Venues of vulgarity

The Washington Times ^ | 4-19-06 | Mona Charen

[JZelle]

A couple of weeks ago I was felled by a particularly nasty flu. Too sick even to read, I listened to radio and watched television for long hours every day. What I heard and saw was not conducive to recovery. I admit to being a little "out of the loop" as I almost never watch entertainment television on the major stations. But the level of vulgarity that now seems utterly ordinary is just unbelievable. Bud Light has a series of radio commercials that celebrate "Real Men of Genius," a very tongue-in-cheek tribute to the ordinary guys whose greatest accomplishment, these ads seem to suggest, is filling their bellies with light beer. One of these "tributes" was aimed at "Mr. Supermarket Produce Putter Outer" and went like this:

[JZelle]

"...decency is a snigger word."

Careful now!!

[misterrob]

Those are great ads!!!!

Mr. Way To Much Cologne Wearer
Mr. Silent But Deadly
Mr. Way Too Small Bathing Suit Wearer

Mona is an old hag....

[TexasCajun]

Have you been to your local mall lately?

You can see and hear things that just make you shake your head and wonder who raised this kids?

[trubluolyguy]

Our ad writers bulldoze right past it into crudeness.

---

Yet another reason that the remote is one of man's greatest inventions. She whines about the ad, but did she turn the channel?

[Nonstatist]

Those are great ads!!!!

So you like vulgar? That's so precious!!

[goodnesswins]

No...probably likes "tasteless."

[misterrob]

Vulgar is a word my mother would use when she was in her late 50's and sixties....

for those of us not even close to that age or as uptight......

[misterrob]

No, they are beer ads parodying the pretty people culture.

Tis okay, they aren't likely getting your business anyway so do you think that they really care?

[colorado tanker]

That flu bug must've knocked out her sense of humor.

(signed) Mr. Vulgar Bud Light Real Men of Genius Commercial Listener.

[Just another Joe]

In my opinion subtle, that takes about three seconds to hit you, is better than in your face.

Indelicate means that they smack you in your face rather than tickling your fancy.

[Killborn]

To those who think "just change the channel",

There may be a time when hardcore porn is schedule at children's time slots for purposes of "education."

And you were not fast enough to change when your little one stumbled upon it.

I'm not suggesting blue laws or censorship. But something has to be done. Merely relying on the free markets and the conscience of the people may be insufficient.

[LexBaird]

You don't sell much beer appealing to delicate sensibilities. You sell beer by appealing to Animal House sensabilities.

[RyanM]

I have three children and fortunately the only way to receive television where I live is by cable. For the last nine years we have not subscribed and we have not had ANY "TV" for that period of time. Haven't missed it a bit. We have a very nice flat panel by which we view DVDs, but that's it. We do have a
good broadband connection.

You CAN live very nicely without TV. Why let yourself be corroded by all of that ****. I encourage you to give it a try.

[ozzymandus]

Mona needs to get out more.

[fr_freak]

Yet another reason that the remote is one of man's greatest inventions. She whines about the ad, but did she turn the channel?

I think you missed the entire point of her article. She was not whining that she had to experience these ads. She was merely pointing out that these ads are symptoms of a larger societal problem. That our society would accept such crudeness on broadcast TV, something that would have been unthinkable 40 years ago, is an indicator of the general coarsening of our culture. The "change the channel" argument doesn't apply here in the least.

In my own opinion, the "change the channel" argument when referring to vulgarity and blatant sexuality on broadcast TV is equivalent to the argument that people should be allowed to do whatever they want (i.e. engage in soft-core pron, scream profanity, etc.) inthe town square, and if people don't like it, they can go somewhere else; no one is forcing them to be there. Broadcast TV, like the town square, is a shared domain, a community place, and there should be enforceable standards.

[JZelle]

Have you heard the one Glen Beck does? I think it's "real american a-holes".

[CaliGirlGodHelpMe]

"Mona is an old hag.... "

Well, then I guess I am too because I find the constant barrage of vulgar, tasteless, adolescent and peurile entertainment/advertising (which seems to be aimed at not-particularly-intelligent 14 year old boys) to be depressing, to put it mildly. But it's just another brick in the wall.

I think you should take this debasement of the taste and morals of our young people more seriously. Some are being led into the lowest forms of behavior by the Pied Piper of sexually provocative entertainment. They should be protected from it, not encouraged to enjoy it.

[LexBaird]

I'm not suggesting blue laws or censorship. But something has to be done. Merely relying on the free markets and the conscience of the people may be insufficient.

So, what are you suggesting, then? If relying on people's judgement is not enough, but outside compulsion is out, what then?

How about a manditory age limit: TV viewers must be at least 21 years old and have no children living at home.

[trubluolyguy]

Broadcast TV, like the town square, is a shared domain, a community place, and there should be enforceable standards.

---

I understand where you are coming from, really I do. But until the television becomes a necessity in every American household, I don't see "enforceable standards" coming any time soon.

[beaversmom]

I was in Wal-Mart (in a nice area BTW). A group of rowdy teenagers came through walking down the main aisle while I was sorting through coupons and looking at cereal. I heard them before I saw them. The first set was a couple of guys and one girl. The young girl shouted out, "I don't f'in stink. I f'in bathed." So I looked over to see who was coming up talking so crudely. As she and her entourage passes, she raises her arm and sniffs under it. The other set of teenagers (I think both sets were all together) were dressed up in some weird outfits--obviously costumes and not just the regular weird costumes they normally wear. I don't know what they were celebrating but I continued standing in the cereal aisle and I could hear them from way across the store. The first set passed again down a different main aisle and (I think it was armpit girl again) and the girl must have said something else rude as another woman with a young boy had a shocked look on her face as they marched past. I didn't catch her second oral presentation. They came in like a tornado and soon left--not sure if they were asked to leave or not.