The general decline in standards today

[V.C. Brunswick]

It may be my imagination, but I've noticed that the quality of American advertising --TV, radio, and print-- has really gone downhill over the past ten years or so. Are they paying creative people less money these days? What gives?

I listen to the radio a lot and one of the changes I've noticed is there's fewer local commercials and more national spots. Also many of the commercials are just the audio from the TV commercial!

 

[rue]

Unfortunately, it's declining like this:

That's a scary picture Tom :eeek:

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Scary, but I find it to be accurate!

That's a scary picture Tom :eeek:

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Yep...men portrayed as bumbling adolescent fools is the flavor of the day. I've never met any like this...and hope to gawd I never do...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe-Y-zSd5gs

It's not even funny..

 

[HoosierDaddy]

However..I think that this is hilarious..!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qiQI-zrPvQ

 

[rue]

However..I think that this is hilarious..!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qiQI-zrPvQ

:rofl: Jack wagon..... I never get tired of that

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Gotta like R. Lee Ermey!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Gotta like R. Lee Ermey!

I had a chance to meet Ermey at an airport lounge in Chicago several years ago. I sat next to him at the bar and we chatted for around 20 minutes. Talked about Drill instructor/Sgt adventures..and he is quite funny..and down to earth. I remember he was drinking cranberry & 7up...not sure,but don't think he even drinks liquor. Bet you really would like him!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Sounds like a great guy. The whole family has wanted to meet him ever since 'Mail Call.'

I had a chance to meet Ermey at an airport lounge in Chicago several years ago. I sat next to him at the bar and we chatted for around 20 minutes. Talked about Drill instructor/Sgt adventures..and he is quite funny..and down to earth. I remember he was drinking cranberry & 7up...not sure,but don't think he even drinks liquor. Bet you really would like him!

 

[scottyrocks]

Gregg, sheep, and lovemyhats, you all must be master carpenters because you all have hit the nail squarely on the head.

 

[scottyrocks]

Once again, though, the point is this -- trash has existed in every era. It has only become *mainstream* in *this* era. There is no longer any shame attached to wallowing in it -- for many, it's a point of pride.

I believe that a huge part of the beginning of this trend of loutish behavior becoming mainstream was a combination of the emergence of rap artists and 'reality' TV, beginning with The Real World on MTV. These days, reality TV is a staple of cable and broadcast TV. And the great majority of it, although not all of it, sells because people watch it for its 'characters' outrageous behavior.

The types of people who watch this stuff thrive on the rude, boorish, and generally in-yer-fae programming. When I was alluding in my previous post to hitting the nail on the head, I was referring to the writers' observations regarding children. Children watch and listen to this stuff and, as a result, worship the people they see doing it. And as it builds steam and rolls on, it sucks more and more kids, and people, in and becomes akin to a snowball rolling down a hill, and becomes the aforementioned 'norm.'

So many people I know love this trash, and, unfortunately, it has become a mainstream and 'acceptable' way for people to act.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

It bothers me immensely that this has become the case. Just watch any sitcom. The leading male role is a bumbling, usually overweight, idiot, married to some attractive woman with a lot of intelligence. I don't really know any families that fit this dynamic. Usually it's smart people marry each other and not so smart people marry each other. There's smart people of both genders and I think it should be portrayed as such.

Unfortunately, it's declining like this:

All in the Family was and still is a brilliant sitcom that addressed racism, classicism and 70's feminism; very radical for its time. Archie was not portrayed in a favorable light and he was balanced out with other characters to deliver the point that Archie was narrow-minded. This is far different from reality TV that glamorizes bad behavior.

 

[Dennis Young]

I suppose we do romanticize the past.

However, talking to my mom (she'll be 75 in Nov), I have found that people in her day would have been appalled at single motherhood. (Yes, it did happen). But girls especially were so much more concerned about their reputations. But only a few months ago I heard a news report where most of a class of high schools Sr girls at this one school had concocted a plan to all get pregnant together.

There are also stories like the ones mentioned at the beginning of this thread. 1st graders headbutting teachers. I know of little kids bringing guns to school. Of teens having sex in the classroom!

You did have an element in the 40s and 50s where there were some bad apples. There were gangs, to be sure. But I do think it is far more prevalent today. And people want to know why.

Its pretty obvious to me:

Parents today often like to dump their rugrats off on the schools to raise.
Teachers rarely are able to toch a kid anymore. (So no paddleing). therefore they are reduced to "time out" or suspension (whcih amounts to a 3 day vacation for the kid usually).

And...we've taken both prayer and the pledge of allegiance out of the classrooms. Kids grow up knowing nothing about loyalty to country. They arent taught ethics...good citizenship, manners. They know nothing of honor...or class. They watch tv and MTV and learn not to respect women.

Sure, there are exceptions. But there are also a lot of cases where they just dont know the concept of honor, or what it means to bring dishonor on themselves and their family.

 

[LizzieMaine]

All in the Family was and still is a brilliant sitcom that addressed racism, classicism and 70's feminism; very radical for its time. Archie was not portrayed in a favorable light and he was balanced out with other characters to deliver the point that Archie was narrow-minded. This is far different from reality TV that glamorizes bad behavior.

Quite so. And as the program went on, Archie was shown to be a decent man at heart -- like many of his generation, he didn't question his prejudices until circumstances required him to do so, but when he did, he was able to move beyond them. This is a long way from a cheap one-joke caricature -- "Ha ha ha! Archie is a racist! Ha ha ha!"

I think a very big part of the problem today is that there just aren't very many decent writers in television. Norman Lear and most of his staff were veterans not just of early television but of radio -- where they learned to *write,* not just string a lot of jokes together. They knew how to create characters who had realism and substance and were more than simple caricatures. There are very few comedy writers in television today who know how to do this, and with reality programming taking over even more air time, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for them to work. Again the popular media takes the easiest, cheapest route without much concern for the quality of the product.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Gregg, sheep, and lovemyhats, you all must be master carpenters because you all have hit the nail squarely on the head.

Thanks. Oddly enough, one of my two income making courses in life is being a builder, mostly commercial but I do all custom work.

I also think that for the majority of people that really care about what goes on in this country, have a care for it, a hope for it, and a belief that the good in all things should prevail over what is wrong.

When you read of reports that some city have been "sued" by some morons that removes the Christmas scenes and makes it "illegal" for the terminology "Christmas" to be used, I have often wondered why no one has "sued" those that originated that action to have the honor of "Christmas" back? And, what in the world could be going on in someone's mind to want to attack "Christmas" to begin with? Did they have a bad experience with someone in a Santa suit, or are they just plain mean and rotten naturally?

Another point of view that I have often had come to mind, even more so in reading what is being discussed here within everyone's sharing, is simply that there is always going to be some of us, that will not stoop to lowering our standards, that will always be willing to help someone down and out, that will always desire to be a patriot and take up for the right of decency. For those that keep an eye on what is wrong socially, politically, and with the financial meltdowns ongoing, it is the people, us, the "we" that will make a difference, the "I" that can desire to move forward and do what needs to be done. The media will always try to tie good things to some elected official for them to take the credit for many things that was really done by individuals in life. We as individuals are what will always make the difference. I still have faith that there are enough good people and great things in store for all of us, no matter how "crappy" things can get.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Quite so. And as the program went on, Archie was shown to be a decent man at heart -- like many of his generation, he didn't question his prejudices until circumstances required him to do so, but when he did, he was able to move beyond them. This is a long way from a cheap one-joke caricature -- "Ha ha ha! Archie is a racist! Ha ha ha!"

I think a very big part of the problem today is that there just aren't very many decent writers in television. Norman Lear and most of his staff were veterans not just of early television but of radio -- where they learned to *write,* not just string a lot of jokes together. They knew how to create characters who had realism and substance and were more than simple caricatures. There are very few comedy writers in television today who know how to do this, and with reality programming taking over even more air time, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for them to work. Again the popular media takes the easiest, cheapest route without much concern for the quality of the product.

Yes, he truly was portrayed as having a heart and someone trying to do right in the way he understood it which was comically challenged each episode. The show also encouraged intelligent dialogue as opposed to "Did you see this weeks train wreck?"

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Quite so. And as the program went on, Archie was shown to be a decent man at heart -- like many of his generation, he didn't question his prejudices until circumstances required him to do so, but when he did, he was able to move beyond them. This is a long way from a cheap one-joke caricature -- "Ha ha ha! Archie is a racist! Ha ha ha!"

I think a very big part of the problem today is that there just aren't very many decent writers in television. Norman Lear and most of his staff were veterans not just of early television but of radio -- where they learned to *write,* not just string a lot of jokes together. They knew how to create characters who had realism and substance and were more than simple caricatures. There are very few comedy writers in television today who know how to do this, and with reality programming taking over even more air time, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for them to work. Again the popular media takes the easiest, cheapest route without much concern for the quality of the product.

Bring on the re runs of shows like "The HoneyMooners"!!!

 

[Gregg Axley]

Thanks Scotty.
On occasion I find an acorn, if you know the saying of the blind pig.
But to me, it's not just a belief, it's a lifestyle.
I value my reputation, as Dennis mentioned earlier.
I also stay away from programs that dumb me down, and compromise my standards.
Okay I do love The Smoking Gun Presents, simply because they show Southerners and one day I'll know someone in the clip, I just know it!
Yeah I'm kinda looked at as odd for watching old programs, not going for the latest fad, and staying around the house with my wife, but if I have to do that to keep my standards then so be it.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I love All in the Family, it's one of my favorite shows and if you look past all of his flaws, there's a lot of good that can be taken from Archie's character. He cared very much for his family and worked hard at a factory to provide for them. No matter what happened, he loved Edith and Gloria. That's something you don't see much of out of television these days. A family man.

All in the Family was and still is a brilliant sitcom that addressed racism, classicism and 70's feminism; very radical for its time. Archie was not portrayed in a favorable light and he was balanced out with other characters to deliver the point that Archie was narrow-minded. This is far different from reality TV that glamorizes bad behavior.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

However..I think that this is hilarious..!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qiQI-zrPvQ

:rofl:
"Maybe we should chug on over to Namby Pamby Land where maybe we can find some self-confidence for you, you jack wagon!"
while not a movie, it definitely belongs in memorable movie quotes!