Hey parents, remember when actress Charlotte Ross' buns got their seven seconds of fame on NYPD Blue? And when Cher and Nicole Ritchie blurted out curse words at live awards shows? Well it's official: They got away with it. The Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the FCC to fine broadcasters for those fleeting moments of nudity and profanity.
But that was then and this is now. The Supreme Court did NOT rule on whether it's okay to fine broadcasters for nudity and profanity in the future. They said the FCC could make new rules about that, you know, whenever. Which brings me to this question: What are parents supposed to do in the meantime?
Just to be clear, the Supreme Court's ruling had nothing to do with parenting or morality. This comes down to a technicality -- something to do with the FCC not giving networks enough notice before fining them ... bla bla bla.
More from The Stir: Television for Toddlers: Even When It's Good It's Still Kind of Bad
Anyway, now it's an open question. The FCC can make new rules about brief profanity and nudity during prime time. But some folks say that's just more government intrusion. Like, why can't parents just not let their kids watch the bad stuff, or something. It's your responsibility!
ORLLY? Let's imagine a world where broadcasters are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.
Your kids go to bed at 8:00. You turn on your grown-up TV show. Your 3-year-old can't sleep and sneaks into the living room just as someone streaks across your screen in their birthday suit.
Or: You let your 8-year-old Gleek stay up to watch the Emmys. Darren Criss lets loose an F-bomb.
Or: A real-life example, that time before cable TV was regulated and my young siblings and I stumbled upon full-frontal strip tease at 2:00 in the afternoon. Yes, that happened. No, our parents never found out. Yes, we were kind of freaked out to learn grown-ups take off their clothes for each other just for fun.
So now you have to have one of those conversations with your kid. And you find yourself saying, "I know I said that word, too, last Friday, and I shouldn't have." Or you say, "Well, the human body is beautiful, but in our family, we kind of like to keep our private parts to ourselves because, um ... (???)"
Ugh. You know what? I know times are changing. And I don't want to go back to the days of Leave It to Beaver. But I am also not so desperate for one of those "I'm the Only Person Responsible for Raising This Child" medals of honor that I can't appreciate a little bit of help from the FCC. I mean, rules need to be clear and a little more liberal. But I'd still like there to be at least some baseline of acceptability on prime time television.
Should the FCC have rules on profanity and nudity for prime time television? What should those rules be?
Image via woodleywonderworks/Flickr
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Comments 37
here is a thought, dont let you kids watch nypd blue. if your child is too young to hear the word ass then they shouldnt be up that late anyway. im a 31 year old parent and i would be pissed if i couldnt watch adult tv during adult tv time because you think its someone elses job to govern what your kids watch. do you job.
What happened to the day when you could sit and watch something with your child and not have to explain something you weren't or your child weren't quite ready for? Whether it's a 4 hour erection or "skinny bitches" during the morning news?
What happened to keeping some things where they belong? NOT ON TV.
I know our kids will hear things eventually but really, what's the point of nudity and cursing on TV? Are there so few words to use that little brains pick the swearing because they don't know any better ones? I find people who swear on a regular basis are.....slow. Or they'd know better words to use to get their point across. It's just unnecessary.
Solution: Have kids watch the re-run versions of award shows. Anything questionable that got into the live version are edited out. Use tv parental controls to block channels like spike or FX which get away with various states of nudity. And don't let your kids watch after the watershed. It's called being a parent and knowing what your child is viewing.
Anything that they accidentally see because you are watching it can't be helped (unless you want to give up watching your grownup shows) . If tv is that much of an issue for your family then take a cue from some of the commenters and get rid of it or exclusively use netflix.
And as for profanity. I feel if you dont let them know early on that some words are "adult only" then they will eventually hear it (whether that be at school from a friend, a person in the store, or you when you accidentally spill half the pot of boiling hot spaghetti water on your bare feet) and probably repeat it because they dont know that they are not supposed to.
Parent your own kids and not ask that the government do it for you.
Turn off the TV. Reality is a much better teacher in all aspects.