Posted on 04/14/2004 9:30:26 AM PDT by quidnunc
Victoria's Secret has canceled its TV show, citing the new chill wind blowing through the airwaves since Janet Jackson got pawed in prime time. Unless they have plans to drape tarps over all their storefronts in the malls of America, this seems a bit exaggerated.
No one watches a Victoria's Secret TV special expecting modesty and cerebral pursuits; they watch to see women composed mostly of legs and lips parade around in articles of clothing containing up to 16 molecules of silk. No one sees "Victoria's Secret Special" in TV Guide and thinks it's a program about a 19th century British queen and her heretofore unknown interest in philately. People choose to see it; no one forces them.
But. It is on the public airwaves. Maybe that's the last place we'll have standards. Maybe we, as a society, can learn to live in a world where derrieres are, for the most part, covered on broadcast channels. And perhaps Victoria's Secret can take it to pay-per-view and make a great deal more money. Everyone's happy. Win-win.
But. The Federal Communications Commission has been making noises about regulating cable, which puts an entirely different spin on the public indecency debate. Cable is an entirely different matter.
Background: In the last few years we've seen FM jocks get canned for sponsoring a contest to have sex in a church (brought to you by Samuel Adams beer, ruining its reputation, one ill-advised promotion at a time). We've seen luminaries like Bubba the Love Sponge and St. Stern the Martyr fired or fined or dropped. Why? For talking like 14-year-olds who think it's the height of wit to construct interminable online narratives about their interest in lesbian dwarves. It's a battle to forestall the coarsening of the public sphere, lest we become so ground-down fighting the large public indecencies that we accept the small ones.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Completely reasonable thesis.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.