Almost immediately after the release of this season’s premiere of The Walking Dead, the Parents Television Council verbally expressed their disdain for the opening episode. Basically, they state that there was excessive violence that didn’t need to be shown on the television screen. President of PTC, Tim Winter, had some choice words to say about this.
“Last night’s season premiere of The Walking Dead was one of the most graphically violent shows we’ve ever seen on television, comparable to the most violent of programs found on premium cable networks, it’s not enough to ‘change the channel,’ as some people like to advocate, because cable subscribers — regardless of whether they want AMC or watch its programming — are still forced to subsidize violent content. This brutally explicit show is a powerful demonstration of why families should have greater control over the TV networks they purchase from their cable and satellite providers.”
“I understand violence is inherent to the storytelling here but the manner in which the depictions were made … it crossed the line, with The Walking Dead, the creative team has resorted to the graphic violence as a crutch for what used to be better storytelling. When you can’t figure out what lines to write, you put something in easier, which is a graphic depiction. To me, it’s too much.”
After saying all this dribble, Tim Winter stated that he HAS NOT SEEN THIS RECENT EPISODE AND HAS NOT WATCHED THE WALKING DEAD IN QUITE SOME TIME. Huh, well isn’t that some shit, Mr. Rated PG-4. Listen, I understand protecting your children from harm is a priority. In addition to that is making sure that you raise your children properly so they don’t become sociopaths when they get older; we get it. So why are you still complaining about issues like this, when it’s up to the parents to regulate what they expose their children to? How is it that the parents I know personally, who have children of their own, have their channels setup to only show cartoons and Disney stories when they turn on the television? If they watch The Walking Dead, it’s when the kids are out or when they’re asleep. If it’s that simple, how the hell can you even say, “…it’s not enough to ‘change the channel,’ as some people like to advocate.” That’s like me saying, “I hate scary movies! But I’m gonna watch a scary movie now and there’s nothing I can do about it because it’s on the television and a supernatural force is keeping me stuck to this chair!” Don’t give that excuse, BECAUSE IT IS THAT SIMPLE. CHANGE. THE. CHANNEL.
The Walking Dead has been on for many seasons now. If you go to the very first episode of The Walking Dead, you will remember Rick Grimes shooting a little zombie girl in the head. If that didn’t give you a clue as to what the series was going to have in store for you, then there’s no hope for you as a human in our society. You might as well just pack up, move to the mountains somewhere and wait for the “end times”. Complaining about a violent show about being violent, is just asinine.
I’ll say this again from a previous article I wrote about when the PTC was complaining. Stop relying on television to raise your children and ACTUALLY START PARENTING. If there’s something violent on television and your kids are accidentally exposed to it, explain to them why that situation is terrible and why they shouldn’t be watching it. The immediate knee-jerk reaction parents do is shield their children’s eyes, but never explain to them why they’re shielding their eyes. The real world is beautiful, but at the same time it’s a dark unforgiving place and what we see on television is only a small reflection of what humanity actually is. Make sure you’re a responsible parent, because the majority of the parents that immediately like to point their fingers at other things to blame, are usually the ones that need to take that finger and point to themselves first. *mic drop*
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
from Nerd Reactor
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