Talk Shows - Pushing the Limit
"I'm 13... I'll do anything to have a baby." I thought this was a parent's worst nightmare, but I was not surprised when I saw it was the subject of a very entertaining talk show. It was never the main goal of television to make its audience uncomfortable or to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in American Culture, which is illustrated in cases such as when "network censors forced Lucy and Ricky Ricardo to sleep in twin beds and I Dream of Jeannie's Barbara Eden to cover her belly button with flesh-colored putty" (Matheson). These days, however, are gone and television has become more offensive since the talk show came on to the screen. Steven D. Stark makes this same point in his article, "The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Talk-Show Furor." Stark says that talk shows are pushing the boundaries of what the American culture says is acceptable. He also notes that women are the primary audience of the talk show genre (Stark). I am in agreement with Stark on his view of talk shows. Ever since their creation, which was in the late 1960s with Phil Donahue, talk shows have changed the shape of the American culture and have helped broaden the American people's acceptance of vulgarities, sex
Jerry Springer has brought to television a whole new realm of unacceptable programming. It is very easy to see how talk shows have changed the shape of television and the American culture. Our own education system says that sex before marriage is bad. In all fairness to Maury, it is possible that the show may convince a young girl who wants to get pregnant that it may not be the best idea. This particular episode could give other girls the notion that having a child at a young age may be a good idea. It is possible to say that is why so many vulgar words were permitted to air - because adults would be the only ones to see it and would be less offended and affected by these words than a younger audience. Because this is a different type of talk show that airs at a different time, Stark's notion that the primary viewers are women does no hold true. If women are the audience to the daytime talk show, men must be the audience of the later aired talk show. The talk show on television that is most challenging what America sees as acceptable is The Jerry Springer Show. There was a point in the show that surprised me because it was out of nowhere. For example, "during a taping of The Late Show with David Letterman, Drew Barrymore almost gives ol' Dave a heart attack when she jumps on his desk, gyrates her hips and flashes her breasts" (Matheson). Furthermore, adultery is a very serious taboo, but because of shows like this, may be becoming more acceptable.
Common topics in this essay:
Maury Povich,
Jerry Springer,
Governor Schwarzenegger,
Toyoda Mercedes,
Matheson Instances,
Jay Leno,
Jay Leno's,
Gwyneth Paltrow,
CHI Institutes,
Furor Stark,
american culture,
jerry springer,
type talk,
maury povich,
pushing boundaries,
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vulgar words,
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audience talk,
ads directed towards,
tonight jay leno,
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winfrey talk-show furor,
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Acceptance Essays
