Not long ago I was price-gouged by a
restaurant and vowed never to return. Just the other day I was repulsed by a TV
program and vowed never to watch that series again. There is a parallel, I
think, between being forced to pay for over-priced food and unexpectedly
finding myself watching an offensive TV show. Both deserved the response, a
miniature marketplace in action.
The TV program I’m referring to, an
episode of SWAT, featured a character, a regular on the series, who openly
admitted to being bi-sexual. When she confided to a co-worker that she was
intensely attracted to another woman, she was told essentially to “go for it,”
in other words, go ahead and satisfy your sexual urges, even if the
relationship would not meet traditional norms. Now, I don’t know how or why
producers of this action show felt that this would add to the enjoyment of the
program, and I’m not so much of a prude that I object to portrayals of different
life-styles. But then a meeting with the two women turned into something more
than an expression of interest: it became an invitation by the other woman to
enter into a threesome called a “thruple” involving her fiancée. The next scene
showed the boyfriend making a lascivious invitation to explore the proposed arrangement’s
exciting aspects. The scene ended with the young lady seriously considering it.
That’s when I pushed the OFF button on the TV remote.
As someone with a former connection
to the advertising business, I ask myself why an advertiser would want to
support a show that asks viewers to empathize with a character who is considering
joining a “thruple;” worse, to invite viewers to vicariously weigh the pros and
cons of adopting a life-style that flouts traditional morality. This, I submit,
is a perfect example of corrosive Hollywood values promoted to the public in
prime time.
I am only one person, but I am
saying to those responsible, producers and advertisers alike, “I am not going
to buy what you’re selling anymore.”
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