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Author Of Kids' Books Sitting Pretty

3 Plead Guilty To Helping Run Drug Ring

FATHER BOB TIMCHAK
 Sunday, February 11, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 13 





Last week a teen-age boy in New England was badly burned when his friend
lighted him on fire after watching a show called Jackass (appropriately named)
on MTV. The show featured a man who successfully attempted this stunt without
injury. The boy was not as lucky. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's not the first time children have been injured while imitating TV
shows, and unfortunately it won't be the last time. Regardless of how often
television executives deny it, people do imitate what they see on TV. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Imitation is the whole idea behind TV advertising. All those companies
paying $2.3 million per 30 seconds of advertising time during the Super Bowl
wouldn't do that if they didn't know that we would buy their products. TV has
a huge influence on our lives. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The increase of deadly violence in schools and workplaces is in direct
proportion to the violence that has become acceptable entertainment on TV and
in the movies. It's a very simple equation: The more violence we see in the
media, the more violent our society becomes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I don't know that I would really be in favor of censorship, though I think
the world would be a better place without the likes of Beavis, Butthead and
the whole South Park gang. One redeeming aspect is that they don't have much
staying time. Like this year's hot Christmas presents, they lose their
attraction in time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But somewhere, someone is creating the next wildly popular TV character by
pushing the envelope even further. Just when we think that television is as
crude and immoral as you can get, they reach for new levels of indecency. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fox-TV recently has sought to reach out to a new audience. Realizing that
half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce, Fox must have
thought people in shaky relationships are a big untapped audience. That's the
only logical explanation I can come up with for why it would produce a show
like Temptation Island. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While I admit I haven't watched a minute of the show, I've seen enough
commercials for it to know to stay away. The basic premise is to take couples
in shaky relationships, separate them into two groups of men and women and
place them apart on the island. Each group is then ``tempted'' with members of
the opposite sex. And Fox hopes we will watch to see how this soap opera plays
out. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hopefully this show will fade into the woodwork like another bad idea from
Fox, ``Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire?'' Remember that high point of
American TV? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Because we live in such a technological country, our culture is influenced
greatly by television. While the entertainment industry has great influence,
it also has great responsibility. It's time that we make the entertainment
industry take more responsibility for the shows and movies it produces and the
effects they have on society. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After the Columbine massacre two years ago, many people called for less
violence in entertainment. Some efforts were made to curb the violence and
clean up TV and the movies, but two years later it's hard to see the
difference. It's as though they put a Band-aid on cancer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The ultimate responsibility, of course, lies with the viewers. If we don't
watch it, they won't run it. We have the power of the remote. But we're also
tempted. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Just like those people on Temptation Island. Just like Adam and Eve in the
garden. It may look appealing, but the consequences may be more than we
bargain for. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The great thing is that we do have a choice. That's what the entertainment
industry keeps telling us. It has the right to produce whatever shows it
wants, and we have the choice to watch them or not. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The choice is ours. Choose wisely. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Father Bob Timchak is the pastor of Transfiguration Church in West Hazleton
and SS. Peter and Paul Church in Hazleton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
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You're In Control When Tv Scrapes The Bottom