Sex in Primetime TV

If an alien were to watch any primetime show, it would think humans must be having crazy sex, every hour of the day. I had recorded this week’s Grey’s Anatomy and Big Shots and watched them back-to-back the other day. It’s insane how much sex drives the plot of both show. I know that sex sells, but you would think the writers could be a little more creative.

Between the two shows, I watched a doctor have sex with a former patient in the hospital, a casual sex-only relationship, the aftermath of an affair brought to light, a husband getting sex tips from his former mistress in order to better please his wife, and the aftermath of a soirée with a transvestite.

Funnily enough, a guest lecturer told my wellness class that teen abstinence is on the rise…who would’ve thought?

Sex scenes with parents equals awkward

There are few things more uncomfortable than watching or listening to sexual content with a parent. For me, it tends to far more awkward when I am with my dad. Since leaving home and coming to college, I haven’t had to deal see too many sex scenes with my dad present, which means fewer awkward moments—yay!

Unfortunately, last summer there was an exception. My family has driven to Destin, Florida for vacation ever since I was a kid. That means a 12-hour car ride usually drawn out over two days. Now, my dad loves a good mystery book, so he always buys an audio book tape or two to entertain everyone on the drive down.

We haven’t gone to Florida for a few years, so when my dad pulled out a book tape, I decided it would be fun to listen to one again. For the most part it was great and made the trip seem a little quicker.

However, there was one, well actually four, painfully uncomfortable moments—the good ole sex scenes. I’ve come to realize that sex scenes in books are far worse than watching them in movies. A quick two-minute scene in a movie drags on forever in books, and it’s so much more intimate to hear descriptions versus watching them.

I realize I should be an adult, but sitting next my dad in the car listening to what the female cop is doing to her husband was really awful. Books leave so much for the readers to imagine, and I was far too aware that my dad and I were both imaging this sex.

After I made it through the first one, I made sure to close my eyes when listening, so he wouldn’t know if I was awake—childish but very effective.

Desensitized

I think I’ve become very desensitized…I can watch the news about rapes and robberies, and I don’t feel much of anything—this disturbs me!

I react more strongly to uncomfortable emotions than violent deaths. For example, I can’t stand to watch a show like friends and watch a character do something really embarrassing because I hate to feel embarrassed for him or her.

Yet, when I see on the news that a mom most likely put her dead baby in an attic I’m horrified but don’t feel anything. I can’t imagine it, so I almost block out the fact that it is real.

Femme Fatale

I was surprised to read about the concept of femme fatale in Cynthia Carter’s Violence and the Media. Carter says this character, an evil, lethal woman, came about in the 1940s.

I guess I’m surprised she has been around so long. I think of characters from Kill Bill, where women are pure evil and deadly. I think those characters usually end up as weak fillers with little depth. If it has been around that long, you would think someone would develop something a little more interesting.

Iraq War

It’s not a question whether or not television is a good medium for news—it spreads information relatively quickly and can show more emotional aspects of situations.

However, sometimes the news feels a little like entertainment. I watch movies about war and soldiers and bombings—then I can tune into the news and watch the U.S. bomb Iraq. Reporters were in a frenzy during the initial stages of the Iraq War in 2003.

This morning, Iraqi officials reported the death of at least 10 civilians. Up to 52 civilians were injured. I know this is a gritty side of things, but unless I looked at pictures of mourners online, this story wouldn’t be real to me. Why give Americans a show with the bombing but keep the ugly aspects of war comfortably vague?

Frank Sesno at SMU

CNN correspondent Frank Sesno spoke to SMU students about media ethics at the Sammons Media Ethics Lecture last Wednesday. After 25 years in the news business, Sesno provided some sound advise for future journalists. The journalism field is ever changing—that involves making informed and often difficult decisions.

One issue Sesno discussed really resonated with me. He pointed out that it’s easy to get caught up in a “media popularity contest” with other media outlets, where competition for ratings rule the industry. I’ve noticed a heightened competition between cable networks the past few years, and it only seems to be getting worse.

For example, Fox News Channel commentator Bill O’Rielly, of “The O’Rielly Factor,” opens every show with the mantra, “the most-watched program on cable news.” I realize that journalism, like anything else, is a business, but the competition between channels seems ridiculous. It’s having an impact on the quality of news as well.

Not only are all the channels blurring into one, but the news content has changed a lot. Just this weekend, I’ve seen so much about Anna Nicole Smith’s ex boyfriend’s alleged boyfriend, I thought I would lose it. It’s a slightly more adult version of tabloids, and I never want to hear about it again. Unfortunately, I know I most likely will hear about it again and again if I tune into any major news station (even local news!).

I want facts—I’m tired of pretty news correspondents and fluffy news. Yet, there seems to be a growing trend of news becoming just as superficial as the rest of the media.

This issue leads to the question that begs to be asked: Who’s setting the agenda? Can I naively hope it’s the peoples’ interests? Or, is it the media corporation’s who fight for higher ratings?

Sesno recognized another agenda setter with more subtle influences—political parties. He lost an interview with President Reagan because he refused to allow the administration to dictate what the kind of questions he asked.

So, while it’s hard to know exactly which group dictates the obvious shifts in mainstream news media, the only think I can do is stay strict and remain critical.

Desensitized

I have a pathetic reaction to violence. Certain themes or emotions in movies make me very uncomfortable but violence just isn’t one of them.

So, I guess I’m a proof that a cumulative effect exists—just not in the sense one might think. I know repeatedly viewing media violence should increase my own violent behavior, but it increases my desensitization to violence.

I can watch a grisly movie or real news and my reaction is pretty similar. It’s sad how numb I’ve become. It’s been so long since I’ve witnessed actual violence, so maybe that’s added to distancing myself from it on TV.

Heat attack

A more dramatic effect media violence has had on me occurred in high school. I saw 21 Grams, a movie involving a woman (Naomi Watts) whose husband and kids die in a car accident and a man with a hear condition (Sean Penn), who dies at the end of the movie. Nothing about the movie is overtly violent but the undercurrents of the movie were.

I don’t know why, but I left this movie very disturbed. First of all, I have weird hear moments where it skips a beat—which happened multiple times during the movie, so that bothered me. (Especially sine the guy dies of a heart attack!)

When I was driving home, my arms and legs went numb—I pulled over on the highway and made my friend take me to the hospital. I truly believed I was having a heart attack. After calling my dad, who is a doctor, he told me to come home. Turns out, I hyperventilated.

I blame the large coffee I drank and the fact that the movie and the conflicts seemed realistic, which is proven to inspire fear in older children…or high school students.

Violent animals

Violence draws attention. Now, it’s not always obvious violence like a shooting or attack. A subtler variation was on National Geographic’ Dangerous Encounters. A scientist studying pythons entered a pitch-black cave filled with murky water. The scientists found the python, which proceeded to bite scientist Brady Barr. Those clips add excitement, so I guess violence sells.

Dillon Cossey

Another Columbine could’ve happened. Fourteen-year-old Dillon Cossey admitted he planned a shootout for Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School in Pennsylvania. Not only did he plan an act of violence, but his mother bought him the guns.

The whole situation is undoubtedly disturbing, but what surprised me most was Cossey’s possession of a video of the Columbine shooting.

This teen learned how to attack a school based from media coverage of an event. If people are learning violence from the news, maybe we should tone it down in the media.

Women's Boxing

It my women’s studies class we discussed sexuality and how our culture assigns gender norms. Well, we watched a woman’s boxing match, and I must say I was surprised. It isn’t a very popular sport in the U.S., and I didn’t like it. However, I don’t care for men’s boxing either.

The losing woman left the ring with both eyes swollen shut and cotton sticking out of cuts on her face. At least with TV shows you know it’s fake…boxing is way too real for me.

Prison Break violence

I was watching another episode of my current favorite show, Prison Break, an undeniably violent show. I was trying to take note of each violent part and even after watching two seasons, the amount of violence surprised me.

It involved a Panama prison, where one convict was shot by the guards while trying to escape, the main character hand fought another convict. The other guy died. A riot broke out over a lack of water, which involved rock throwing, pulling out knives, and drowning a man. A high-ranking woman threatens a man not only by pulling out a gun but also holding his son hostage. I could actually go on.

Now, I don’t think any of this really affected me, other than I had to look away at times, but I guess I can’t really know how I’m affected deep down.

Health Channel

I love to watch the Health Channel when I can’t sleep. I’m really content when I catch Mystery Diagnosis, a show that follows people with bizarre health issues that doctors don’t understand (the mystery is always solved in the end, thankfully).

It’s almost like I’m addicted to hearing these stories, and when I tell my family about it the following morning, they think I’m nuts for watching—I guess I just love how satisfying it is when patients are finally diagnosed. Although, I have to admit, sometimes I convince myself I have the rare conditions I see—so far it’s just been in my head.

TV rut

In the past, I didn’t really use TV for anything. I didn’t watch it to escape (I usually like to read or hang out with friends) or to de-stress. If I watched TV to learn, it wasn’t a conscious effort. I liked mindlessly flipping though channels or watching multiple shows in an attempt to avoid all commercials.

However, now that I can record shows, TV is way more organized. I never miss an episode and I just zip through commercials. As a result, I think my TV watching is way less varied…I’m definitely in a TV rut because just thinking about it makes me bored.

Lauren Greenfield

In my photojournalism class, we looked at photographer Lauren Greenfield’s Web site. I love that she reports without any dramatization—she just examines cultural issues and shows you people’s stories, so the viewer can make up his or her mind.

The story about spas for children especially freaked me out…

TV and dinner

I realized that my sisters and I have and interesting relationship with eating dinner and watching TV. I have been trying to catch up on some old Prison Break episodes, but I don’t have a lot of free time. So, it would make sense if we watched it while we ate.

However, anytime we really want to focus on a show (like Prison Break) I can’t eat at the same time. Instead, I record any and every episode of Friends (it replays on three different channels, so there are tons to pick from) and turn it on while we eat. It’s just a nice background and easy to follow without thinking too much.

You think you know someone...

Now, I don’t really like to talk about people behind their backs, however, this actually relates to the media, so I can’t resist.

I’ve never been a huge watcher of 30 Minute Meals on the Food Network, but my sister is. She watches Rachael Ray and refuses to change the channel when I ask because she loves how “real” Rachael is. You could say she has a parasocial relationship because she thinks Rachael is so nice and down to earth.

Unfortunately, a friend of mine told me otherwise. She worked for Rachael Ray’s magazine, so she worked with her a bit. My friend says Ray is full of herself and was very rude to her. We may think we know people on TV, but we really just don’t.