Give them what they want

We talked about All in the Family in class this week and how it pushed the boundaries of its viewers and their beliefs. The show was in its time, and still is today, one of TV’s most popular shows. It first aired in 1971 and paved the way for modern television.

The show’s unique comfort with racial boundaries made it extremely popular as it recorded the highest ratings on TV for five straight years. Today, we see shows that display similar disregard for political correctness, like South Park and Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And these shows thrive on their edgy content. But in its time, All in the Family introduced a brand new genre and as it turned out, people enjoy it.

Because All in the Family was so widely accepted, it became clear that people enjoy watching racy content.

The year after All in the Family began airing, HBO started. According to the National Cable and telecommunications Association, it was the very first pay-TV network. HBO has become very popular over the past 40 years partially because it plays by different rules than regular cable TV.

Since you have to subscribe to receive HBO, they are allowed to display more explicit content than cable TV. Some of the most popular shows on TV today run on HBO even though you have to pay extra for it. Maybe they pick the best shows, but I’d argue that people are willing to pay for HBO because HBO is allowed to show edgier shows.

Shows like the Sopranos and Entourage would not be allowed on cable TV uncut and the HBO exclusive version is much more appealing to many. Subscribers are essentially paying for the added nudity and profanity in their shows.

This notion that people are more interested in mature content is prevalent in all forms of media. And it’s not just used for comedic purposes. Movies like Saw and Hostel intentionally push the viewers boundaries with graphic images because people want their boundaries pushed.

Hollywood wouldn’t make shows and movies like this if they weren’t making money and they’re making money because the people approve.

Diversity in film

In class this week, we focused on the depictions of different minorities in film. We examined stereotypes and how they are used in Hollywood. But I believe that it is most important that we understand why movies use stereotypes when presenting minorities.

In the movies, the top priority at all times is to keep things believable. And not just believable to the filmmakers, but to the target audience. For that to be possible, the filmmakers try to keep things simple.

But simplifying things in a make-believe world can have consequences in real life. This is because of the immense power Hollywood can have on public opinion. Movies have gotten so believable that much of what is in them is believed.

This can be especially problematic because many people tend to get much, if not all, of their experience in different areas from movies. Take war movies for example. Many, probably most, people have never fought in a war. They’ve never used a gun, seen an explosion, or had their lives threatened. But through movies, they have an experience with it, or at least a Hollywood version of it.

This is true in other types of movies, including those that present other cultures or races. It is common for people to spent more time with others of their own race or culture. They often don’t have their own experience with people of other cultures and sculpt their opinions of these cultures off their depictions in movies.

It is important that people get out and experience other cultures for themselves so that they can build their own relationships with those cultures. But it is equally important that the movies do more to promote diversity.

Instead of using stereotypes to simply describe groups of people, Hollywood should explore new cultures and open eyes to diverse stories. Movies like Slumdog Millionaire where the main characters are not white, and that don’t take place in America, are essential to changing the mindset about minorities because they don’t just promote stereotypes.