Adult Content

Homer: “Well if kids are so innocent, why is everything bad named after them? Acting CHILDish, KIDnapping, CHILD abuse…”
Bart: “What about ADULTery?”
Homer: “Not until you’re older, son.”

It is unfortunate that so many of the words we use to connote maturity have some sort of negative meaning. It makes sense in that we view children as uncorrupted, and part of getting older generally involves becoming more corrupt, and better able to conceal it, but it’s not a good thing.

Writing about the misogyny, on one level I feel like good people wouldn’t do it. Now, if it is the norm, and people don’t think very much, it’s easy to go along with something without being an ill-intentioned person, but a big part of maturity is thinking about long-range consequences and ramifications and the motivations for things.

I have been thinking about this not just because of what I have been reading, but also because of what I have been writing, and also because of things I have read about what other people are reading and viewing.

So this is going to be tricky, because there is certainly room for self-consciousness as I criticize things that are very popular, and I may come off as judgmental though I promise I am just going for analytical. I don’t intend to alienate anyone, but these are things that I not only believe, but believe are important.

It will also be tricky to discuss these things in a mature and reasonable manner. For example, writing about swear words, filling the post with references to the F-word and B-word seems a little ridiculous, but filling it with the actual words in wrong in a whole different direction. As for writing about sex without either sounding stupid or being vulgar, well, it will be a challenge.

Basically, I will have posts about all of the things that will get you a Mature or Restricted rating, depending on the type of media: language, violence, and sex. I think I can manage just one on each topic, but I can’t make any promises.

Technically, there is a fourth, which is mature themes, because some things don’t necessarily involve any of the main three, but are still just kind of heavy. It probably makes sense, but I am amazed at what kids miss. Like in “Up”, there were people who thought it would not be for kids because some of the content is so sad, and yes, it is really sad for an adult, but it doesn’t seem to hit kids the same way.

And of course, I am still amazed by the things I saw on the networks during primetime when I was a kid. I am still scarred by The Dirty Dozen, The Green Berets, Hang ‘Em High, and either For a Fistful of Dollars or A Few Dollars More (I get them mixed up.)

At the same time, I was fine with watching a scary, illiterate hag torment Mary on Little House on the Prairie, and I am way more upset watching “Sylvia” now then I was then, because now I see how young she looks. It’s hard to tell how things will affect a kid. Also, Michael Landon was twisted.