Offense

by adam at 01:54 PM on November 18, 2004

Apparently the FCC is getting swamped by complaints about damned near anything nowadays. I think this has always been the case - in a country this big someone somewhere will be offended by damned near anything. There are people who think that Sesame Street is inappropriate for children, and people who think that movies like The King and I should be banned because they depict non-Christian values. OK. So we've always had crazy people living to the left and to the right, and among them have always been those who believe that it's their right to actually stomp out of existance those things with which they disagree.

The thing that makes our time different is that now the FCC is listening. Now what amounts to ONE LETTER is enough for the FCC to fine a TV station. I remember when Pulp Fiction came out. I saw it and thought it was brilliant, and told my mom about the movie. She saw it and hated it, and when I asked what the problem was, she said, "Too much cursing!" This is apparently a common way of looking at the world - and now we all know it. Doesn't matter what kind of artistic value a work has, throw in a few F-bombs and it suddenly becomes dangerous and corrupting to children.

Can anyone imagine a movie like Shaka Zulu airing on TV today? This thing was on broadcast primetime TV in *1983*, but we can imagine the FCC being inundated by a flood of letters (six) objecting to the movie's accurate portrayal of traditional topless Zulu woman's garb. "They should be wearing bikinis," the complainers would say.

This should be slightly familiar. Remember when the Taliban took Kabul, and one of the first things they did was destroy all of the objects in the Museum of Antiquities that portrayed human images? The ancient statues and artifacts didn't jive with some element of their religion, so any historical or artistic value that the objects had ceased to matter - they should be destroyed, and destroyed they were. Some would have us wipe out all art that has cursing, or deals with sex or drug use (violence doesn't seem to be a big concern for some reason). The thing is, any important work, any work that carries a strong message and actually stands a chance of changing anyone, is going to be offensive. Important messages challenge us to think, and for many being challenged is unacceptable - that which they know to be right will ALWAYS be right, no matter what the facts may be.

People always remind us that we need to protect the children. I say that's the parents' job - we can't tailor an entire society's artistic output to suit the needs of little kids. I'm reminded of an old Suicidal Tendencies lyric more and more of late. Let's all sing along:
Before you go taking a walk in my world
you better take a look at the real world
Cause this ain't no Mister Roger's Neighborhood
Can you say "feel like shit?"
Yea maybe sometimes I do feel like shit
I ain't happy 'bout it, but I'd rather feel like shit than be full of shit!
And if I offended you, oh I'm sorry
But maybe you need to be offended
But here's my apology and one more thing...fuck you!