THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9408040823
SECTION: HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: YOUR TURN
SOURCE: BY ROSEMARY FULLER THORNTON, SPECIAL TO HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
THE ATTRACTIVE young woman lost the game show after not being able to answer the question, ``Who was the National League Rookie of the Year - 1947.'' Her ``punishment'' was to sit in an old electric chair, complete with leather straps and volt meter. The show's host held a ventriloquist's dummy named Bunny, who sat on the back edge of the electric chair.
``Tell us some stories,'' the host asked Bunny.
``I don't feel well,'' replied Bunny.
Bunny groaned a couple of times and then repeatedly vomited all over the young girl's hair, face and clothes.
Welcome to MTV's ``Trashed,'' where, according to the promo, ``If you don't know the answers, your prized possessions get trashed.''
By the time I saw ``Trashed,'' I'd already sat through about 12 hours of MTV's music videos. In those 12 hours, I'd heard just about every profanity one can imagine. The ``F'' word was the lone word apparently considered distasteful by MTV censors. In 12 hours, I'd witnessed many sexual images (implied and overt), which can only be described as ``soft pornography.''
Sadomasochism seems to be the perennial favorite on MTV, as does homosexuality, masturbation, necrophilia and a garden variety of other sexual perversities.
In addition to the sexually implicit videos, there was another, equally disturbing message in these music videos. Death. Many videos had graveyards and morgues in the background, and/or coffins and tombs as the video centerpiece. Blood and internal organs were frequently and vividly displayed.
Nirvana's song ``Heart-shaped Box'' describes eating someone's cancer and shows what appears to be an elderly Jesus on a cross wearing a Santa hat. Later, the hat changes to the pope's headdress. A tree next to the cross has dozens of tiny embryos hanging from strings. A closing scene again shows the old Jesus in bed, with an IV bottle hanging over the bed. Inside the IV bottle is an embryo, suspended in a bloody fluid.
The song ``Loser'' by the group Beck has the oft-repeated verse - ``I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me.'' The main picture in the video is that of a coffin, moving through the street. Before viewing all this firsthand, I'd always assumed that MTV was fairly innocuous.
That assumption died quickly. Many of the videos I watched were shocking and distasteful to me. But what really hurt were my 12-and 13-year-old daughters' reactions.
``Mom, what's the big deal? It's just a guy licking another guy's ear. You gotta listen to the music.'' Or, ``They're not doing anything `sexual'; they're just dancing.''
And therein lies the great danger. The subtle influence of MTV. The steady erosion of our children's morals and values. In a world where there is precious little to guide our vulnerable children down the right path, we've got MTV blasting out all the wrong messages. Satisfy yourself. Live for the moment. Life stinks. Death is good. Work is for fools.
And the one message that stands above all others: Sexual gratification is the most important thing in life.
Our family's decision to unplug MTV was an easy one. I want my children to be surrounded by all that is good and beautiful and lovely in this life. MTV is diametrically opposed to that simple description. MEMO: If you have a converter box, MTV can easily be ``locked out.'' If you
have a cable-ready TV, your cable company can install a ``trap'' on the
cable line outside to drop the MTV signal. Many cable-ready TVs also
have programmable ``lock out'' features. Call your cable company for
details. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MARK MITCHELL/Staff
Rosemary Fuller Thornton is a Portsmouth resident.
by CNB