MTV came to my neighborhood to recruit women from the ages of
18 to 28 for its "True Life" reality series. The music
network was seeking subjects for an episode about what it's like
to be a "Staten Island girl." Turnout was surprisingly
light, though that could have been because of the impending
snowstorm. But appearing on the cable channel should have drawn
more than the 50 giddy girls who showed up for their 15 minutes
of fame. Is it too much to hope that our sweet young ladies
finally recognize MTV for the vendor of prurience it has become?
Auditions were held at the Muddy Cup in Stapleton, a trendy
coffee shop on the order of Central Perk, once featured in the
sitcom "Friends," or the Greenwich Village coffeehouses
of the 1960s. The Muddy Cup was also an occasional setting for
Richard Dreyfuss's television bomb, "The Education of 1191
2174 1293 2185
Max Bickford." It's probably the only place in this
conservative borough with an ambience palatable to the
Manhattan-based MTV crew.
In the 1990s, I blocked MTV on my cable, because young girls my
daughters' age were becoming fans of Madonna, who I felt
glamorized trashy behavior, bordering on the obscene. But unlike
many of my contemporaries, I've always maintained that the small
screen presents us with a unique opportunity to impart our values
and principles by talking about entertainment with our children.
But of course we must be there to monitor what they're watching.
I still hold to that principle, except that 20 years ago I did
not have to deal with television as a sexual predator out to
corrupt the morals of minors. Madonna's antics pale in comparison
to what is on MTV today.
Any parents who allow their children unfettered access to
television need to check out what's on MTV and other channels
these days. MTV began in 1981 as music television and was
originally devoted to showing music videos. It has since become
an outlet for a variety of programs targeting teens and young
adults. I'd love to know who dreams up MTV's programming, because
it reflects the lowest common denominator of human behavior.
"Outrageous" has always been the reaction it strives
for, whether stupid tricks on "Jackass" or sick comics
like Tom Green. But it has now devolved into reality shows
trolling for lascivious hedonists.
On "Date My Mom," young male contestants date older
mothers to determine if their daughters are suitable dates. See a
mother pimp her daughters' sexual attributes. Hear a young man
praise the size of a mother's mammaries while expressing hope
that her daughter has inherited her chest. Ugh!
Many of MTV's programs center around sex. I find this demeaning
to intelligent young adults who have more interests than their
hormonal urges.
Recently, my daughter substituted at an after-school program at a
local elementary school. When she asked the seventh-and
eighth-graders, mostly minorities, what careers they wanted to
pursue, she was shocked at their responses. Almost all the young
girls wanted to star in a rap video as a background dancer. The
boys wanted to be rappers or basketball players. They all
mentioned watching MTV's hit show "Cribs." This program
features the luxurious, though tacky, homes of superstar rappers
and athletes. Conspicuous consumption is too mild a term to use
in describing these residences. One wonders why this program
never features the equally luxurious and better decorated homes
of doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, or successful
entrepreneurs - inspiring more career choices with better odds of
success than music or sports.
Cable television may be subverting the morals of our young
adults, but it isn't safe to leave toddlers unmonitored in front
of the TV, either. Noggin is a cable station that airs innocuous
kiddie shows like "Oobi," "Blue's Clues,"
"Dora the Explorer," "Play With Me Sesame,"
and others. My grandchildren had been watching "Little
Bear" at 5:30 p.m., a delightfully innocent cartoon show
based on books by Maurice Sendak. But it was immediately followed
by a "Degrassi Junior High" episode, which by 6:09 p.m.
featured students discussing condoms and gay sex.
Some programs, like those on MTV, should come with this label:
"This program contains sexually explicit material unsuitable
for anyone with a modicum of morals and a lick of sense."
Let this be a warning to all parents and guardians who naively
think that television is still a safe baby sitter. It's not.