Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 7, 1993 TAG: 9308070297
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN TORME OLSON CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"The Seven Deadly Sins: An MTV News Special Report" is all of the above, eschewing mea culpa musings for a clear look at the contemporary moral puzzles of real life.
Using a bold, unconventional approach, MTV filmmaker Lauren Lazin finds the pizazz in pride, the love in lust and the enriching side of envy.
But "Sins" isn't a glib kiss-off of a topic that sends most people running for cover. Nor is it a finger-pointing sermon aimed at guilt-ridden sinners. This is MTV, after all, and "a lot of people have preconceptions about MTV," says Lazin, who produced and directed the show, which will be telecast at 10 p.m. Wednesday on MTV. The program also will be aired at a later date on PBS stations.
"For lots of people, MTV is a bastion of sin," she says. "But our audience likes to be taken seriously. It is a whole new generation with a whole new way of thinking. MTV is not the voice of a generation, but the language."
Lazin, 33, aimed "Sins" at MTV's target audience of viewers aged 21-29, who, she says, are becoming more concerned with morality in their behavior and relationships.
"We used a cross-section of people in the show to get a different take on sin," she says. "The second half of the show is devoted to coping with sin - how you can deal with these sins and not let them rule you. Part of character development is struggling with these sins."
Interviews with celebrities - rockers Ozzy Osbourne and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith; actresses Sean Young and Kirstie Alley; and rappers Ice T and Queen Latifah - reveal how they cope with problems and make "Sins" articulate social commentary. Quick cuts of news, movie and TV footage, personal stories and ever-present pop music round out the package and make it relevant on many levels.
Relevancy is central to "Sins," which was developed as a joint venture with Public Broadcasting's "Alive TV" series, the PBS summer showcase for unexpected television.
Not only is the theme unexpected, but also "some people are surprised we're working with MTV," says "Alive TV" executive producer Neil Sieling.
"It (the collaboration) is surprising on the surface. But we (`Alive') have the youngest demographic of any show on PBS outside of `Sesame Street' or `Mr. Rogers.' And they (MTV) really speak to young folk in a way nobody else does.
"There are very different audiences for PBS and MTV, and `Alive's' are younger, hipper audiences that conform to what MTV is doing."
Sieling, whose job it is to identify for PBS the best and the brightest TV projects from up-and-coming artists, says there is a lot to be said about what the media can be doing to speak to youth.
"The media take a few deserved knocks for turning people into couch potatoes, but there's a lot of people - Lauren is one and we're another - who really try to have TV make a difference. And you have to do that by taking a risk of not connecting with everybody."
by CNB