Some TV programmes are revolting

Jul 05, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,

Is this what family hour on television has become, lewd dancing, girls exposing their bodies and music videos with mature themes? I believe the programme aired on NCN Ch 15 in Berbice on Wednesday evenings from 7-8pm leaves much to be desired, especially since it airs when the family and children would gather around their television sets after a hard day at work and school.

I find this programme, along with a few others like these in Berbice (and Georgetown too) revolting to say the least. Perhaps, though, the most sickening part of it is that these shows are glamorizing the use of alcohol. If I am mistaken, can the producers of the show or someone from NCN prove me wrong? What are bottles of beers and other alcoholic beverages appear in the backdrop against the show’s set? Why are bottles of a particular beer and world-renowned stout continuously displayed during the entire show on our screens? What messages are the producers of this show trying to convey to viewers?

What has television come to these days? What are our young people watching on TV on Wednesday nights, a school night? No doubt, they love these kinds of music and displays.

They become part of the in-crowd. What they do not realise, in their naivety, is that programmes like those are aimed to send subliminal messages in their minds about several things: the beverages being advertised on the programme and also the types of behaviours in some of the songs.

I am not satisfied either with some kinds of music played on 98.1 FM especially on Saturdays and some evenings with those dance-hall deejays.

I remember the words of veteran broadcaster, and a respected one at that, one of my favourites voices in the evening, that of Mr. Franklin Langhorne, who, on his Triple-M show, introduced songs on the air and then said that parents need not worry about the lyrics of those kinds of songs (oldies, etc).

He is absolutely right. How can people listen to music that hurts one’s ears? How can some people find joy in these lewd songs and take pleasure in allowing these types of music to become a part of their lives and their daily routines.

I tell you, as a society, we have a lot to be accountable for to our young ones today. I am thankful that I was imparted with the right morals and values by my parents and grown- ups around me.

My parents are not perfect people, but they did their utmost as parents and used proper parenting skills. Today, I am pretty satisfied with the direction in which I am going in life, and also with the type of music I listen to and without a doubt, the activities I engage in as a young man.

But the majority of our young people today have all lost direction and purpose in their lives.

They have allowed lewd music and programmes like “Hits from the Streets” and other programmes of the kind to seep into their minds and eventually thoughts and actions. What are their parents and role models doing about it?

Leon Jameson Suseran