July 26, 2004
MARKETS REQUIRE RULES:
Censored: Ever since Janet Jackson bared her breast on network TV, US popular culture has been under siege from the sweeping forces of the Christian Right. With the Presidential election looming, a bitter war is being waged in the Land of the Free to decide what people should be allowed to watch and hear (Lawrence Donegan, 7/25/04, The Observer)
Ironically, the push for more controls on what is shown is coming largely from right-wing, religious politicians and organisations who have long argued that market forces should prevail in every aspect of society: education, healthcare, social services - everything except broadcasting, it seems.But irony and self-doubt have never been part of the Christian Conservative lexicon, especially now that they are in a position of influence. The groups who want tougher restrictions on broadcasters are more organised now - thanks in large part to the internet - and have the support of the White House, argues Mark Crispin Miller, professor of culture and communication at New York University. 'We have always had angry people in this country who loathe mass culture and who are vigilant against any works of art they deem to be anti-Christian,' he says. 'Unfortunately, we now have an openly theocratic government which is encouraging these people and providing a political climate that is allowing them to thrive.'
Miller cites a number of government decisions as examples of this new orthodoxy, from the withdrawal of funding for organisations that promote birth control in the Third World, to the withdrawal of public money used to finance captioning of the 1960s TV comedy Bewitched, for the hard of hearing ('...because it's about witchcraft,' he says).
In a week when the singer Linda Ronstadt was thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel for expressing support for the filmmaker Michael Moore, it's hard to argue against the notion that America is becoming more intolerant. Yet organisations like the Parent Television Council argue - as did the hotel manager who banished Ronstadt - that they are simply speaking for the 'silent majority'.
Here's a reality show for you--gather an audience in any Red State in America and let Ms Ronstadt express herself until they chase her from the stage. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 26, 2004 8:23 AM
Once again they equate what happens to an entertainer who spouts invective that their audience doesn't agree with or want to hear with censorship.
It really looks as if our society is completely "dumbed down". Or maybe it's just journalism school that's dumbed down?
Posted by: NKR at July 26, 2004 8:40 AMNo matter what, you have to give Ronstadt some credit for discretion. Had she decided to pull a self-expressive stunt, a la Janet Jackson, it's conceivable that the Alladin Hotel might now be a smoking ruin.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at July 26, 2004 9:28 AMIt's just wrong to confuse the religious right with the anti-regulation right.
Posted by: David Cohen at July 26, 2004 9:32 AMThank you Barry for that image!
Much like that famous Hindenberg burning clip..
OH,, the humanity.
Posted by: h-man at July 26, 2004 11:33 AMUmm ... why was the government paying for the closed-captioning of BEWITCHED in the first place?
Posted by: John Barrett Jr. at July 26, 2004 3:00 PM'We have always had angry people in this country who loathe mass culture and who are vigilant against any works of art they deem to be anti-Christian,' he says. 'Unfortunately, we now have an openly theocratic government which is encouraging these people and providing a political climate that is allowing them to thrive.'
Believe me, my theocracy alarm has a hair trigger, but this guy hasn't a clue what he is talking about. It is about the market. The MTV dolts tried to peddle their R-rated slut music on a G-rated family event. Let Janet pop her top on MTV or HBO, and noone will raise a peep.
We loathe mass culture? Football is mass culture, Janet Jackson is Hip-Hop teen culture. You don't have to be a Christian to be an anti-vulgarian.
Rule #1 of the culture market. Know your customer. Linda Ronstadt should have known that some of the people desperate enough to buy tickets to her act might just be Bush supporters. Noone cares what your politics are honey, just indulge them on your own dime. People don't pay to hear you bad-mouth them.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at July 26, 2004 6:50 PMWhat gets me is how stupid this woman is. Dedicating "Desperado" to a man she claims to admire... the first words after "Desperado" is "Why don't you come to your senses" doesn't she listen to those words she stole from the Eagles? No wonder Ms. Ronstadt was playing the Aladdin in obscurity until all this happened...
Heyy... maybe that's why she did it.. after all nobody was talking about her before all this happens, now she's gotten all kinds of free publicity. Maybe she's not as dumb as her choice of heroes or her inability to write a decent song herself would seem to imply...
Posted by: MarkD at July 26, 2004 8:43 PM