"Even if I got rid of all my problems, I'd just go out and get new ones..."

The media. And why it sucks.
5:38 p.m. on 2004-04-15

Here's a little something that is puzzling me.

A common misconception of America is that of a country ruled by uptight conservatives and white folk scared of anyone who doesn't look or behave just like them.

To be fair, there's a fair bit of evidence to support this. Only in America would there be such an uproar about Janet Jackson revealing a nipple. For gods sake, about 75% of the population see them everyday! All they have to do is either look in the mirror or roll over in bed!

And only in America would you get the governor of California making such a stupid comment as "Gay marriage threatens our society" and have the President threatening to change the constitution just to stop two grown adults from legally binding in love. Only in America would you find a mentally retarded person facing execution, or find the vote had been denied from people with autism and black people.

But in television programmes... things are different.

How can the country which has that horrible organisation, the Parents Television Council, also be the country which produced Oz and is currently exporting Nip/Tuck?

In the UK at the moment, a highly popular soap opera has just featured a *gasp* 'gay kiss.' This has the country in uproar, between those Daily Mirror columnists who are shocked at the degradation of the media (then post a picture of a naked 19 year old on Page 3) and those, like me, who are going: "So?"

Meanwhile, I am about to sit down to watch the final episode of the first season of Nip/Tuck. In 22 episodes, this show has featured graphic scenes of plastic surgery (everything from breast implant removal to liposuction), a relationship between a pre-op transexual and a lesbian, a Jew converting to Christianity after he falls for the naive young leader of a prayer group (who also happens to be the victim of a hit and run in which he was driving), a priest who resorts to plastic surgery to avoid being prosecuted for child abuse and ... sex.

Lots of sex. Naked, graphic sex, in all sorts of positions, often sexy, but also clumsy and embarrassing. Steamy, sordid sex between good-looking Christian and any model he chooses, or tenatitive, distanced sex between Troy and his miserable wife.

Fucking.

In the final episode there is a rather fantastic scene in which a full naked Christian attempts to have sex with his girlfriend, whilst she is about 8 and a half months pregnant with his child. But there are no blurry camera shots or strategically placed pillows here. It's clumsy, difficult, painful, and possibly a television first. I've certainly never seen it before.

But why? Pregnant women have sex just like everybody else. In fact, as a previous episode revealed, pregant women are extremely very sensitive and often very horny.

Meanwhile, back in England, BBC2 showed a tv movie last night starring *giggles girlishly* Mat Frasier.

Basically the plot was about Mat's character and his relationship with a woman who is a dwarf. It's about preconceptions and judgements, delivered by others and also themselves.

It also featured sex scenes.

Two disabled people, only partially clothed and having sex.

Given that this is a thoughtful, well written piece of drama it will probably pass under the radar of the Daily Mirror. It won't cause an uproar, unlike that nurse and the "But he should be with Nick!" Todd getting it on under Sarah Louise's nose.

And yet again, it's a television first. Or, well, a near first, probably.

Disabled people have sex. Duh.

I just wish I could take all those annoying, whiny Daily Mirror readers and, say, force them to watch all four seasons of Oz. In one go.

Now if nothing else forces them to shut up, that will. It's a mind fuck, in every sense of the word.

My puzzle is this. How can tv be so liberated at one end of the scale, with the US producing the Sopranos, Nip/Tuck, and Oz, and the Brits producing This Life and Brideshead Revisited, and then... then... be so damn conservative!

WHY do we never see gay people in soap operas, unless they're cast in a particular 'gay' plot line. Why are disabled people only cast in roles which demand a disabled person? Why do able-bodied people get to play disabled characters when there are hundreds of disabled actors with no work? Why do beautiful actresses need to uglify themselves to play a role when there are plenty of non-attractive people out there? Why can sex be so taboo in certain areas, like with a pregnant woman?

And why did the American media prove their disgust at Janet Jackson's 'performance' by showing THAT clip over and over and over and over and over.... AGAIN?!

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