Let me start by admitting that I have no idea what is airing on MTV these days. I recall the very early years watching hours of VHS tape that some kind souls sent to us poor under-civilized children residing in the dark-ages in Germany. We wore holes in those tapes watching them non-stop, over and over. Back then MTV aired music videos and it was great. Now apparently they have a crap-load of "reality" programming. I've seen the tabloid covers, including People magazine, that appear to honor the new bevy of teen girls who are pregnant, and even pregnant...again. Apparently there are two series, 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. My opinion, based on seeing the magazine covers in the checkout lanes, is that these young ladies are being glamorized. I'm no prude. I believe that our children should receive comprehensive sex education to include the realities and consequences of pregnancy. I just don't think that we, as a society, should create a situation in which teen pregnancy is set on a pedestal and that's what it seems like here. Of course, I haven't seen the shows, so perhaps there is a greater message being sent. But, even if that is so, that message is being distorted by print media.
I would like to mention that MTV is airing a special entitled No Easy Decision today, of course I won't be seeing it firsthand (don't get MTV and not missing it). No Easy Decision tells the story of three teens who, for their own reasons, have decided to have abortions. No matter what your position on the issue, I do believe that this special could be very informative viewing (and, just this once, I do wish that I had MTV, but I'm sure it will become available on hulu or something soon).
Links for further reading:
MTV's "No Easy Decision" Focuses on Abortion
MTV to air special report tackling abortion
4 comments:
I've seen Teen Mom a few times while staying in a hotel (we don't have cable either) and yeah, it's a train wreck with all of hte drama. I thought 16 and pregnant would focus more on sex education and STD and pregnancy protection, considering the audience of the show, but mostly it focused on the relationships between the pregnant girls and their parents and their boyfriends. Drama, drama, drama.
This new one sounds interesting. Let us know if you find it online somewhere.
Wow...for a network that seems to be tirelessly searching for the lowest common denominator these days (and for the past couple decades) (MTV really should be for TTRSTV...for Trashy Teenaged Reality Show TV), putting on a program like that really shows some courage in today's political climate. No matter how exploitative the show ends up being, the religious right's gonna go nuts...
Did you know they no longer play music videos? Isn't that a bit weird from Music Television?
I stopped watching MTV when it stopped playing music.
I don't watch tv apart from the music channels and that's more to stay on top of what's going on in the charts. As a dj I need to know that.
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