Tuesday, September 26, 2006

PBS Station Scared To Show "Marie Antoinette" Documentary Because Of Bush's FCC Fine Threats

This is what we've come to. A PBS documentary about Marie Antoinette features glimpses of 200 year old pencil sketches of nude people having sex, along with explict discussions of Louis XVI's impotency. Now I'm sure TONS of kids tune into PBS documentaries in hopes of seeing pencil sketches that will light their filthy minds on fire. But at least one PBS station -- in Denver, no less -- won't air the film because they're worried about the draconian fines the FCC might lay on them. It's now official: we are all hostage to the moral beliefs of a few thousand cranks at Focus on the Family and the American Family Association. If there's any chance these people might not like something (whether they'd seen it or not) and might email a generic complaint to the FCC, 300 million Americans are denied the chace to see something. How about adjusting the FCC system so that at least ONE PERCENT of the number of people who actually watched a show have to complain before any proceedings begin. In other words. If 2 million people watched the "Marie Antoinette" documentary, at least 20,000 complaints would have to be filed. That is setting the bar pretty darn low, don't you think? But the truth is that almost NONE of the complaints (mostly from people who admitted they never watched the shows in question) would rise to this level. Am I trying to block angry citizens? No, I'm just suggesting that if one in one hundred people AREN'T offended enough to take action, then clearly there's no reason the federal government should get involved. But what do I know. I'm just a conservative.

1 comment:

Michael in New York said...

That quote may not be historically accurate.