by Joe Snyder
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At a time when America is experiencing a hard time trying to win support for its overseas adventures, attempting to win the hearts and minds of people everywhere, not forgetting our character and integrity is being questioned, there are those who claim Hollywood is proving a liability.
Kathy and I are not prudes, but we do not find many movies these days that we care to view. The array of sex-filled, violence oriented films that fill the screens these days for Americans are also exported to foreign lands and such films can and are creating an image of America that, to say the least, leaves a negative imprint. This finding comes from a recent extensive study of teenagers’ viewpoints in 12 separate nations scattered around the world.
The problem is that in countries with little homegrown television and movies, U.S. films are persuasive and when exposed to what researchers call "the creeping cycle of desensitization," those nations showing our films that place emphasis on such things as crime, violence, gore, sensationalism, explicit sexual behavior and vulgar language, are noting changes in teenager’s image of America.
Small wonder then that a survey taken in 11 foreign lands: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, South Korea, Mexico, China, Spain, Taiwan, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, Nigeria and Italy, the teenagers polled had a perception of American women as sexually immoral, and Americans in general as materialistic and violent. The 12th country, Argentina, generally gave Americans a passing grade.
Other recent surveys also show that U.S. television, along with Hollywood movie- makers, must share blame for what teenagers see and hear. In the top 20 programs, 83 percent contain sexual content, 49 percent have sexual behavior, and 20 percent contain sexual intercourse. The top teen shows average more than six scenes an hour with sexual behavior.
This same survey indicates this is an age when two-thirds of America’s teenagers are having sex by the time they graduate from high school, and that one in five sexually active teenage girls get pregnant. I suppose modern parents are supposed to accept this statistic.
Hollywood’s answer to this statistic is that "the public demands offensive material." They claim their films and programs are portraying America as it really is, and any attempt to tone down their "artistic expression" is an attack on the First Amendment.
We all know, of course, that’s nonsense. Big profits motivate television and film-makers. They are businessmen, not pulpit preachers. Sex and violence are a mainstay of these media. The new Quentin Tarantino movie required 50 gallons of fake blood. One new movie has a nine-minute rape scene and a murder just for starters. Executives say "patrons are looking for such stuff."
As for me, bring back Tom Mix, Clark Gable and Mitzi Gaynor. If you want to see a real funny movie that will send you home feeling good, don’t miss "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."