I never really seem to know what to blog about, and I constantly think of possible ideas, but nothing really seems to stick. Earlier today, in a break from my quest to write the "perfect blog" I decided to watch one of my favorite TV shows, Dexter, a show about a serial killer, who only kills other killers. It isn't as confusing as it sounds. The show makes Dexter, a father and forensic "lab geek" for Miami Metro, out to be the good guy, while he still is a serial killer himself. I started to think about how far television shows and overall media in America has gone.Does anything fly in this society? If a television show about a serial killer is a common favorite show for many Americans, has the line for acceptable and unacceptable become blurred? Believe me, I am one of the biggest Dexter fans around, and am not saying that it shouldn't be aired, but it feels like media in America has no limits. I understand that scary shows and movies have been around almost forever, and that a show about a serial killer isn't that big of a deal in most peoples' eyes, but its not just shows like Dexter that are pushing the boundaries for media. Reality TV is everywhere, from shows like Teen Mom to Jersey Shore, there are no limits. Media these days is bouncing off the walls, and in my personal opinion, it provides for some great shows and programs, and just some awful, awful programs as well.
I completely agree. I recently blogged about a movie I saw that had a scene where the villains set a schoolbus full of kids on fire and showed the scene in all its horrible gory detail for several minutes. My immediate reaction was: really? How is that an acceptable scene to show? I am also a huge fan of Dexter, I think its great but I feel guilty whenever I watch it. It feels like I am satisfying some sort of sick disgusting desire for blood and suffering and death. Yet somehow I keep watching the show despite that feeling, it always seems to draw me back in. I think not only has the line become blurred, but I would furthermore argue that there is no line. Dexter's not the only show like this, there are countless shows just as sick and violent, criminal minds, law and order etc. and they are all overwhelmingly popular.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Griffin. I recently heard a story about a young boy who murdered his brother the way the character Dexter does it in the television show. These sort of things really make you wonder how limitless media in the United States really is. I also thinks this leads up to the argument that media is often times left open for the viewers interpretation, which makes drawing any sort of "line" difficult. I think it would be interesting to see how our media compares to other countries as well.
ReplyDeleteGriffin, While the idea of legislating good taste has potential here, you never draw any limits yourself (in fact, you watch and like Dexter you say). Can you look into rating/warning systems, legislation designed to limit content, consider the idea of censorship in a society that claims to value free speech? Most of all, anchor your ideas to a text.
ReplyDelete