show either (and how many times has Glee come under fire because of"inappropriate" conduct, both on and off camera?).

I never thought Glee was supposed to be a family show. Maybe for middle to older teenagers that felt like outcasts (Freaks and Geeks was better), but it seemed like something for the 16-24 set... maybe the older drama geeks that remember how crappy their club was and how the jocks got all the respect.

Modern Family is different. The sexual stuff is in the context of the various married (or committed) couples in the show (come to think of it, they never brought up Cam and Mitch's sex life much), and the only two major examples I can think of are the oldest Dunfee daughter's boyfriend singing explicit lyrics to songs about her in front of the unnerved parents and of course an episode where the kids accidentally walk in on their parents. It seems that these family shows aren't like the 1980's family shows for kids and adults, but rather parenting from the parents view (it DOES start at 9). it's the same deal that Everybody Loves Raymond has, only the kids have more of a presence.

But then again, they always made Simpsons stuff for children as well, and the show always dealt with heavy adult subjects (after a couple seasons, they mentioned sex). Futurama was posted all over Nickelodeon magazine, and forth episode in, Leela has a moment of weakness with Zap Brannigan.

Still, with Modern Family, I'd tend to think the younger audience that catches it either knows what they're talking about or has to ask their parents with a "you'll find out when your older" response.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Just like the recent study that says reality TV is responsible for young girls acting out and bucking the establishment because watching these "Real Housewives" and Jersey shows makes them believe women have to be aggressive, megalomaniacal, manipulative, liars and cheaters to make it in this world...

I'm just very suspicious of studies like that. Not that I'm defending Reality TV (heh) but there's so many other real life factors for why society goes down hill.

I was actually talking about this with a non-American on the Web the other day. He/she thought TV was used to brainwash people in America. I said I felt it was more a case of reinforcing bad behavior that already exists, rather than brainwashing (and hence creating) the behavior.

So if TV's guilty of anything, it's reflecting the bad side of humanity that already exists.

 

[D'Snowth]

I never thought Glee was supposed to be a family show.

That's the way the media passes it off... again, whenever these controversies have come up, like the cast posing provocatively and dressed in skimpy outfits in magazine spreads and such, everybody's like, "OMG! I can't believe this! Glee is supposed to be a family show, this is very inappropriate!" and whatever.

I was actually talking about this with a non-American on the Web the other day. He/she thought TV was used to brainwash people in America. I said I felt it was more a case of reinforcing bad behavior that already exists, rather than brainwashing (and hence creating) the behavior.

I agree with that... again, I've said it before, the media, especially in recent years, seems to constantly be promoting and encouraging behavior that shold otherwise be morally reprehensible.

 

[Drtooth]

I'm just very suspicious of studies like that. Not that I'm defending Reality TV (heh) but there's so many other real life factors for why society goes down hill.

The two are pretty mutual. Chicken and Egg stuff, actually. They show horrible people doing horrible stuff and horrible people watch. Reality TV, unlike scripted stuff, follows no moral code. 90% of the time, bad people have comuppance in scripted programming. Look at every Gordon Ramsey show where he yells at everyone. Compare that to British sitcoms like Chef or Fawltey Towers. All three main characters from each show are alike... but in Chef and Fawltey Towers, their angry British jerk characters always wind up acting foolish, and are often surrounded by comedically foolish people.

I was watching some PBS documentary on sitcoms yesterday and they were talking about the true essence of comedy isn't pushing around someone until they cry, but rather pushing them to show resilience, thus making the pusher look more foolish than the pushee.

 

[Dominicboo1]

Yeah, the rating system really doesn't do much anymore... like Dtooth has said before, the G rating is pretty much useless nowadays, because G rating is basically becoming a way of saying "this is a watered-down little kiddy movie, and therefore, it's uncool to see this movie".

Really? What about the Toy Story movies? Well in all fairness Toy Story 3 pushes its G rating a little, or Finding Nemo?
If there's one bad kid show it has to be Yo Gabba Gabba!
That show really stinks! I mean all they do is sing extremely repetive songs, and somehow they can't find money to make the creature's mouths move, but they find the money for people to teleport into that crazy world that seems to ripoff Sid and Marty Kroft without the humorous script!

 

[D'Snowth]

As for Everybody Loves Raymond, I really feel that show's PG rating is respectable: it's kind of like a really tamer version of Seinfeld, it's not as overtly sexual, while there are occasions where sexual behavior is implied, or even refered to, it wasn't nearly as regular and "forced" as it was on Seinfeld, where Jerry was sleeping with a different woman every week, George was sleeping with her fiancee before marriage, Kramer slept with women without dating them, and Elaine slept with hundreds of different men when not sleeping with Puddy. Likewise, adult language wasn't quite as rampant on Raymond either... again, I think Raymond was a lot tamer in many aspects compared to most shows from that time and up till today.

As for The Simpsons, I think everybody, including adudiences, actually wants little kids to watch that show, despite the adult nature of it... I don't see that happening as much with others like Family Guy or South Park, but yeah, I think people want the Simpsons to be okay for kids, whether it is or not. I think in a sense, like Raymond, the Simpsons are just SLIGHTLY tamer than other adult cartoons (especially ones created by Seth MacFarlane), but still. I wouldn't recommend any of these shows to little kids.

 

[D'Snowth]

Really? What about the Toy Story movies? Well in all fairness Toy Story 3 pushes its G rating a little, or Finding Nemo?

Well, those were all back when the G rating was still respectable, it's really only been in recent times that the G rating has earned a sad reputation... again, Drtooth can go into that better, he's said it many times before, but in today's society where little kids are pressured to grow up much faster than they should, they would more likely respond to a movie with a PG rating because it's more "grown up" as opposed to a movie with a G rating because it's "for babies".