I watched a heady movie last night called Side Out. The movie is great, but what I really want to discuss is this: I saw nipples — twice, the movie was peppered with swears and it appeared to be sponsored by Miller Light and Jose Cuervo. Why is this significant? Besides the fact that it aided in my popping wood, it is significant because the movie is rated PG-13 and was made in 1990. Last I checked, PG-13 movies don’t have lovely breasts all over the place. It got me thinking about media, violence and censorship…
From 1995 to 2005 there were 23 school shootings — many of which blame movies and/or entertainment, citing entertainment as the cause of the problem. Compare this to 6 school shootings from 1985 to 1994, in a time where media was far less regulated — hence, melons and swears in PG-13 movies. Violence in entertainment may promote aggression and contribute to real life violence, but in the 80′s and early 90′s, on the surface, it doesn’t seem to be a contributor.
Can we censor the right things instead of censoring shit for the sake of censoring shit?
In the 80′Reagan-era deregulation gave media free reign. The administration censored less shit and focused their resources on bigger issues. Admittedly, the deregulation of media associated with a President’s term and its effect on violence is a relatively subjective correlation, but it appears to fit — at least in the Community’s mind.
Real life violence is not a product of swears, bronsons and a nice boob shot when it comes to media — it just isn’t. A PG-13 movie in 2008 would never show a nice set of taters, but it would have a shit-ton of low brow humor and multiple references to brutal, over the top violence that has little to add to the plot of the movie. I think this is a result of over-regulation. We seem to be soo concerned with nudity and other harmless topics that the real problems go unrecognized.
The movie I watched last night was about beach volleyball. It’s true, there were a couple women’s bazookas, and references to underage drinking, but it was mainly just a lot of ill-fitting, florescent bathing suits and a good message: Treat people right, and things will work out… And, if you’re lucky you might even win a volleyball tourney.
Filed under: movies, politics, sports, style, tv Tagged: | comedy, humor, media, movies, politics, volleyball
