MrBishop
Well-Known Member
This just happened. Degrassi jr High...very popular show...especially the new version. It's shown all over Canada...in English and French.
Recently...they tried to deal with the issue of 'cutting'....a popular form of ritual self-mutilation amongst teens. They tried to show a member of the cast who was having trouble with 'cutting' and her friends trying to talk her out of it.
Good idea...bring up a current concern and try to deal with it.
The problem is that they're trying to deal with it, in a very adult way...which is commendeable...but less than effective with the very young.
Results...in Hull, Quebec (Just opposite Ottawa)...a dozen Elementary school children who had watched the show...tried cutting for the first time.
Now...I'm not going to kick television when it's down...not really. They're really trying to put a strong case accross against cuttings....but it's done too subtely.
The subtelty and the message seems to have fallen by the wayside in favor of the sensationalism of TV. Television claims that it's trying to give a message of strength to youths with shows like this one and others...but they don't seem to understand the medium nor their audience.
They're dealing with youths who are trying to find themselves whilst being bombarded by advertising and popular media.
My vote: Either strenghten the message going out so it's not overwhelmed with the sensationalism and idolotry associated with that media...or stop trying altogether.
Comments?
Recently...they tried to deal with the issue of 'cutting'....a popular form of ritual self-mutilation amongst teens. They tried to show a member of the cast who was having trouble with 'cutting' and her friends trying to talk her out of it.
Good idea...bring up a current concern and try to deal with it.
The problem is that they're trying to deal with it, in a very adult way...which is commendeable...but less than effective with the very young.
Results...in Hull, Quebec (Just opposite Ottawa)...a dozen Elementary school children who had watched the show...tried cutting for the first time.
Now...I'm not going to kick television when it's down...not really. They're really trying to put a strong case accross against cuttings....but it's done too subtely.
The subtelty and the message seems to have fallen by the wayside in favor of the sensationalism of TV. Television claims that it's trying to give a message of strength to youths with shows like this one and others...but they don't seem to understand the medium nor their audience.
They're dealing with youths who are trying to find themselves whilst being bombarded by advertising and popular media.
My vote: Either strenghten the message going out so it's not overwhelmed with the sensationalism and idolotry associated with that media...or stop trying altogether.
Comments?