Being the author of Mommy I'm Scared, a book that advises parents
to be cautious about their children's television exposure, I know how difficult
it is to get TV to promote a message that it fears might cut into its revenues.
But even before I was a book author, I came to see how the media felt about
parental empowerment when, in May of 1997, I participated in a taping of
The
Leeza Show. The show was set up to invite parents to express their
views about the "TV Parental Guidelines," the new rating system that had
been developed by the TV industry and introduced in January of that year.
What happened at the taping was that parent after parent blasted the new
age-based system, saying that it didn't give them the information they
needed (did the program have sex, or violence, or what?) and that it enticed
their children to watch programs designated for older kids and adults.
Although the program was supposed to air two weeks after the taping,
NBC never permitted it to see the light of day. Shortly afterwards, the
TV industry agreed to modify the rating system with letters that indicate
the content of the program. Not coincidentally, NBC was, and still is,
the only major network to refuse to use the more informative, modified
system.
The result of the media's reluctance to inform us about the V-chip is
that few parents know that the V-chip is standard equipment now. Moreover,
although many parents know there are TV ratings, few are aware that producers
rate their own programs, or know where they can find out about a program's
rating or what the new content letters mean. Because the meanings of the
ratings are so hard to find (and because when they are displayed they are
nearly illegible!), I created the guide to the new system that is displayed
here.
Other important things you are not being told are that some, but not
all, new televisions allow parents to block unrated programs (the news
and sports are not rated), and some permit parents to block entire channels.
It is easy for parents to override the blocking by using a private PIN
number. So, for programs that
are blocked, parents can make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Basically,
without blocking technologies, whatever any producer dreams up comes into
your home automatically. With this technology, you can put a "stop order"
on Jerry Springer and his cronies while letting in Sesame Street
or
other valuable programming.
When the media industry does cover the V-chip, the device is cast as
censorship or as a crutch for lazy parents. What it really is is a tool
to help parents implement their own good judgment. And parents have very
important reasons to want to exercise control. For example, the consensus
of rigorous research is that repeated exposure to media violence promotes
desensitization, encourages aggressive attitudes and behaviors, and often
causes repeated nightmares and enduring anxieties.
Getting this information out to parents will have to be a grass roots
campaign - but given what we know about the potential impact of the media
on children, it is well worth the effort.
A Guide to the Amended TV Parental Guidelines
Children's Programs
TV-Y: All Children
FV: Fantasy Violence*
*Any intense violence in children's programming
General Programming
TV-G: General Audience
Guide reprinted with permission from "Mommy, I'm Scared": How TV
and Movies Frighten Children and What We Can Do to Protect Them by
Joanne Cantor (Harcourt Brace, 1998).
Article reprinted from the Association for Wisconsin School Administrators'
Update,
April, 2000.
Parents have recently gained new powers over the television
content that enters their homes, although very few of us know about it.
As of January 1, 2000 all new TV sets with a screen size of 13 inches or
larger are manufactured with a V-chip -- a device that lets parents block
programs as a function of their ratings. This is a revolutionary device
that for the first time gives parents a modicum of control. It should be
a REALLY BIG continuing story! Why is no one telling you?
TV-Y7: Directed to Older Children
is labeled "fantasy violence."
TV-PG: Parental Guidance Suggested
V: Moderate Violence
S: Sexual Situations
L: Infrequent Coarse Language
D: Some Suggestive Dialog
TV-14: Parents Strongly Cautioned
V: Intense Violence
S: Intense Sexual Situations
L: Strong Coarse Language
D: Intensely Suggestive Dialog
`TV-MA: Mature Audience Only
V: Graphic Violence
S: Explicit Sexual Activity
L: Crude Indecent Language