Parents Group Says Implied Nudity Rising On TV
Hollywood would be wise to heed the warning and find a few more pairs of pants.
Watching TV with your kids probably isn’t the best way to spend an evening, but it’s what many of us often do nonetheless. As such, we try to select shows that will be appropriate. That means no crazy violence, and no nudity or sexual content. According to researchers at the Parents Television Council (people whose tough job it is to count the number of times they see naked people on TV), these cleaner shows are becoming much harder to find. Specifically, they are reporting a significant increase in pixelated private parts or other suggestive scenes in which naked body parts are obscured by other objects or barely hidden behind towels.
The Parents Television Council recorded 76 instances of suggested or blurred nudity last season, up from 15 instances the year before.
Hollywood would be well advised to heed the watchdog group’s warning. No parent wants to explain to a child what’s behind that bowl of bananas and apples. And TV faces so much competition from other sources of entertainment that it would be wise to make sure parents know they can safely turn on the tube in prime time.
The Parents Television Council said it plans to complain to the Federal Communications Commission, who in recent years has greatly liberalized violence and sexual content standards. Most parents probably appreciate this, even if they aren’t aware of the shift.
TV is in a golden age, with more high-end programing gracing the airwaves than ever before. Mad Men, Modern Family, 30 Rock, Wilfred and Louis, just to name a few. All are written well, highly entertaining and, in many cases, significantly dirtier than the shows which used to dominate the 10 p.m. timeslot.
Still, prime time is family time, and Hollywood must remember the eyeballs they really need to sell their soap. Naked people are funny, but no one wants to explain to a child why a character’s penis looks like a screensaver on a busted cellphone.
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Stop making it seem like the biggest problem facing parents is explaining what a penis or breasts are. If the parents don't like what's on TV, then maybe they should just turn the d**n thing off and do something else with their kids - like read a book!
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