With media being the central focus, i've named some shows that....?

Question

the general target audience is boys or girls under 19, yet i found this disturbing.

The ones that the target audience is boys was men doing stupid stunts or men caught being stupid like

Balls Of Steel
Dirty Sanchez
Wild Boyz
Jackass
Still Standing
Yes Dear
The Simpsons
Family Guy
Beavis And Butthead
South Park
Viva La Bam
Funniest Home Videos (yes there was a 4 year old naked urinating in the pool and you could see him all)

All these shows are men being stupid and running publicly naked or are the stupid husband/brother/uncle etc.

I could go on but i need to get to my question. So i found shows that target girls under 19 and it all seems to be encouraging them:

Hannah Montanna
Lizzie Mcquire
H20 Just add Water
Blue Water High

What effect do you think these shows have on boys and girls? I think it's to teach girls to be strong and boys to make a living being dumb as dog sh!t. It seems as the years go on it gets worse...

To me this affects the way girls think, yesterday i was at school with my mate, who is a boy and two girls. The girls went under the table and were talking and for no reason what-so-ever one of the girls hit my mate in the balls, and guess what? The teacher turned the blind eye when she saw everything

I've named shows that i just picked out of my weekly listings and that's what i saw. PLEASE READ ALL OF THE QUESTION because i've backed it up by my encounter at school yesterday

I hope it isn't just me but i found as we start the new millenium these shows popped up. Where have the good shows gone like The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air or Saved By The Bell? I loved them :)

Answer 1

You are a very studious and analytical individual. I agree that there is a "dumbing down" of men in the media. No question. It is evident in shows and in commercials, and is a rather disturbing trend. I disagree somewhat with your notion of the positivity of depictions of females. There are a lot of shows that feature girls/women who are nothing more than sex toys for men...you're in the US, so I'm not sure if you get the same programs, but shows like "Gossip Girl" and all those reality shows are very disturbing to me. These girls are highly sexualized at all different ages. I also find that mainstream crime shows or hospital shows feature women who are dressed very inappropriately for their jobs. This also goes for commercials, which also focus on women's/girls' appearance. So, I don't see women being encouraged to be strong, just sexual, but I do agree that men are being made to appear very stupid, clumsy, and whipped. Excellent observation...I'm impressed with the level of analysis you provide in your questions. Oh..and that nonsense at your school...you've referred to this before...there is a definite issue there. I don't know how to handle this when the teachers appear to be ignoring it. That is assault and it should not be tolerated. Are there policies at your school to address this? Is anyone willing to do anything about it? That teacher could be held liable for doing nothing if that young man was hurt seriously. I really would encourage you to stand up to this behaviour--she should not be allowed to get away with dismissing assault. Best of luck to you.

Answer 2

It may be true that boys find this kind of humour funny, but it doesn't make the message any less negative. I agree that men are portrayed as dolts in a lot of popular media. Look at the popular comedy movies - Knocked Up - for example. The man are sort of loveable goofus types. It is a lot more difficult to get away with negative portrayals of women or minority groups than it used to be. But men are fair game. Even though it's a terrible message for boys, most men don't care enough to try and do something about it and nobody else is going to. Sad, really.

Answer 3

Those shows don't teach girls to be strong. They teach them to seek status, popularity, and boys before all else. Let's not forget shows like The Hills and Newport Harbor, in which the female characters have the combined intelligence of pants.

Answer 4

Those shows aimed at girls are equally as stupid because they typically have good looking girls with little or no talent. That gives the message to girls that they don't need any talent or even intelligence to get ahead if they are good looking enough.

Answer 5

they make tv shows like that for guys b/c thats what guys that age generally like to watch. there are just as many negative tv shows for girls too.