I
usually don’t pay attention to commercials…
But
when I see bloody meat sizzling in a pan…
For
the umpteenth time…
I sit
back to see what’s up…
Or
should I say what’s cooking?
Oh,
a new TV show?
Oh,
come on. Really?
It
was creepy enough watching Anthony Hopkin’s face…
As
he described eating some guy’s liver…
With
fava beans and a nice chianti…
But to
do that with facial expressions is great acting…
To
actually see the liver…
With
the blood oozing out when sliced into…
That’s
gratuitous.
And
then there’s another commercial…
For
another new TV show—The Following.
First
you see a nice guy with a family…
And
then you see the same guy…
But now
he’s a bad guy, torturing a woman.
Really?
Is
this what entertainment is coming down to?
OK,
I admit that I watch Criminal Minds…
But
sometimes I have to change the channel…
Because
I don’t want to see all the gore and horror…
Especially
because all episodes…
Are based
on true stories…
And
worse?
Every
episode had to be ratcheted down…
So
as not to shock the viewers.
It
seems to me that our entertainment…
Is
obsessed with horrific stories…
Which
makes me wonder…
Are
we becoming a society...
Of entertainment vampires and ghouls…
Waiting
for our daily fix of blood and gore?
What's your daily intake?
Always,
Em-Musing
9 comments:
Shock value is where it's at right now. Although it's scary what they can get away with showing on television now.
Don't have TV. Apparently, that's a really good thing.
Well you don't have to watch those shows. Other people like different things. I watch Hannibal, and it's mostly because the character is fascinating in the same way as it's fascinating for me to look through a window at a Bengal tiger.
You know the person on the other side of the glass (or tiger) could kill you, but the dangerousness of the creature (or monster) you are staring at is kind of riveting.
For what it's worth, the Mormons have banned Hannibal from NBC affiliate KSL here in Utah. The only way I can watch it is through syndication on the CW late at night on Friday or by going online.
I think that if people don't want to watch a program on television, they should feel free to turn it off at any time.
I'll take a good old fashioned wormhole any day, thank you very much.
Unfortunately, I guess TV has indeed become more violent as time goes by. Although I am personally not a fan of vampires and gore, I am a violent show fan in terms of action.
www.modernworld4.blogspot.com
I don't mind violence and gore as long as it's more the afterthought. Like a battle between two samurai, or a wild west shootout.
Now movies like Saw and zombie movies I really can't stand.
As long as we're ratcheting down there's still hope. :)
Man, you're so right. I like dark stuff, but definitely prefer more OFF-SCREEN or else a kind of horror with some deniability. A paranormal element or at least a fantasy setting (huge game of thrones fan and that is pretty graphic). I think part of it is we want our entertainment to make us FEEL and stuff we've seen never before easier to hit than touching real emotion.
So this is what I missing on TV these days. I suffer through "American Idol" and that's torture enough. My mother and sisters are getting tired of "Idol" and probably won't be watching it after this season so I guess I probably won't since I was only watching to have some common topic to talk about with them.
I'll stick to the news. No, wait! That can be worse than those shows you're describing.
Maybe I'll read. Now there's a novelty.
Lee
A Faraway View
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