Posted on 01/19/2005 7:50:21 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Fox Blurs Cartoon Rear End on FCC Worries
Mon Jan 17, 6:00 PM ET Strange News - AP
LOS ANGELES - Fox says it covered up the naked rear end of a cartoon character recently because of nervousness over what the Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) will find objectionable.
The latest example of TV network self-censorship because of FCC (news - web sites) concerns came a few weeks ago during a rerun of a "Family Guy" cartoon. Fox electronically blurred a character's posterior, even though the image was seen five years ago when the episode originally aired.
"We have to be checking and second-guessing ourselves now," Fox entertainment president Gail Berman said Monday. "We have to protect our affiliates."
Fox hadn't gotten any complaints about the cartoon. But the move follows the FCC's decision in October to fine 169 Fox stations $7,000 each for airing an episode of "Married By America" that showed people licking whipped cream from strippers' bodies and a man in his underwear being spanked by strippers.
"It's certainly confusing when you have to do something like that," Berman said. "It's just that we were trying to find our way and do what's responsible."
At PBS, executives said this weekend they will edit out a glimpse of a naked woman in a fictional account of a terrorist "dirty bomb" attack that will air next month after being shown first on HBO.
Cartoon ass is offensive to other cartoon people.
BTW - Are they going to start issuing fines for the Simpsons - every time Bart moons someone?
There's a commercial running now, I think it's Disney, and it has two dogs in the ad. Their bottoms have been digitally altered to remove a certain feature that is usually showing on a dog that holds it's tail high.
Stewie threatens to kill Lois every friggin' day, and they're worried about Peter's ass. Sheesh.
That's a good question.
I love The Family Guy.
Naked cartoon butt? Sheesh, let it slide.
"People licking whipped cream from strippers' bodies and a man in his underwear being spanked by strippers..." Ahem. That is another matter entirely.
We have to be checking and second-guessing ourselves now"
It's about time --- we still need to drop all penalties for "personal fights" (no weapons) so when somebody offends another person, they can fight it out HONORABLY - send the lawyers to iraq & iran where they will be welcomed (as target practice!)
It's coming on Cartoon Network right now...
Morality taliban have gone to far. We need some sort of FCC reforms so this type of stupid crap doesn't happen. If a network thinks something is questionable, they should be able to bring it in front of an independent FCC panel to review it to see if its OK to play on public airways.
Yeesh!
Eliminate the FCC and let the damn market determine what's on TV. I'm tired of subsidizing lazy parents who want to control what's on TV so their precious rugrats won't be corrupted. It's called parenting! You chose to have them, so you deal with them. Don't deprive me of my strippers wearing whipcream spanking people (or family guy). God I hate these big gubbament solutions.
;^)
TRANSLATION: Fox tries to stir up publicity for its show "Family Guy" by blaming some FCC fears on a blurred behind.
No they haven't! It's the amoral slime in charge of television that has gone too far and they are now overreacting like the spoiled whiny children that they are. They got their bare bottoms spanked a few times by the FCC and now they are having a hissy fit about it.
AFAIK, the FCC has only used fines in four or five cases and they were all situations that the broadcasters later admitted were inappropriate.
Hollywood can wiggle their genitals in America's faces for only so long before some folks (especialy parents of small children) decide enough is enough and it is to time to fight back.
And before you tell us to "just change the channel", many of us have already turned off their sets. The dirty little secret is that network television rating shares are at an alltime low which is why they are willing to show almost anything to attract a crowd.
I don't know about willing to show anything. Mostly all I see is junk and garbage. If they were trying anything, they might actually put something good on once in awhile. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.
Personally, this whole episode, was a publicity stunt. A good one, but a stunt never the less.
On the Family Guy last Sunday they had full backside nudity with now blurring. If I wanted to see someone's fat backside I would look behind me in the shower.
Yeah, your right. But I still believe it's in our best interest to make accessible a way for networks to prescreen content with the FCC on questionable content. Pixelating a cartoon butt is insane.
Actually, Fox was concerned that showing the scene might bring heat from Congress, since the objectionable image bears a remarkable resemblance to Barbara Boxer. On a good day.
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