Television Censorship
Television has been around from the beginning of time and has been a great impact on households in America. Censorship is defined as the editing of material from a written or visual performance. There are a number of issues that are taboo and have been censored from television performances for years. The censorship of television began in the late 1960’s. Censorship has truly evolved and become more lenient and open on a broader range than when it first began in the the 1960’s. Being that television censorship has a more open range and not as restrictive as it use to be, not only does it affect our nation as a whole and it’s development, we have to think of the effects that it embellishes on the mind development of our youth.
A couple of the issues that have been void from American television for decades are as follows:
Sex: This is one of the hottest topics to be censored and it’s definitely for good reason, nudity isn’t for main stream television.
Sexuality: This is a very controversial issue and is slowly become more accepting to main stream television and is getting a little more publicity. Examples include - The Jerry Springer Show, The Real World and Cheaters.
Profanity: This subject has been censored from the beginning but is gradually getting more airplay on television now a days. You can commonly hear “ass” or “damn” on many mini series these days and times.
Below, I have included a timeline to show how television censorship has evolved throughout the years.
• 1947 Mary Kay and Johnny is TV’s first series to show a married couple who shared a bed. Subsequent sitcoms including I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Donna Reed would show married couples in separate beds.
• 1948 TV’s earliest primetime delivery was on the sitcom Mary Kay and Johnny that starred Mary Kay Stearns and Johnny Stearns who played themselves on the series. In December, 1948 Mary Kay gave birth in reallife to a baby boy named Christopher. Within a
A couple of the issues that have been void from American television for decades are as follows:
Sex: This is one of the hottest topics to be censored and it’s definitely for good reason, nudity isn’t for main stream television.
Sexuality: This is a very controversial issue and is slowly become more accepting to main stream television and is getting a little more publicity. Examples include - The Jerry Springer Show, The Real World and Cheaters.
Profanity: This subject has been censored from the beginning but is gradually getting more airplay on television now a days. You can commonly hear “ass” or “damn” on many mini series these days and times.
Below, I have included a timeline to show how television censorship has evolved throughout the years.
• 1947 Mary Kay and Johnny is TV’s first series to show a married couple who shared a bed. Subsequent sitcoms including I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Donna Reed would show married couples in separate beds.
• 1948 TV’s earliest primetime delivery was on the sitcom Mary Kay and Johnny that starred Mary Kay Stearns and Johnny Stearns who played themselves on the series. In December, 1948 Mary Kay gave birth in reallife to a baby boy named Christopher. Within a
References: (2010). How TV affects your child. The Nemours Foundation. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html (2010). TV Timeline. Parents television council. Retrieved from http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/facts/tvtimeline.asp