COMMENTARY: A V chip? How about an E chip—for `Embarrassing?’

c. 1996 Religion News Service (Dale Hanson Bourke is the author of”Turn Toward the Wind”and the publisher of Religion News Service.) (RNS)-With the rating system for television programs gaining momentum, even the Europeans are getting into the act. According to Variety, the European Union is considering legislation to fit TV sets in Europe with a […]

c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Dale Hanson Bourke is the author of”Turn Toward the Wind”and the publisher of Religion News Service.)

(RNS)-With the rating system for television programs gaining momentum, even the Europeans are getting into the act.


According to Variety, the European Union is considering legislation to fit TV sets in Europe with a chip that makes it possible to read and block programming according to the ratings.

It seems the Europeans blame U.S. programs for”the growing amount of sex and violence on EU screens.” On a recent trip to Europe, I witnessed this trend. But I also observed something more alarming: the growing number of stupid American programs proliferating on European television.

This leads me to propose the E chip, a device that would read encoded messages stating that the majority of Americans are embarrassed by the contents of the show. This way Europeans could receive a civics lesson in free speech while also enjoying shows calculated to appeal to adolescent tastes.

Considering that our leading international television export is”Baywatch,”we cannot delay another moment for the good of international understanding.

This fact became very personal when I visited Eastern Europe recently and was shocked to see mini-satellite dishes attached to shacks, farm houses and crumbling structures throughout the countryside. Durable goods are slowly making their way into former Communist countries. But the satellite sales force has already made a killing.

The fallout from the television proliferation means that people who haven’t even met Americans personally have strong opinions about what America is like.

A new friend in Croatia confessed to me that she was surprised that I was so thin. Thinking she was complimenting me, I thanked her, and saw by the confused look that we were experiencing a communication breakdown.”No, I mean up here,”she said, gesturing toward my chest.”I thought all American women had big breasts,”she said. Even in my bulky sweater, it was clear that I would never measure up to the standards set by”Baywatch.” Pity the Americans with a southern accent who show up in some of the strongholds of”Dallas”viewership overseas. With the Ewing clan setting the standards for southerners, any tourist with a twang could become a target of ransom demands.


And think of the potential fallout on the military when”I Dream of Jeannie,”another international favorite, portrays American military officers who believe a skimpily clad genie can get them out of any situation.

Some of the worst television shows and silliest movies are big hits in Europe simply because it is easier to export programs when no one wants the rights in the United States. And with a growing demand for shows created by more channels in both the United States and overseas, we are sending the dregs of our programming to new world markets at an alarming rate.

For years, the Voice of America radio has tried to portray the best of American culture, thought and discourse through its programming. But now the true voice of America has become television shows that are often crass, shameless and downright silly.

There is little we can do to stop the export of these embarrassing shows to Europe and the rest of the world. We believe in free speech and free trade, even if it comes in monosyllables and represents the worst we have to offer as a society.

But if we are going to encode shows for sex and violence, let’s also add a rating for embarrassing. It is important to international understanding that we let our foreign friends know that U.S. companies are not run by women who look like Heather Locklear and that most lifeguards bear no resemblance to Pamela Anderson.

Without this disclaimer, we will never be able to stop the flood of illegal immigrants seeking a better life in America.


MJP END BOURKE

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