We can’t regulate what’s on SNL. It’s on late and we have choices about what we watch. We can turn it off if we don’t like it.
What demographic does Lady Gaga appeal to when she isn’t on SNL? Girls and teens? Is this video what you want your 15 year old watching? Wasn’t R. Kelly convicted of battery, and other disturbances? His rap sheet is not short. He also married a 15 year old girl. The marriage was annulled. Then there were the charges about pornography with underage girls. He was aquitted. Regardless, he has role model issues.
While some people, in particular, Republicans, spend a great deal of energy trying to set down moral codes about this, that and the other, from abortion to gay rights, from sex ed to contraception, it seems to me that the obvious is being overlooked.
How many parents let their kids watch this crap? How many parents have no clue what the words are to most of the songs their children listen to? How many parents don’t supervise their kids’ internet use? How many parents don’t put parental controls on the TV or supervise what movies their kids go to? How many parents cave, wanting to be friends with their kids rather than exercising a little tough love?
The same can be said for violence. How many parents buy video games willy-nilly without really knowing the content? How many kids have free access to video games where the object of the game is to kill as many human beings in cold blood as possible? How many kids have time limits on video game usage?
Rather than legislate restrictive laws that deal with sexual matters, how about using a little common sense. No, your 12 year old doesn’t need to listen to Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus or any other entertainer that exercises bad judgement and doesn’t serve as a half decent role model.
I hate censorship but by George, I am the censor in my own house. I have even forbidden all the shows that seem to spew bathroom talk when the gkids are over. We restrict cigarettes and booze from kids. How about putting some of the same restrictions on kids when it comes down to trash out of the entertainment industry. The lascivious entertainers can be as twerky as they want with adults but I think we can put some serious restrictions on what kids see.
I remember the boat load of crap that Tipper Gore got over her attempts to put a little regulation out there on the trash kids got their hands on. She was ridiculed, mimicked and mocked. We should be thanking her and bringing her back.
The Republicans might want to get over their obsession with legislating morality in individuals and put down some restrictions on what kids are exposed to, not adults. They also might want to encourage parents to assume parental responsibilities. We don’t need 9 year olds trying to be hotties. Fix that and some other things would shape up also.
Entertainers need to pay particular attention to their audience demographic. Many don’t.
Why can’t they be like we were (perfect in every way). What’s a matter with kids today????
I saw the first part of that song. The song was brain-dead. It might be a bad influence on a few kids. Probably not many though. Pretty awful message, for sure.
Probably the reality shows on VH1 and elsewhere are a more prevalent negative influence on young girls than anything as quaint as lyrics to music.
If she is the second most all-time popular artist, then WHO she appealing to?
I think you are underestimating her reach.
I seem to remember the conservatives trying to do this very thing and being defeated….and ridiculed…by the left.
The culture war is lost. The left won.
Now there are just pockets of individual resistance against the assimilation.
So far….I think that I’m winning, at least in relation to my daughter.
She has seen the latest Miley video. She has heard the songs. She has seen various things on TV…..etc…. We use them as teaching aids on what not to do or should be considered poor taste.
That said…. she reads Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum and listens to them on tape…with all the four letter words still there.
And yet she corrects me if I get a little too harsh. Politely of course.
Now I have to take a look at her “young adult” books. I have no idea what those contain….
Stephanie Plumb, eh? Bit more than four letter words going on in those books for a young one….just saying.
I know nothing about Stephanie Plumb so I won’t comment. I don’t think its the 4 letter words that are the problem. I think it is a sense of appropriateness gone wrong that is the problem with so many kids.
Cargo, I actually agree that these things can be teachable. Rather than throw up a forbidden list, you seem to be there as a guiding hand…and that’s totally different.
As for the “conservatives trying to do this very thing”…you know you are the most partisan person I know. Perhaps you weren’t paying attention to Tipper Gore’s initiatives because you didn’t have children. Tipper was hardly a conservative and yet she was vilified for simply wanting to put a rating system on recordings (and maybe video games). This shouldn’t be a liberal/conservative thing. Its about parental responsibility.
I mentioned Republicans because they are the party trying to defund planned parenthood, crater sex ed classes, restrict abortion rights, and other things along these lines. It seems to me that good parenting beats trying to legislate morality.
I confess to liking the song “Wrecking Ball.”
I also have a huge problem with some of filthy hip hop and rap…not so much because of the foul language and content but because of the audience. Much of it is aimed at youngsters.
@BSinVA
They don’t have the restrictions on them that we had….for starters.
Also in my day, if you misbehaved, it was a social indicator. People thought your parents were trash. Nowadays, there is just too much “my child would never…..”
I’ll admit this is the first time I’ve seen Gaga other than a photo somewhere. I was better off without it. There are some things we instinctively shy away from – Roseanne was one for me. We should pay attention to our instincts. I pretty much thought she was a he from the photos.
@Lyssa
Not really……
Yes..there is some violence and implied fooling around… but the “romance” scenes usually are more implied. The violence is almost cartoon like in most cases.
@Moon-howler
Did you notice…I didn’t say REPUBLICAN. I said CONSERVATIVE. Tipper Gore was acting socially CONSERVATIVE. Trying to keep certain societal mores in place gets conservatives ridiculed, as she was.
The song “Wrecking Ball” is actually pretty good. The “naked swinging on the wrecking ball” …..not so much. But I showed it to my daughter. Her reaction was “ewww.”
and the reaction of the Conservatives when Bloomberg tried to limit the serving size of sugar?? Note, he was not limiting access, amount or quantity – just the quantity delivered in each individual serving.
He was ridiculed because he was acting stupidly.
So…you can’t buy a 32 oz soda..but you could buy an unlimited amount of smaller sizes?
Big Gulps do not threaten social mores.
@Cargosquid
So…you can’t buy a 32 oz soda..but you could buy an unlimited amount of smaller sizes? Yes. Even with free refills. And if you understood human behavior, you would know that there is a difference.
Big Gulps – which would not have been affected – may not threaten social moral’s but it certainly does affect ones health.
To me the song was pretty awful, but I wouldn’t assume that it’s going to change anyone’s life. Any young girl looking for a rationale to detach her sexuality from her feelings, and to see her body as a sex object, is going to find plenty of other such implied messages apart from anything Lady Gaga sings about.
The world is different than you or I think of it as being. When i was young, some of us had dirty magazines and you would get a glimpse of a Playboy or Penthouse in your teenaged years – I think i acquired one at 17. Nowadays if you look at your daughter’s browser cache, much less your son, you’re as likely to find bestiality pics and gay/bisexual pics as anything as quaint as a centerfold. It’s a different world. Sex is becomihg a commodity rather than a thing used to cement hetereo or homosexual romances and family structures. Lady Gaga’s message sounds insane to me but may be a decent coping stategy for someone else.
As far as R. Kelly goes, the guy should have been put in prison for sure, but that’s that. I see every Woody Allen movie, and think Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” is a great film that everyone should see, so I’m not going to begrudge R&B enthusiasts their choice to keep R. Kelly on the map.
My miscellaneous thoughts on the song.
#1 R. Kelly is a child molester and should be in jail. I mean he videotaped himself having sex with a minor. How do you not get convicted on that. And don’t think for a minute he wasn’t picked specifically for this because of the controversy around him.
#1a We apparently all hate R. Kelly, but why do some people here like Rob Lowe? He’s a child molester too. Same for Roman Polanski. Just because somebody is a good actor or makes interesting movies doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be in jail.
#2 Tipper Gore is (or at least was) a conservative. There used to be a species of creature called a conservative Democrat. They went extinct just before their cousin the moderate Republican did. Al Gore was a conservative Democrat once and ran for president on a pro-life platform before pro-life Dems were purged.
#3 The song sounded like a 70s disco song to me, especially the refrain and that’s probably its worst offense.
#4 For some reason I don’t find Lady Gaga offensive. I think it’s because it’s too cold and calculating. It’s like finding medical photos of genitila arousing. She’s like a bad parody of Madonna from the 80s.
#5 The culture wars are over. Heck the New York Times ran an article about a mother and daughter who are both in porn movies together. As the article said, they don’t touch each other “for legal reasons” I wish there were better standards, but I’m sure plenty of people here wouldn’t like what my standards would have been. So we are stuck with the lowest common denominator.
#6 Ultimately, the only fix is to ignore it. Don’t watch it, don’t talk about Honey Boo Boo, Kim Kardassian, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and all the other crap out there. If enough people stop watching, this stuff will eventually go away.
I don’t necessarily dislike R. Kelly as an entertainer. I don’t think he is a positive role model for kids. Let’s face it, Justin Beiber isn’t appealing to the menopausal set like someone like ,,,oh say, Michael Bolton. He’s not even close to being the worst but he does need to set a better example for the bubble gum crowd.
As for tipper Gore being a conservative…nah. Perhaps about some things like not wanting her kids to listen to trash but she is more of a progressive. Hell I am conservative about some things. I don’t like pigeon-holing people unless they pigeon-hole themselves like cruz.
I can’t ever remember Al Gore being a anti-choice candidate–not ever.
“Just because somebody is a good actor or makes interesting movies doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be in jail.”
I agree. But that doesn’t mean that no one should watch their movies or listen to their music.
I agree. My husband refuses to watch Jane Fonda movies. I think that is just stupid. She has done a great job in several films I can think of. I also didn’t stop listening to the Mama’s and the Papas or go screaming out of the room when their songs came on. They don’t more deviant than what’s his face who molested his daughter.
John Phillips. Perv!!
Good point.
I think they still play that Gary Glitter song at sporting events, also, though he’s a known pedophile.
On Al Gore’s pro-life past, I’m sorry to burst your bubble but:
* During his tenure in the U.S. House (1977 to 1984) Gore voted pro-life 27 times and had a 84% pro-life voting record.
* In letters to a constituents, he wrote: “It is my deep personal conviction that abortion is wrong. I hope that some day we will see the current outrageously large number of abortions drop sharply.” (Letters from Sept. 15, 1983, August 22, 1984, )
* In a May 26, 1987 letter to a constituent he wrote: “During my 11 years in congress, I have consistently opposed federal funding for abortions. In my opinion, it is wrong to spend federal funds for what is arguably taking of a human life. Let me assure you that I share your belief that innocent human life must be protected, and I am committed to furthering this goal.”
And from when Al Gore ran for president in 1988: After announcing that he would run, Gore ran his campaign as “a Southern centrist, [who] opposed federal funding for abortion. He favored a moment of silence for prayer in the schools and voted against banning the interstate sale of handguns.”
Even more amazing, Jesse Jackson used to be pro-life. The Democrats used to tolerate a pro-life minority in the party but by 1992 they were all gone.
There are politicians that go the other way too. Like Mitt Romney. He was pro-choice and then became pro-life. Both Gore and Romney probably switched for political reasons. Neither one seems to be the type to stand for something on principle.
I guess when it counted, he saw the light…that light being it doesn’t matter how he feels personally. Roe v Wade is clear. Women have a constitutional right to abortion. Many people who are opposed to abortion personally don’t feel that they have a right to legislate restrictions for others.
For that matter, you don’t know how I personally feel about it.
Where is that documented?
@Cargosquid
I’ve read all of them.
Roman Palanski is a child rapist. He drugged and raped a 13 year old child. He is a disgusting piece of shit. Suggesting anyone watch anything of his is offensive. Unless you think drugging and raping 13 year olds isn’t that big of a deal I suppose.
Roman Polanski is a very talented film maker/director, or whatever he is.
That is very faulty logic. You suggest that if I think Roman Polanski is a great film maker then I somehow migrate into thinking drugging and raping 13 year olds isn’t a big deal. I strongly suggest a logics course.
I think you are over-stating the original charges against Polanski. I don’t remember all the details.
The details.. he drugged and raped a 13 year old, period. What else needs to be said? He should be in jail where ironically inmates treat sexual predators in appropriate fashion. Maybe he would get a dose of what he did to that child.
Logics course? Skinny, pasty, wimpy older white rich guy drugs a 13 year old girl and then rapes her. But, hey, he’s talented! So fuck it, lets all watch and love his movies and makes excuses why he should be in prison where they tend to treat these folk in a certain way where you wish you weren’t a sex offender.
I’m not saying that if you happen to like his movies your pro-child rape. I’m just saying that I choose to not watch something produced by a child rapist.
That’s probably how you should have said it in the first place.
I have been known to drop a few F-bombs in my day. I doubt that you will find that I have done that here. A few close calls but no drop. Take a hint from what I just said.
I agree that Polanski is an awful person. I feel strongly that he should have gone to jail, and should be arrested if he sets foot in the US.
However, it doesn’t mean that “The Pianist” isn’t worth watching. In fact, it’s the best film made about the Holocaust – which Polanski lived through (his parents were put in concentration camps and his mother murdered in one).
I try not to like Polanski’s movies, because I don’t like him. And I don’t like most of them. Including “Knife in the Water” and “Rosemary’s Baby”. But, “The Pianist” is too great a movie not to like.
If we have to start filtering out art made by pedophiles, who knows which books, plays, paintings will turn up missing. Arthur C. Clarke and William Burroughs for starters.
I agree. Some pretty disturbed individuals have made great contributions to the arts.
I also agree about The Pianist. It is one of my favorite movies.
Let’s also not forget that Roman Polanski’s wife was murdered in one of the most gruesome, horrible murders of the century. No, that doesn’t excuse him for his involvement with a kid. There was also more to that kid case than is being discussed here.
I really liked Rosemary’s Baby. Put in its time and place, it was a fairly decent film of its genre.
“There was also more to that kid case than is being discussed here. ”
I don’t think that’s true. Bottom line he used his celebrity to get alone with a 13-year old girl, drugged and sodomized her. That’s pretty far gone. It’s arguably pedophilia. It’s, by nearly anyone’s standards, rape. Even in Europe where they are more tolerant of sex with minors, drugging and sodomizing is not acceptable behavior.