John Edwards, in a media stunt reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s 1992 run, participated recently in the MTV and MySpace “A Presidential Dialogue,” in which he answered pressing questions from young voters. While Edwards had some good ideas, discussed in depth, on salient issues such as education and race (the direction the current administration is heading, black men will “end up in prison or dead”), this entry is not about Edwards and his blinding, JFK-esque grin.
No, no. This is a beef with MTV.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad MTV is finally picking back up where “Rock the Vote” and “Choose or Lose” left off- it’s nice to see the network taking its viewers seriously, treating them like thinking, breathing, political adults. But what does it say to the viewers when in between spots for “A Presidential Dialogue,” there are advertisements for PG movies and GameBoys? What does it say when the network allows Axe deodorant to sponsor Gamekillers, a show so horrible I can’t even describe it to you? What does MTV think of its viewers, then? Are they thirteen year-old boys? Are they too dumb to notice that the ‘M’ in MTV stands for music, when in fact they play little to no music and run The Hills seven times a day?
Either the network sees its viewers as children (and in many cases, they are), or they treat them like thoughtful, responsible adults by sponsoring more presidential debates and actually delivering music as alluded to by the network’s very name.
I'm not sure you can reconcile the two.
3 comments:
I think Gamekillers is funny!
Haha, weirdo.
Just kidding- as long as you appreciate how ridiculous it all is. Much like "My Super Sweet 16." Do people really want to have that shining moment documented for their grandchildren?
Interesting to know.
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