MTV is on Basic Cable in most of America. It is not a channel that is asked for and paid extra for, as a Showtime, HBO, etc. So what we have is kids watching TV when their folks are either still at work, or in another room, or just not paying attention. And then those kids emulate their hero on TV in hopes of gaining some popularity for themselves. I think we can all agree that parents are responsible for quite a bit of this, but isnt there just so much a parent can do? Doesnt MTV need to share some of the blame? Comments?? http://www.newsnet5.com/sh/news/stories/nat-news-73775220010424-100449.html http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20010420/us/tv_mtv_copycat_1.html http://www.pioneerplanet.com/news/mtc_docs/002782.htm ------------------ "Her Box Started Buzzing Ever Since She Heard The CRÜE"
This comes back to parental supervision. You don't HAVE to have cable television either. You do have to pay for it. I hate shows that glorify ridiculous violence, but it really boils down to personal responsibility. We must be held accountable for our own actions. Holding MTV responsible for their programming is important, but they are only a symptom of the real problem. ------------------ And then, depression set in...
LEGISLATION ALREADY EXISTS! ENOUGH ALREADY! "Pursuant to the Commission’s rules, half of all new television models 13 inches or larger manufactured after July 1, 1999, and all sets 13 inches or larger manufactured after January 1, 2000 must have V-Chip technology." _ I neither need nor want a V-Chip, but, by law, I have one in my TV. If I am concerned about the TV my children are I watching, I <ol>[*]Press the "Menu" button on my remote control[*]Use the arrow keys on the remote control to scroll to the "Setup" option, and press the "enter" button on the remote[*]Use the arrow keys on the remote control to scroll to the "Parental Control" option, and press the "enter" button on the remote[*]Enter my parental control password (usually 4 digits [my TV defaults to "0000"])[*]Change the "Parental Lock" setting from "Off" to "On"[*]Now I can choose between "Child", "Youth", "Young Adult", or "Unrestricted". I can even choose a "Custom" setting and allow say, sex, but not violence, or maybe, violence and language, but not sex.[/list=a] All TV sets, by law, must contain a V-Chip. All TV programming, by law, must broadcast its rating to V-Chip enabled TVs. Parents were upset about TV programming, so BOOM!, a new law, new regulations, all TV sets and all broadcasters have to support the V-Chip. Use the freaking V-Chip. You asked for it. You got it. It's in MY TELEVISION. OTOH, One time, after a fight with a roommate, I set the V-Chip on my TV to only allow "Child"-rated programs every time I left the house. [This message has been edited by jamcracker (edited April 24, 2001).]
We have people suing the Tobacco companies because Smoking for 20 years caused Lung Cancer. Well, if it boils down to Personal Responsiblity then why Sue them? It is OUR choice whether to smoke or not. Just like it is OUR choice to participate in a stunt for Jackass. So why is the Tobacco Company SOLELY the reason why people that smoke have lung cancer, YET MTV is not SOLELY responsible for the IMAGES they project? I am a Male in my late 20s and even though I wouldnt necessarily watch it, I would have NO problem if Jackass was on HBO. But being on a Channel that TARGETS a young age group, MTV has the responsiblity to their viewers to show certain types of programs. I realize you might say that Jackass isn't targeted toward Youth, but just watch the commercials during it, and you will see exactly who is watching this show. And I think you will agree, JEff, that there is a HUGE difference between Basic cables services that offer channels like MTV, etc.. and the PAY Channels like HBO, SHowTime, Cinemax, etc.. I am certainly NOT saying this is 100% MTV fault. Because a HUGE burden should be on the PArents shoulders. But this trend of 'CopyCatting' MTV stunts is getting disturbing. If YOU ran MTV wouldnt YOU do something?
Well, if it boils down to Personal Responsiblity then why Sue them? It is OUR choice whether to smoke or not. Because Tobacco companies purposefully and willfully lied to consumers about the effects of their product in order to keep people buying it. Without that, no tobacco company would be successfully sued. ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
JamCracker, So I guess you are saying that since ANYONE that owns a TV that is less than 2 years old, and can Figure out HOW to lock channels then all is Okay? That is a pretty useless law. I used to work for Time Warner cable. I can tell you first hand that 95+% of the TVs I came across were OLDER than your two year old model. And I will add that of the 5% that had newer TVs I would say another 3% of them were older adults that only understood how to turn the channel on the TV, and nothing else registered for them. I remember I went to one woman's house who was complaining about her cable bill reflecting quite alot of Adult Movies that she said the never ordered. When I went to her house I found out that She Did NOT know how to Lock the Channels and ordering Numbers, so she had her 13 year son teach her. OF course he knew the codes and ordered whatever he wanted when she would sleep. So as you can see, not everyone is as Smart as you. But what you seem to be saying is 'hey, that is okay. Let Channels show whatever they want right? No matter what. Hey, it is the consumers fault 100% if they aren't able to keep it away from their children.' That, to me, isn't too Smart.
"Because Tobacco companies purposefully and willfully lied to consumers about the effects of their product in order to keep people buying it. Without that, no tobacco company would be successfully sued." Yes, I understand that Surgeon General's warning is tricky to see on Each and Every pack of cigs sold. ------------------ "Her Box Started Buzzing Ever Since She Heard The CRÜE"
"So I guess you are saying that since ANYONE that owns a TV that is less than 2 years old, and can Figure out HOW to lock channels then all is Okay? " That's why you set a 4 digit PIN on the "Parental Lock". You're lucky your 2 year old didn't get ahold of your ATM card. " ... When I went to her house I found out that She Did NOT know how to Lock the Channels and ordering Numbers ... " That's her problem. She can prevent her child from accessing the TV. She can not have a TV. She can keep the TV locked away. Once she's decided to have a TV, and decided to allow her child to access the TV, she assumes the responsibility of policing the TV. A mother can deny TV access or learn how to control her V-Chip. Very simple. "I can tell you first hand that 95+% of the TVs I came across were OLDER than your two year old model." Fine. My parents circa 1995 TV has a V-Chip. My college 1995 Samsung had a V-Chip. Maybe parents can lock up their big, old TV and buy a 14" TV for the children. We already have a law mandating a parent's right to protect their children from bad TV. What more do you want? Do you propose to ban "R"-rated TV from cable? Do we need a tax credit for low-income families to buy V-Chip enabled TVs? Do we need mandate that one hour a week of prime-time programming is reserved for V-Chip instructions?
The article said those two teens were 16 and 17 years old. Being a 16 year old, I can say that anyone stupid enough to do what they did deserves what they get. You can't hold parents responsible for the stupid actions of an almost-adult. People my age constantly complain about being treated like minors, only to turn around and act like stupid little kids. By the time someone reaches that age, they are responsible for what they do, not their parents and definitely not the media. ------------------
The last two cable companies I have had both offered the option of blocking MTV if I so desired. And the satellite system has parental controls, as well. The thing is, these aren't "kids" in several of these cases. In the first instance, the people were 16 and 17 years-old. That's old enough to know better than to pull crap like this. If you get to be that old and you're that influenced by some stupid television show, then something was going to get you eventually anyway. And in the last story, the guy was 19. That's most certainly old enough to know better. You can't expect MTV to take responsibility for the actions of idiot adults. And as a father of two sons, I realize it is my job to teach my kids what to do and what not to do. We talk about things like this and they learn that there are differences between being a trained professional moron, and being a regular moron who does stupid things. But if either one of my sons did pull some incredibly stupid prank like these people have, I would consider a failure on my (and my ex-wife's) part. It wouldn't even occur to me to blame MTV or some other TV show. There will always be morons, and they will always get their ideas from somewhere. We had people when I was younger pulling stunts like these, but we didn't have MTV shows to blame when these stunts went wrong, so they didn't get the worldwide press that instances today do. I just think it's great that nothing is ever my fault anymore. I can simply sit back and blame others whenever something goes wrong for me. It's great to not have to worry about being responsible for myself anymore. ------------------ Houston Sports Board Film Dallas.com
JamCracker, All those are just other ways of passing the blame to others instead of finding an answer. If a Lady doesnt know how to use the Parental Lock or Doesnt have a TV that uses that lock, you are saying she should Lock Away her TV? The are all types of people in the world and Jeez, believe it or not SOME just want to watch their TV WITHOUT having to LOCK a channel off it. But hey, it is HER fault for not learning how to lock a channel off her TV, right? Good point. Just because ONE channel offers crappy program she doesnt want, she should forgo the other channels that SHE might like. Great point. But hey, what about the Telephone? Should she lock that away also Since 1-900 numbers can be called from it? Yeah, she should. And I hope that Cabinet is large because she can put the VCR in there too, just in case one of her son's friends tapes a show and gives him a tape. But we wont have any of these problems if she locks her TV, Phones, VCR up, will we? Man, you are a PROBLEM SOLVER. GIve yourself a medal. Once again, there is a HUGE difference between Basic services offered by a Cable company and all other PAY Channels such as HBO, STARZ, ENCORE, SHowTime, The Movie Channel. [This message has been edited by DUDE (edited April 24, 2001).]
Once again, NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO HAVE CABLE. For that matter, NO ONE HAS TO HAVE A TELEVISION AT ALL! Your comparison to cigarettes is not a good one. Tobacco companies concealed the presence of an addictive substance for years and years. MTV isn't hiding anything. They know it is violent and they know it probably isn't great for kids. The difference between the two is open disclosure. If I know something is bad for me or addictive and still do it, I have only myself to blame. If I do not fully understand the implications of my actions because I was purposefully misled, different story. ------------------ And then, depression set in...
It is her responsibilty to figure out how to use the tools available to her properly and not blame others for her failings. If she wants to keep her kids from watching those channels, she can take the small effort to figure out a way to prevent it, either by V-Chip, or through the cable company, or by not having cable at all. It's part of being a responsible parent. ------------------ Houston Sports Board Film Dallas.com
The real JACKASSES are those kids who tried the stunt! Damn I know I was a dumb kid...and pretty much still am, but cmon! ------------------ "Me entiendes Mendes? O te explico Federico?"
MTV is not at fault. FWIW, everything we come into contact with will affect us. It may positively or negatively persuade us, but no action happens until WE DECIDE to act. I understand that this could be a "negative influence" on children. I agree that it may be inappropriate, and it may give other people the idea to do something stupid like this. However, just giving one the idea to do an action, and causing that person to do the action are two totally different notions. As far as Jackass is concerned, the show is about doing dumb things like that. Heck, the name is /JACKASS/. Therefore, the events on the show are REALLY, REALLY DUMB. Only a JACKASS would do them. The people doing these actions and then blaming the consequences on a TV show are morons. They knew better than to act in this way. However, they persisted against reasonable thought. For the kids/idiots, blaming the media is just an easy way to make things simpler on oneself. If 100% blame falls on you, and you can "cry wolf" and lower the blame (and consequence) to 50% by bringing in an outside party, then by all means you DO IT. That is the train of thought in this instance. ------------------ "Up and down, inside out, outside in, some you lose some you win" -- DMB -> "Sweet Up and Down"
All the parents have to do is call the cable company and get MTV blocked off and they can still have basic cable. I know about this because my aunt had MTV blocked off from my cousins when they showed something on there about pornstars. ------------------ Arkansas' Biggest Rocket Fan!
I know I'm probably gonna get blasted, but I watch Jackass. MTV should not cancel Jackass. I agree often times the stunts are dangerous and just plain stupid, but just cause of a couple of kids who didn't read the disclaimer and attempted a stunt and got injured is no reason to cancel the show. If these kids can't handle their TV, they shouldn't be watching it. Where's the parent? Common sense tells you to not set yourself on fire or try to get run over by a car. The teenagers aren't very bright. MTV moved the show to 10 ET/9 CT and only airs two episodes a week on the same night. Jackass imitation shows air on the UT Channel. Jackass has a large following at my dorm, and we will do anything to prevent it from being cancelled. ------------------
As much flack as Hip Hop has gotten over the years and THEY HAVE STICKERS on the packages how come the music gets blamed but the channel showing it doesn't? Also . . . .MTV shows some sh*T during the daylight hours that is a bit . . . .edgy that a CBS could not show . . . Rocket River ------------------
The 2 year old TVs will probably be fixed with the new digital cable broadcasts in the near future. Unless something has changed non-digital tv's will have to buy a convertor box to watch tv. Basically the convertor box will make the screen look like an old movie where there are black lines along the borders of the tv for non-digital tvs. Most people won't want to look at the black lines and will have to buy digital tvs (hence no old tvs)
You are not alone my friend! I watched it too before I cancled my cable due to too much couch potato. I think Jackass is even borderline performance art. Much better than the "serious" performance art out there, of which I hate ALL of it. ------------------ "Me entiendes Mendes? O te explico Federico?"
