If there is a government agency I find more useless and more offensive than the loathesome FCC, I am hard pressed to name it. With that in mind, let me state something that I think is being overblown in this whole MNF/Desparate Housewives dust-up.
It is not just holyrollers and bible thumpers who found the introduction offensive. My mother found it offensive. I found it offensive. Normal people all over the country found it offensive for a variety of reasons.
My mother found it offensive, stating: “Even though I was alone, I felt uncomfortable. And besides, what kind of athlete would leave his team-mates on the field just to hook up with some slut?”
I found it offensive because it was so stupid and over the top and so unnecessary. Why? Why? MNF is a franchise- it is how I make it through Mondays- knowing MNF is around the corner. Why did they need to cheapen this, knowing full well there are millions of kids watching? IN other words, I was not offended by the skit itself, but I was pissed off that they would air it because I knew the reaction it would create.
I don’t know what these execs are thinking sometimes. Why must the always heapen good ideas with something unnecessary, and why is taht something unnecessary usually something so tawdry?
I have issues with infidelity- it pisses me off. It is easy enough to get divorced, and if you aren’t married- break up with the person. In short, infidility infuriates me. I simply can not watch movies or shows that contain or are centered around cheating. In fact, I remember watching about 20 minutes of Unfaithful with Diane Lane before turning the movie off in disgust. A year later, I saw Diane Lane’s character in Under the Tuscan Sun going through a painful divorce, and all I could think was: “Good. I am glad you hurt. You deserve it for cheating on your husband in Unfaithful, you bitch.”
At any rate, back to my point I watched the Horse Whisperer this afternoon for the first time (side note- Chris Cooper is the quintessential American actor), and I loved it. Until they turned the whole damn story into an issue of infidelity. Why?
Monday Night Football is a solid product. So could the Horse Whisperer have been a solid product. Why ruin them?
This, of course, does not mean I condone the nanny-state mentality of the FCC, but I want my fellow readers to understand that both sides in this case are wrong from my perspective.
Chris
While I agree with most of what you wrote, the Horse Whisperer was based on the book, which included the infidelity plot.
Justin O.
Alot of movies will even say infidelity is ok in some weird way….
I’m not ok with alot of it, some stories are alright…..but then again there is crap like Unfaithful which you can get now at Target for the bargain basement price of $7.88 HAHA.
I think alot of films have turned away from romance, and film-makers have had a hard time finding those influences of romance. We now settle for the other Richard Gere epic, Shall We Dance? and the same movie over again which is the Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason