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Now for something entirely different. A few days ago I was chatting with Bugsy. We got on the topic of movie content ratings and decency standards on television. I guess that's what we were talking about. We talked about how smoking used to be cool in movies and on TV, and now they are thinking about making smoking a reason for a restricted (R) rating for movies. If you have too much smoking in your movie it will be rated R. Then Bugsy suggested that they'll have to start blurring cigarettes when they play those movies on TV. I think that is a funny concept, but with these nut jobs out there it seems plausible. Think about it. Every year the content on TV seems to be getting "edgier" and more risque than the year before. People are wearing less and less clothing and using more and more abrasive language. So I see this change coming to movies on TV. The blurred spots will leave naked bodies and occur over a lit cigarette. Then rather than bleeping swears they'll start bleeping the word cigarette. I guess it depends on what you see as the more dangerous image, people smoking or people naked. I have a solution.
My solution is this: specialized television channels. When you order cable or satellite you pick out specific channels you want. No more of these package deals with 6 versions of the home shopping network and 4 different CSPANs. In this way, you can control what types of shows are being brought into your home without impeding the entertainment desires other people. I think the best case scenario would be when the worst stuff on TV just wasn't being made, but realistically, I don't see that happening. Rather than censorship, just change the way the product is obtained. ESPN is strictly sports and CNN is strictly news; CSPAN is strictly boring and MTV is strictly idiotic. They can then make channels that are strictly high decency standards and ones that are low decency standards. You might be thinking, "well, don't they already have that?" Have you watched the channels that are supposed to be targeted towards children and families? The ABC Family channels plays a lot of stuff I wouldn't watch with my family.
Maybe this solution is terrible. The home shopping channels probably think it is. Who would ever request those channels specifically? Three people. That's probably it. I suppose that is why they get grouped into the package deals. Well, tough luck. Why should people have to pay for 70 channels when they only watch 6 of them? So 5 dozen or so channels go off the air? No one else has jobs these days, so they can just join the crowd. I don't mean that, I'm just typing things. Correction, I was just typing things.
I love the picture. It makes me homesick but in a good way! ~Meredith
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