FCC: Rogue Agency
For years, we've been warned about censorship, particularly, the kind where faceless government entities are making the decisions about what is and isn't appropriate for us, the innocent lambs of the public, to see and hear. Well, now, with the FCC and chairman Michael Powell, it's in full swing in this country. The ABC Monday Night Football spot and the airing of Saving Private Ryan are the two latest examples of what's happening in this country and why the FCC has become a rogue agency that's operating on its own without any clear standards.
The Monday Night Football spot could be considered in poor taste. But so is much of television. The infamous Super Bowl halftime show was in poor taste too, least of all because of the "wardrobe malfunction" problem (I mean, Kid Rock? Come on!). I think the cliche still applies: if you don't like what you see, change the channel. Don't go to the FCC or any government agency to be your surrogate (apparently, some people did, but they won't say how many--must not be a "mandate"). Whatever happened to all of the talk about parents instead of the government raising our children? Oh, that's right--Republicans, not Democrats, are running the show, so it's okay. They do everything right and good and have God on their side and wouldn't abuse their power at all. Only Democrats do that.
But the commercial showed just a bare back and the controversy was about what was implied, not what we actually saw. No bare breast here. So, what's the problem? I guess we have to go to Michael Powell's version of indecency, which is, well, what is it? I guess it comes back to "moral values" which are, exactly, what? (As a side note: you have to wonder how many of the complaints came from red-staters who, under the guise of "moral values," are really complaining because a black man and a white woman are romantically linked. Just like 100 years ago, this sort of thing is frowned upon in such bastions of civilization as, say, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana).
You have to laugh, or cringe, or just puke, when you hear Powell say, referring to ABC, "I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud." This kind of commentary is unprofessional. Powell is just trying to shame them into the conjured purity that America has associated with Walt Disney. It's sort of like your widowed mother saying to you as a kid, your dead father would be ashamed of you if you were alive, which, I guess is the point and what we've come to. To me, as a somewhat intelligent (I voted for Kerry) adult American who pays his taxes and is generally responsible in his everyday affairs, I find this insulting. As an American, I say to Michael Powell, just who the fuck do you think you are?
Then, you have the Saving Private Ryan airing last week, which was a complete debacle. In order to honor veterans who have fought and/or died for this country, ABC showed the film, in its entirety, uncut, leaving in the violence and language. Many affiliates, afraid of being punished by the FCC, decided not to air it. What did the FCC have to say? Nothing. They're just leaving the affiliates out to dry, with no word on saying it was okay and no warnings on potential fines, seemingly hoping to catch someone in a trap so they can rake in some of that expensive fine money that goes to, um, where does it go to? There aren't any clear rules, only what's open to interpretation by Powell, so who knows when the fist will come down?
It is appropriate to show this movie as it was made. The violence and language are what's to be expected in a film that depicts the horror of combat. Stern warnings such as, this film is uncut and contains intense combat violence and language and is not suitable for children, should be sufficient to cover the network's ass. But, as we know, there are too many people in this country who are just plain dumb and operate completely on their own fears and emotions so what good is such a warning?
Of course, with a war movie at this time in our history, we have to consider Powell's partisan agenda. If America watches this film, it will see blood and gore and what happens to good men, both physically and mentally, when they are subject to horrors of war. This is what's happening to thousands of young men and women right now as they fight in Iraq. The clowns running this country don't even want you to see flag-draped coffins because you might get enraged about the 2+ troops per day we're losing in a war that has no moral justification and has spiralled into a Vietnam-style moral void. We've got 100,000+ troops sitting in the sand over in Iraq, fighting and dying for a war that was wrongly waged by their civilian leaders, and we can't even watch a war movie back home that would enable us to reflect upon the horror of warfare on Veterans Day because some are worried about indecency? Again, I ask, what the fuck is wrong with this country that this is acceptable?
Just like 9-11 gave these shitheads the justification to fight endless war and to have full access into our personal lives, the SuperBowl halftime show with 2 idiot performers exposing a breast has given them license to wage a decency war on the airwaves. The FCC is fighting this war without any standards or laws and apparently on the whim of outraged moral crusader Michael Powell.
Will anybody in government go after the FCC and ask, just what the fuck are you doing?
The Monday Night Football spot could be considered in poor taste. But so is much of television. The infamous Super Bowl halftime show was in poor taste too, least of all because of the "wardrobe malfunction" problem (I mean, Kid Rock? Come on!). I think the cliche still applies: if you don't like what you see, change the channel. Don't go to the FCC or any government agency to be your surrogate (apparently, some people did, but they won't say how many--must not be a "mandate"). Whatever happened to all of the talk about parents instead of the government raising our children? Oh, that's right--Republicans, not Democrats, are running the show, so it's okay. They do everything right and good and have God on their side and wouldn't abuse their power at all. Only Democrats do that.
But the commercial showed just a bare back and the controversy was about what was implied, not what we actually saw. No bare breast here. So, what's the problem? I guess we have to go to Michael Powell's version of indecency, which is, well, what is it? I guess it comes back to "moral values" which are, exactly, what? (As a side note: you have to wonder how many of the complaints came from red-staters who, under the guise of "moral values," are really complaining because a black man and a white woman are romantically linked. Just like 100 years ago, this sort of thing is frowned upon in such bastions of civilization as, say, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana).
You have to laugh, or cringe, or just puke, when you hear Powell say, referring to ABC, "I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud." This kind of commentary is unprofessional. Powell is just trying to shame them into the conjured purity that America has associated with Walt Disney. It's sort of like your widowed mother saying to you as a kid, your dead father would be ashamed of you if you were alive, which, I guess is the point and what we've come to. To me, as a somewhat intelligent (I voted for Kerry) adult American who pays his taxes and is generally responsible in his everyday affairs, I find this insulting. As an American, I say to Michael Powell, just who the fuck do you think you are?
Then, you have the Saving Private Ryan airing last week, which was a complete debacle. In order to honor veterans who have fought and/or died for this country, ABC showed the film, in its entirety, uncut, leaving in the violence and language. Many affiliates, afraid of being punished by the FCC, decided not to air it. What did the FCC have to say? Nothing. They're just leaving the affiliates out to dry, with no word on saying it was okay and no warnings on potential fines, seemingly hoping to catch someone in a trap so they can rake in some of that expensive fine money that goes to, um, where does it go to? There aren't any clear rules, only what's open to interpretation by Powell, so who knows when the fist will come down?
It is appropriate to show this movie as it was made. The violence and language are what's to be expected in a film that depicts the horror of combat. Stern warnings such as, this film is uncut and contains intense combat violence and language and is not suitable for children, should be sufficient to cover the network's ass. But, as we know, there are too many people in this country who are just plain dumb and operate completely on their own fears and emotions so what good is such a warning?
Of course, with a war movie at this time in our history, we have to consider Powell's partisan agenda. If America watches this film, it will see blood and gore and what happens to good men, both physically and mentally, when they are subject to horrors of war. This is what's happening to thousands of young men and women right now as they fight in Iraq. The clowns running this country don't even want you to see flag-draped coffins because you might get enraged about the 2+ troops per day we're losing in a war that has no moral justification and has spiralled into a Vietnam-style moral void. We've got 100,000+ troops sitting in the sand over in Iraq, fighting and dying for a war that was wrongly waged by their civilian leaders, and we can't even watch a war movie back home that would enable us to reflect upon the horror of warfare on Veterans Day because some are worried about indecency? Again, I ask, what the fuck is wrong with this country that this is acceptable?
Just like 9-11 gave these shitheads the justification to fight endless war and to have full access into our personal lives, the SuperBowl halftime show with 2 idiot performers exposing a breast has given them license to wage a decency war on the airwaves. The FCC is fighting this war without any standards or laws and apparently on the whim of outraged moral crusader Michael Powell.
Will anybody in government go after the FCC and ask, just what the fuck are you doing?
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