A quick look at a scary statistic…In the 1960’s and 70’s nine of the Top Ten TV programs in prime time were situation comedies. Shows like I LOVE LUCY, ALL IN THE FAMILY, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY and many others dominated the airwaves. Without doubt, these shows are far out of step with the modern world but in their day they provided humorous relief from the daily dirge. Over the decades this sitcom dominance has steadily faded. Today we note that in the past decade only 2 “comedies” rated in the Top Ten, FRIENDS AND THE BIG BANG THEORY…both are now out of production. The trend is now violent drama. Shows like CRIMINAL MINDS, NCIS, BLUE BLOODS, BLACKLIST and the like clearly dominate our prime times. Not only are they violent in content but also graphic in displaying violent acts. Add to the genre the use of “gutter talk” and you have a prime time that many parents must avoid to shield their kids from the darkest sides of human nature. Last week we viewed 5 such “dramas” and saw 14 killings vividly displayed. And then there was the animated Christmas Special where the villain threatened to kill the main character, a reindeer. This program was apparently directed to garner the kids market. Are we teaching future generations to be numb to death? Think about seeing death routinely and graphically on TV every night of every week and add lax gun laws, PTSD sufferers, and any other stressors in daily life. Is it reasonable to expect violence to decrease? The people who read this may not worry because it won’t impact them immediately but it WILL affect their kids and grandkids. The “kinder, gentler” world that President George H W Bush sought is getting further from reality. Tell the networks we need to see some quality programming showing humor.
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