MTV's new teen sensation TV show Skins debuted mid-January with strong ratings and lots of controversy. After watching an episode to see what the big deal was I agree wholeheartedly with this writer/youth worker who details the danger of Skins presenting dangerous/illegal activity with no hint of accountability.
It is most important that we engage young people (teens and those for whom teens are role models) in reflection about what we absorb through media and discernment about whether what we watch/listen to/play is good for us.
1 comment:
Very true brother.
I came across a few articles concerning this show the other day (and a few lawsuits it is facing regarding child pornography). I was dumb founded by a few things when I watched the 'trailer', and read up on it. It prides itself on the fact that it is supposed to mimic reality: it takes the behavior of its actors to be accurate portrayals of teen life. Just as Seinfeld prides itself on how life really is, so to does Skins. But this leaves one wondering, is the behavior of the actors normal teen behavior?
I was once asked on a GRE analytical writing section whether I thought media influenced/directed social trends, or whether social trends influenced/directed media. I argued that it was clearly a case by case basis, but often they work cooperatively. Whether Skins truly mimics real interaction of teens is perhaps an empirical question, but one thing which it does do: it does influence teens into thinking the behavior therein is normal teen behavior, which is nothing short of pornographic (in the real sense of the word).
Secondly, I was shocked that
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