Last night NBC ran a disclaimer, warning of violent content, before its ten PM broadcast of The Blacklist. I’ve said this before -- I’m shocked by what occurs on prime time shows these days compared to when I first started watching in the late 50’s. Once I began writing in 1975, I watched very little TV between eight and eleven. The only series I watched regularly those days was MASH, which no longer holds up well for me in reruns. In 1999 I got my first PC and began transferring my manuscripts into computer files, which took at least five years, if not ten. I also spent a lot of time searching the web for publishing possibilities. I’d catch the last 20 minutes of Law & Order or the end of a movie or sporting event, something on Wometco (WHT). There was a decades long gap in my prime time network viewing. I caught a glimpse of the change it had undergone when Murphy Brown reruns were aired at eleven PM. A female colleague laughed when I said I was shocked at how risque an episode about condoms was. On Halloween of 2007 I lost my job of almost 25 years and suddenly had a lot more time to fill, and TV became the perfect panacea after a day of pursuing the literary holy grail, promoting my work, submitting manuscripts and selling books on the streets. Now, just about every night from eight to midnight, I watch TV. About five hours per week are devoted to network prime time shows. Seinfeld was in reruns for years before I gave it a chance. Once I got used to the maddening George Costanza, I came to appreciate its genius, its insight into modernity. When it pushed the envelope, it did so artistically, tastefully, even at its most sexually frank. Of course, the networks had no choice, really, than to go much further than they‘d ever gone. Cable TV fare was gobbling up viewers. Overall, the results have been good - outside the reality shows. Dramas are better than ever, despite over the top violence. Last night at eight I caught my first glimpse of Fox’s Almost Human, a cop show set in the not too distant future. The plot was standard, but the gadgetry was fascinating and not that farfetched given the wonders of technology. It and The Blacklist feature slam-bang action, significant bloodletting. There was a time when many argued that such fare had a corrosive effect on society. Not much is heard on that front these days. I guess the watchdogs have surrendered. As for sexual content, the crusade is even more futile. Anything on TV is tepid compared to what can be found in an instant on the web. And yet there are some who argue we are still a puritanical society. The Puritans have been routed, my friends. We are eminently free and this is where we’ve evolved on the cusp of 2014. Are we headed the way of Rome? I will have shuffled off this mortal coil long before that is answered. Still, I believe it’s best to err on the side of freedom when consenting adults are involved, as scary as it sometimes is. The Roman Empire advanced civilization, but it wasn’t even remotely as free a society as America. Maybe that freedom will preserve it.
I am enjoying the reprieve in the weather. I've gone back to the floating book shop's regular rather than winter hours. My thanks to the five Russians who purchased books in their native tongue, and to the elderly woman who bought John Grisham's The Client. The best part of the day was hearing from my most faithful customer, Marie. She has finished Close to the Edge and wept upon reading the climax -- the exact reaction I hope it will incite. Thanks, my dear.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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