Streubenville And The Family Guy Generation Summary

English 1301
20 May 2013
A Poor Excuse for Poor Parenting A recent article in Time Magazine has claimed that teen offenders of violent crimes are in essence also the victims because of the confusion over right and wrong, due to being raised on television programs such as Family Guy. While it’s true that TV shows such as this appear to contain an endless supply of inappropriate humor and degradation of women in general, it is erroneous to try to lay blame for the actions and attitudes of today’s teenagers on these cartoons. A culture that not only allows, but also avidly watches this type of programming in the first place, should be in question. Instead of blaming television programs for raising children poorly, parents should accept the responsibility
that they have an obligation not only to protect and provide for their children, but also to instill values and principals needed to become morally responsible. Author Susanna Schrobsdorff, in her article “Steubenville and the Family Guy Generation”, states that popular media is basically to blame for the felonious activities as well as cruel and ignorant point of view that has become so common in today’s society.
After citing several examples of recent incidents that have appeared in the news, she then says that even adults are unclear about what constitutes rape and what kind of things are appropriate to make jokes about, therefore causing confusion among young people. Schrobsdorff even makes a plea to the reader, “Before we condemn them, let’s remember they could be our children.” Schrobsdorff tells of how her own 16 year old daughter stated that the degrading jokes and language used by kids describing the Steubenville incident is common among young people today. She then goes on to say that these types of jokes and vulgar humor are “just part of teen online culture now.” Although Schrobsdorff admits, “Perhaps it’s time we made it our responsibility, as parents, to explain where the line is and who is crossing it …” the time to take responsibility instead of make excuses is during the childhood and development of the
teenagers. Schrobsdorff also mentions that because the crime was perpetrated by two football players in an “athlete-worshiping town,” perhaps that could be a reason they thought what they did was alright. She attributes the confusion over right and wrong to the conflicting definition of the word “rape”, which previously included the word “forcible”, but has recently been changed, adding that today’s culture hasn’t quite caught up. She quoted one Steubenville teen who stated that he was unclear about exactly what rape was. Once again, it is not Webster’s responsibility, or that of movies, television, and internet to teach our children, but rather that of parents. If parenting is to be left up to popular modern media, the future of our children and our culture will suffer dramatically. Parents can not blame anything or anyone for the attitudes and behavior of today’s teenagers, other than the teens themselves. Children should gain their principles and moral values from the upbringing they receive at home. Raising children to become responsible and productive takes time and effort, which cannot be substituted by turning on a television. While cartoons may be entertaining, they are in no way proper teachers and role models.
Works Cited
Schrobsdorff, Susanna. “Steubenville and the Family Guy Generation.” Editorial. Time Ideas.com. n.p. 19 March 2013. Web. 20 May 2013.