Janet Smith
The debate raging over the V-chip (violence=20 chip) in the United States has resulted in=20 compelling academic and social research=20 into American children’s viewing habits -=20 and a powerful condemnation of many of=20 their favourite shows.
The V-chip – introduced in the=20 Telecommunications Act of 1996 – allows=20 American parents to block TV programmes=20 they deem inappropriate for their children.
Advocates argue this empowers parents to=20 monitor viewing patterns and promote family=20 values. Detractors say it violates First=20 Amendment rights and negates freedom of=20 speech, although most favour a system in=20 which TV networks flash parental advisory=20 symbols on the screen before each show – a=20 system used by the SABC and M-Net only on=20 motion pictures made for commercial=20 release.
Both sides promote the education of=20 American parents into the pros and cons of=20 the V-chip. M-Net’s decoder system operates=20 in a similar way in giving parents the=20 right to choose one of two soundtracks, but=20 the V-chip goes further in that violent=20 imagery can be blocked by electronic means.
As is the case in South Africa, the largest=20 children’s viewership in America is around=20 8pm, and broadcasters in the United States=20 are required to limit violent programming=20 to a time after the hours when children are=20 reasonably likely to be awake. The irony is=20 that researchers have found most violent=20 content in Saturday morning programming=20 when an average of 20 to 25 violent acts=20 are committed per hour, compared to five in=20 prime-time.
M-Net’s KTV changes its schedule completely=20 for Saturday mornings, with almost no=20 violence and the emphasis on shows like=20 Little Bear and Little Lulu, which present=20 children with happy, colourful images. I
The Parents Television Council (PTC) in the=20 United States has compiled a list of=20 family-friendly and family-unfriendly shows=20 which has enjoyed attention in political=20 and industry circles, despite the=20 reactionary ideology of some of its=20 advisers. Predictably, the list=20 concentrates far more on sexual content=20 than violent content of programmes, citing=20 premarital sex, masturbation and gay=20 characters as antithetical to family=20 values.
Married with Children (M-Net), Cybill (M- Net), Friends (M-Net), Spin City (SABC3),=20 High Incident (SABC3), Melrose Place (M- Net), Beverly Hills 90210 (M-Net) and=20 Millennium (SABC1) are out. Touched by an=20 Angel and Early Edition (both feature on=20 the children’s top 10 of SABC3) are given=20 the green light for “goodness over evil”,=20 the power of prayer and forgiveness and=20 “the positive impact (people) can have when=20 they choose to do good with a gift from=20 God”.=20
Shows like Home Improvement (M-Net), Dr=20 Quinn: Medicine Woman (SABC3), The Parent =20 Hood (SABC3), Cosby (M-Net) and Family=20 Matters (SABC1) all get the stamp of=20 approval for offering positive images of=20 marriage, family, education and “self- discipline”.
University of California Los Angeles’=20 (UCLA) Centre for Communication Policy=20 takes a similar and a contrary view of=20 these and other programmes in its TV=20 Violence Monitoring Project.
The project lists Walker Texas Ranger (M- Net), The X-Files (SABC2), Due South (with=20 five to nine scenes of violence per episode=20 on SABC3) and Lois and Clark (with seven to=20 19 violent acts per episode and soon to=20 return to SABC2) as among those series=20 requiring some parental supervision,=20 although none are regarded as “mean- spirited” in their depiction of violence.
VR5, a popular virtual-reality action=20 series screened at 5pm on SABC2, is=20 condemned for showing murders without=20 context and making little reference to=20 punishment or outcome. America’s Funniest=20 Home Videos (SABC1), is also singled out=20 because, incredible as it seems, some=20 children have been used by their parents to=20 make videos which require them to injure=20 themselves for apparent comic effect. UCLA=20 deplores inserts like these which are=20 “devoid of context”. There have been=20 instances where children have been forced=20 to bounce on their beds until they fall off=20 – an act accompanied by sound effects from=20 the show’s editing staff.
Even Rescue 911, SABC3’s top show, draws=20 remarks from the UCLA project for including=20 “unnecessarily graphic images of=20 accidents”. And The Simpsons (M-Net) is=20 noted for its Itchy and Scratchy satire=20 which is “suitable for adults but not for=20 all children”.
While the PTC condemns Friends and Beverly=20 Hills 90210 for their “glorifications of=20 premarital sex”, the UCLA project commends=20 both shows for their lack of violence. It=20 also recommends top-drawer dramas like NYPD=20 Blue (SABC1) and Homicide: Life on the=20 Street (SABC3) for portraying characters=20 who do not commit violent acts easily and=20 who “frequently demonstrate remorse”.
Children’s shows have received special=20 attention from the UCLA monitors, who=20 regard shows like Sonic the Hedgehog=20 (SABC2) and Spiderman (KTV) as showing=20 “tame combat violence” in the quest for=20 good over evil. Sinister combat violence is=20 the tag associated with X-Men (KTV),=20 WildCATS (KTV) and the world’s most popular=20 children’s series, the Mighty Morphin Power=20 Rangers (KTV), where violence is the=20 defining element and heroes are valued for=20 their toughness rather than their virtues.