Introduction Parents today have an obligation to keep their children safe from the harsh reality of life around them. Just by turning on the television a child is subjected to violence and provocative images, or is shown the “coolness” of lighting up a cigarette and drinking a beer. Television advertisements pose a threat to preserving a child’s innocence; they go above and beyond being an advertisement and become a weapon that is slowly tearing away at the decency in American homes. Parental Involvement Televisions are now equipped with V- Chips and Parental Controls, but even on the channels that are meant for children you can find programming with inappropriate subliminal messages that are meant to entertain the adults. Shows like Spongebob Squarepants on Nickelodeon, a children’s network, is filled with humor that targets adults and is, at times, inappropriate for children. Even children’s movies are now filled with humor that targets adults and makes them want to take their children to see the movie. Dreamworks Pictures ‘Shrek 2’ is filled with controversial suggestions of drug use, sexual references to undergarments, religion references, and foul language; yet it is still considered to be a children’s movie.
There are hundreds of websites that point out all the in-jokes and cultural references. On one site, author Jay Hill states “and where would a “Cops” parody show be without someone getting busted for drugs. In “Knights,” we see the peace officer frisking Puss in Boots and discovering a bag of catnip in Puss’s pocket. Given that catnip appears to be an illegal controlled substance in Far Far Away, the cat immediately replies: “That’s not mine” (Hill, J., 2004, May 27).
The Essay on Gangsta Rap Crime Children Violence Movies
Gangsta Rap: Crime The cultural majority in America is up in arms over the rising levels of violence and horrific images that have seeped into popular entertainment. Movies, television, and music have always been controversial, but even they can cross the line between poor taste and immorality. Entertainment corporations and record labels don't even blink, when told of the excessive torture or ...
This is obviously a reference to marijuana use and is inappropriate material for a children’s movie, proving that the movie industry is targeting the adults. To keep our children safer from harsh television programming, they invented the V-Chip.
“On January 1, 2000, the ‘V-Chip’ became required equipment in virtually all television sets sold in the United States… The V-Chip permits parents to program their television sets to block out violent, sexual or other programming they don’t want their children to see” (AGENCY GROUP 03, 2000 p. ?).
References Agency Group 03 (2000, January 1).
FCC V-CHIP TASK FORCE RELEASES UPDATED SURVEY ON THE ENCODING OF VIDEO PROGRAMMING. Retrieved May 22, 2005 FDCH Regulatory Intelligence Database, EBSCO HOST. Hill, J.
(2004, May 27) “Shrek 2′ features dizzying array of in-jokes and cultural references. Did you spot them all?. Retrieved May 22, 2005, Skwigly Animation Magazine: http://www.skwigly.co.uk/magazine/articles/01-05-0 4/dreamworks/shrek2jokes01.asp LaTour, M. S., Henthorne, T. L. (1993).
Female Nudity. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 10, Issue 3, p25. Retrieved May 12,2005, EBSCO Host. Reed Business Information. (2004, October) TV Channel Blocker. CED Magazine, Vol. 30 Issue 10, p62.
Retrieved May 22, 2005, EBSCO Host Rehman, S. N., & Brooks Jr., J. R. (1987, September).
Attitudes Toward Television Advertisements for Controversial Products. Journal of Health Care Marketing, Vol. 7, Issue 3, p78.
Retrieved May 12, 2005, EBSCO Host..
