its part of the story, so deal with itAnd i agree, the grit makes it more real.
Full Version: Heroes Horrors
I just have two things to say to the article writer in response. A) its TV14 for a reason and its part of the story, so deal with it
And i agree, the grit makes it more real.
its part of the story, so deal with itAnd i agree, the grit makes it more real.
http://www.mrc.org/BozellColumns/entertain...col20061107.asp
I get what he is saying, but then it would be too "perky" a series for my tastes. The grit makes it more real.
I get what he is saying, but then it would be too "perky" a series for my tastes. The grit makes it more real.
LOL Um... WOW, talk about a very prude article. What are we like living in the 50's? Sheesh!
You know... I think that grittiness is a part of life. And not all of us are willing to drop the realism. Which is why we have a choice to either turn the tv ON or OFF depending on the ratings.
What I see... is someone who's a bit lazy to do the research and go about blaming others for it. lol
You know... I think that grittiness is a part of life. And not all of us are willing to drop the realism. Which is why we have a choice to either turn the tv ON or OFF depending on the ratings.
What I see... is someone who's a bit lazy to do the research and go about blaming others for it. lol
Wow, what a frustrated uncle.
What people like that should realize, is that TV shows, movies, books, etc, can't all be the same.
"Why can't it be just a straightforward superhero story?" he asks. Well, simply enough, because it's not. This is what makes Heroes the series it is, and that's probably why so many people enjoy the show. I mean, we've all seen the old Superman films, and as much fun as they were to watch, we've seen it already. Heroes is what it is, deal with it. And if it isn't for you, don't watch it. It's as simple as that!
Besides, it's not true that films lose nothing of significance when violence or sex is removed from them. I'm gonna go right to basics here: go read some Freud. Nothing is as bewildering to the human creature as sexuality and death. It adds dramatic impact, it moves us from within.
Even if violence and sexuality weren't a part of the storyline of Heroes, the series would be completely different without it. Would it be missed? Probably. Some of the current watchers would not have watched the show, some of the frustrated uncles would have recommended it to their nieces and nephews.
Whatever. Should we also burn all the paintings and sculptures that represent nude female and male bodies in museums across the world, too? What about war films that remind us of the past to educate the future? Sexuality and violence are a part of life, too. And in the end, Mr Uncle, somewhere deep down you probably wish your kids will one day get to see another naked human being, at least once in their life. If only to remain a part of the genetic pool.
Mo
What people like that should realize, is that TV shows, movies, books, etc, can't all be the same.
"Why can't it be just a straightforward superhero story?" he asks. Well, simply enough, because it's not. This is what makes Heroes the series it is, and that's probably why so many people enjoy the show. I mean, we've all seen the old Superman films, and as much fun as they were to watch, we've seen it already. Heroes is what it is, deal with it. And if it isn't for you, don't watch it. It's as simple as that!
Besides, it's not true that films lose nothing of significance when violence or sex is removed from them. I'm gonna go right to basics here: go read some Freud. Nothing is as bewildering to the human creature as sexuality and death. It adds dramatic impact, it moves us from within.
Even if violence and sexuality weren't a part of the storyline of Heroes, the series would be completely different without it. Would it be missed? Probably. Some of the current watchers would not have watched the show, some of the frustrated uncles would have recommended it to their nieces and nephews.
Whatever. Should we also burn all the paintings and sculptures that represent nude female and male bodies in museums across the world, too? What about war films that remind us of the past to educate the future? Sexuality and violence are a part of life, too. And in the end, Mr Uncle, somewhere deep down you probably wish your kids will one day get to see another naked human being, at least once in their life. If only to remain a part of the genetic pool.
Mo
What do you expect from Brent Bozell? It's depressing that 1)he's still writing and 2)people are still reading his garbage.
Look, this is the guy who started the Parents Television Council. They want to get rid of everything on television they don't approve of. And they don't approve of much. (House is unsuitable (for reasons they don't really explain), but NBC Sunday Night Football is ok. 'Cause watching men try to maul each other to score points is wholesome fun.)
99.8% of the complaints received by the FCC are boilerplate emails from PTC members.
Look, this is the guy who started the Parents Television Council. They want to get rid of everything on television they don't approve of. And they don't approve of much. (House is unsuitable (for reasons they don't really explain), but NBC Sunday Night Football is ok. 'Cause watching men try to maul each other to score points is wholesome fun.)
99.8% of the complaints received by the FCC are boilerplate emails from PTC members.
"Why can?t a show like ?Heroes? be pitched expressly at an audience as a straightforward superhero story -- without the creepy dark themes"
As I am still waiting to see a superhero that doesn't have creepy dark themes. Without evil, the superhero will not have anything to protect us from.
As I am still waiting to see a superhero that doesn't have creepy dark themes. Without evil, the superhero will not have anything to protect us from.
The Parents' Television Council does have the right to state their opinions about the TV shows that are currently on, but that doesn't mean I have to like it...or even bother to read it! From what I've been reading on this thread, Mr. Uncle obviously wants the characters to dress up in spandex costumes (:: Shudders at the thought of Matt being in one of those!:: ) and make it look like the Super Friends from the 70s and 80s. Don't get me wrong, I love the old Super Friends cartoons. However, even the Justice League grew up, and starting with Batman and Superman, those characters were given a sense of realism, since they have their own personal issues and demons to contend with.
In the real world, teenagers will curse, gritty things happen, and people have true, genuine feelings. If the PTC doesn't like it, just go plug in the Super Friends DVDs and stay in the past!
In the real world, teenagers will curse, gritty things happen, and people have true, genuine feelings. If the PTC doesn't like it, just go plug in the Super Friends DVDs and stay in the past!
Sure, he has a right to complain about violence in television. I understnad, and I tend to agree that gratuitous sex or violence is stupid and unnecessary.
What got me at the end was the "why can't this be like old fashioned comic books?" comment.
Old fashioned comic books, quite frankly, SUCKED. Sure, they were entertaining but what kind of interesting political debates went on? The CCA (which I'm sure this guy lauds as a wonderful moral organization) basically stopped anything interesting from happening. You were only allowed a certain amount of fight scenes and you could have nothing that would offend a conservative Christian (I mean no offense to you if you consider yourself a conservative Christian, when I say that I mean the ones who tried to ban Pokemon because they thought it had Satanic imagery). This meant no zombies, no demons, (possibily not even aliens), only evil Communists in tights.
They also had a blanket ban on drug use. So if you wanted to show a character's horrible addiction and the crimes it leads them to commit in order to keep the people reading the comic from doing drugs, too bad. You're banned. (Interestingly, a comic just like that sponsored by Ronald Reagan or something was published without the permission of the CCA, but it still sold well. This led to their downfall.)
All of this is in Heroes, and it furthers the plot. So I don't understand why he has a problem with Niki being an internet stripper. It's a demeaning job, basically one or two steps short of prostitution. We need to know that she is in a very bad situation. Having someone say "OMG SHES A STRIPPER! LOL WHAT A SINNER!111"! isn't going to further the plot, and it will look stupid. Audiences also need to know that Jessica is amoral. So, they put that in there. This guy really disgusts me by suggesting that all superhero stories should feature only men in tights (after all, women in tights would be gratutitous and provocative) running around battling evil villains in tights and rescuing cats out of trees.
What got me at the end was the "why can't this be like old fashioned comic books?" comment.
Old fashioned comic books, quite frankly, SUCKED. Sure, they were entertaining but what kind of interesting political debates went on? The CCA (which I'm sure this guy lauds as a wonderful moral organization) basically stopped anything interesting from happening. You were only allowed a certain amount of fight scenes and you could have nothing that would offend a conservative Christian (I mean no offense to you if you consider yourself a conservative Christian, when I say that I mean the ones who tried to ban Pokemon because they thought it had Satanic imagery). This meant no zombies, no demons, (possibily not even aliens), only evil Communists in tights.
They also had a blanket ban on drug use. So if you wanted to show a character's horrible addiction and the crimes it leads them to commit in order to keep the people reading the comic from doing drugs, too bad. You're banned. (Interestingly, a comic just like that sponsored by Ronald Reagan or something was published without the permission of the CCA, but it still sold well. This led to their downfall.)
All of this is in Heroes, and it furthers the plot. So I don't understand why he has a problem with Niki being an internet stripper. It's a demeaning job, basically one or two steps short of prostitution. We need to know that she is in a very bad situation. Having someone say "OMG SHES A STRIPPER! LOL WHAT A SINNER!111"! isn't going to further the plot, and it will look stupid. Audiences also need to know that Jessica is amoral. So, they put that in there. This guy really disgusts me by suggesting that all superhero stories should feature only men in tights (after all, women in tights would be gratutitous and provocative) running around battling evil villains in tights and rescuing cats out of trees.
QUOTE (Vogon Poet @ Nov 12 2006, 09:44 AM) 
They also had a blanket ban on drug use. So if you wanted to show a character's horrible addiction and the crimes it leads them to commit in order to keep the people reading the comic from doing drugs, too bad. You're banned. (Interestingly, a comic just like that sponsored by Ronald Reagan or something was published without the permission of the CCA, but it still sold well. This led to their downfall.)
I remember that comic book in the mid 1980s. It was sponsored by Nancy Reagan as part of the "Just Say No" campaign. The Teen Titans starred in that one (I believe at that time it consisted of Robin, Speedy, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg), and even Speedy had admitted to doing drugs in his life. There was no way the CCA could stop it because it was being sponsored by the First Lady herself! If they had stopped it, Ronald Reagan would've asked Congress to shut the CCA down in a heartbeat! The only way the comic would be successful was to in fact show the real drug use amongst teenagers at that time. The comic was an effective way to show kids and teens the real dangers of using drugs in the first place.
Marvel Comics did the same thing when it came to child abuse, and that was sponsored, I believe, by the National Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, a well-established organization. When you get either a powerful group or a powerful person like Nancy Reagan involved, the CCA really couldn't stop 'em.
The PTC needs to realize that Heroes is staying realistic and down-to-earth. And unfortunately, sex, drugs, and violence are sometimes necessary evils for stories to work (like Niki's Net stripping to help support her son). Personally, I'm not bothered by the sex, drugs, or violence, but I wouldn't allow my five-year-old nephew to watch this show until he's at least 15.
How silly of him. Heroes isn't ment for young children. The end.
Bozell can't stand anything that isn't completely squeaky clean on television. If Battlestar Galactica was on network TV he'd blow a gasket. That show was pretty dark and in recent episodes has gotten even darker. It makes for interesting TV and it makes sense, considering the show is about the near extermination of mankind. In Heroes, these people are about to fight some kind of great evil. It makes sense that the show will be gritty.
The reason why Heroes is good is because of the "dark" themes. If every week, all what we see is one of the heroes save someone, it will get boring very quickly. If it was just people running around saving lives, it will get boring very quickly.
I've been rather furious with these type of people for a while now. I had someone call me up about it once and I told her off. They rate these shows the way the do for a purpose. So you know there is adult content. My main thing is they want to talk about the young kids who will watch it. This is my reply. Most of these types of shows are on at 9 or later for that very reason. So the much younger audience can't watch it. My biggest thing is this and it is very, very simple...if you don't want your kids to watch it...DON'T LET THEM. Be a parent. Stop making your kids other peoples responsibilty. They want to say if they screw up or get "ideas" it's because they watched a television show or a movie. I got news for you. Millions upon millions watch these shows and movies. I'm sure a lot of kids do as well. Most are not doing bad things. All you have to do is be the parent, talk to them and show them the path.
Brent Bozell is a two-faced *** hole.
Because, Brent, it's not intended for children aged 2 to 11. It's rated "TV-14."
Oh, come on! It wasn't graphic.
Torture devices? I don't seem to recall torture devices. You've got a pretty warped imagination, Brent.
Hey, Brent, did you miss the part where she tried to back out and was coerced into sleeping with Nathan by a thug who threatened to harm her and her son?
Yeah, trying to protect your child is so un-heroic. Plus, that was Jessica that slept with him, not Niki.
Altough, considering you refered to Nathan as "the Congressman character," maybe you spent less time paying attention to the plot, and more time looking for things to Lady about.
Got news for ya, bub: Alot of "straightforward superhero stories" contain "creepy dark themes."
Ugh! I hate it when people who don't even read comic books make assumptions about how they are and how they should be.
About the same as it is now. Seriously, are you people incapable of the changing the damn channel?
Brent should stick to Super Friends, since he's emotionally incapable of handling "creepy dark themes."
QUOTE
With its cinematic feel and heroic appeal, the show has a strong pull on the young audience, with an estimated 750,000 viewers aged 2 to 11, and almost a million viewers aged 12 to 17. It has the ability to attract many more who are older than that. So why do some of the scenes match the definition of gratuitous: disturbing, and utterly unnecessary to a captivating program?
Because, Brent, it's not intended for children aged 2 to 11. It's rated "TV-14."
QUOTE
Consider one character, Niki Sanders. She is presented as ? a webcam stripper living in Las Vegas. We?re only five minutes into the ?Heroes? season premiere when the audience watches Niki crawl across her bed provocatively in her underwear. Moving to the music, she begins taking off her shirt and bra for a live feed webcam.
Oh, come on! It wasn't graphic.
QUOTE
Then two thugs come to her house, and violently attack her. One thug strikes her in the face and knocks her out. When Niki awakens, she finds both men dead, one with a sharp object protruding from his neck; the other is sprawled out the floor. Torture devices are shown hanging from the walls and blood is literally splattered everywhere.
The audience learns that Niki?s secret power is an alter ego capable of carrying out unthinkable acts of violence without remorse.
The audience learns that Niki?s secret power is an alter ego capable of carrying out unthinkable acts of violence without remorse.
Torture devices? I don't seem to recall torture devices. You've got a pretty warped imagination, Brent.
QUOTE
On another episode, NBC drew out a scene with Niki seducing the Congressman character into sex that would be secretly videotaped in order to blackmail him. This is NBC?s idea of a ?hero?
Hey, Brent, did you miss the part where she tried to back out and was coerced into sleeping with Nathan by a thug who threatened to harm her and her son?
Yeah, trying to protect your child is so un-heroic. Plus, that was Jessica that slept with him, not Niki.
Altough, considering you refered to Nathan as "the Congressman character," maybe you spent less time paying attention to the plot, and more time looking for things to Lady about.
QUOTE
Why can?t a show like ?Heroes? be pitched expressly at an audience as a straightforward superhero story -- without the creepy dark themes, themes that seem to be strictly enforced as if there were some sort of pro-creepiness Hollywood union rule?
Got news for ya, bub: Alot of "straightforward superhero stories" contain "creepy dark themes."
QUOTE
Obviously, the dirty word in today?s Hollywood is ?innocence.? A show that resembles an old-fashioned comic book would be scorned as hopelessly retrograde.
Ugh! I hate it when people who don't even read comic books make assumptions about how they are and how they should be.
QUOTE
How much easier would the prime-time clicking decisions be for parents if the television networks could occasionally maintain the same cruising decency altitude as the airlines?
About the same as it is now. Seriously, are you people incapable of the changing the damn channel?
Brent should stick to Super Friends, since he's emotionally incapable of handling "creepy dark themes."
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