Thursday, June 01, 2006
'. . . And Winnie The Pooh Taught Me How To Forge Passports.'
In the Telegraph, Shaun Bailey is busy suggesting solutions to knife crime. Fair enough. Some of them are reasonable; others aren't. What drew my ire is that he falls ino the old standard of blaming 'youth culture' for whatever people do wrong, so we get the following paragraph:
'We need to look at the material that youngsters have rammed down their throats every day. Magazines such as Zoo, Nuts and MaxPower. Programmes and films such as World Wrestling Entertainment, Get Rich or Die Trying, and MTV, City Gangster flicks and the whole music culture in general. If we want our youngsters to stop being violent, we need to stop showing them violent material, especially so early in their development. As a colleague said to me, the music industry is "peddling death to our children".'
That sound you can hear is my Nonsense Alarm going off.
Where - where - in MaxPower magazine does it suggest that carrying a knife is cool? Do you seriously believe people are inspired to assault by watching Stone Cold Steve Austin over the head with a chair? 'The whole music culture in general'? Perhaps the solution might be to ban music, or at least any music that doesn't tell you to 'listen to what the flower people say'?
Scott Wickstein is spot on:
'I am certainly no expert on 'popular culture', but I would question the idea that 'culture' forces anything on young people. Cultural industries like magazines and music and television programs really are businesses just like any others; they have to respond to what the market is asking for. The point is that cultural industries are a lagging indicator, not a leading one.'
If there is one thing that really does piss me off no end, it is this suggestion that musicians and footballers and so forth have some kind of 'moral responsibility' because they are in the public eye. No. At the end of the day, I wouldn't trust Eminem to bring up my children even if he was preaching love and tolerance. Disconnected superstars and celebrities are no substitute for parents and teachers telling kids the difference between right and wrong. After all, why would 50 Cent care whether or not you go to prison - your parents just might.
'We need to look at the material that youngsters have rammed down their throats every day. Magazines such as Zoo, Nuts and MaxPower. Programmes and films such as World Wrestling Entertainment, Get Rich or Die Trying, and MTV, City Gangster flicks and the whole music culture in general. If we want our youngsters to stop being violent, we need to stop showing them violent material, especially so early in their development. As a colleague said to me, the music industry is "peddling death to our children".'
That sound you can hear is my Nonsense Alarm going off.
Where - where - in MaxPower magazine does it suggest that carrying a knife is cool? Do you seriously believe people are inspired to assault by watching Stone Cold Steve Austin over the head with a chair? 'The whole music culture in general'? Perhaps the solution might be to ban music, or at least any music that doesn't tell you to 'listen to what the flower people say'?
Scott Wickstein is spot on:
'I am certainly no expert on 'popular culture', but I would question the idea that 'culture' forces anything on young people. Cultural industries like magazines and music and television programs really are businesses just like any others; they have to respond to what the market is asking for. The point is that cultural industries are a lagging indicator, not a leading one.'
If there is one thing that really does piss me off no end, it is this suggestion that musicians and footballers and so forth have some kind of 'moral responsibility' because they are in the public eye. No. At the end of the day, I wouldn't trust Eminem to bring up my children even if he was preaching love and tolerance. Disconnected superstars and celebrities are no substitute for parents and teachers telling kids the difference between right and wrong. After all, why would 50 Cent care whether or not you go to prison - your parents just might.
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"Disconnected superstars and celebrities are no substitute for parents and teachers telling kids the difference between right and wrong. After all, why would 50 Cent care whether or not you go to prison - your parents just might."
Ok. fair point and I can't fail but to agree. Although, I also can't help but feel that you'd be one of the first shouting against compulsory parenting classes...
Ok. fair point and I can't fail but to agree. Although, I also can't help but feel that you'd be one of the first shouting against compulsory parenting classes...
Matty - You're right! It hath already been done. I don't think it's an either/or situation - the best answer to the whole situation is longer sentencing. A good deterrent is what's needed.
Boudica - That could actually work! I love those nanny programmes. There's nothing better for the soul than the thought of horrid little brats getting a right bollocking from some powdered old crone. Great telly.
Boudica - That could actually work! I love those nanny programmes. There's nothing better for the soul than the thought of horrid little brats getting a right bollocking from some powdered old crone. Great telly.
Yes! That's possibly the funniest one I've ever seen. Poor old Cartman! I might poke my kids with a cattle prod in time.
There should be no dancing. No sex. No violence. No eating of pleasurable food. Did I mention no sex?
There should be no genitals.
No speaking to girls without their parents present.
And, above all, no fucking smiling.
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There should be no genitals.
No speaking to girls without their parents present.
And, above all, no fucking smiling.
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