14 May 1999, 868 words
According to Dr. Rupert Griffith, the media "have created an environment plagued with foreign lifestyles, values and an overload of gratuitous violence." Presumably, he wants this stopped. The newly-appointed head of the NBN board, Winston Millette, says that he and the other new Board members have "bought into" the Government's philosophy for the State electronic media, though he didn't say for how much. Presumably, all this means that TTT will be drastically changing their programming very soon.
Dr. Griffith also issued a veiled threat against the private sector media in respect to their licences which are issued by Government, so TV6 may well have to seriously consider also altering their line-up.
Thus, as Government begins to tighten the screws on the media, don't be surprised if several popular television shows soon bite the dust. Heading the list, of course, will be Xena: Warrior Princess, which had an episode which managed to offend the Maha Sabha without them even seeing it. Worse than that, Xena is a show which promotes foreign values like equality for women, which runs counter to the strong religious values of our society. Xena, after all, is a warrior. She may encourage young girls to think it's okay to fight back when getting beat or, worse, to not have a man at all. Such an attitude can only worsen domestic violence in our nation.
TV6 may well have to consider axing Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the same reason. Also, Buffy and her cohorts fight demons with martial arts, often making witty comments while doing so, whereas everyone knows that demons can be defeated only with prayer and a grim countenance.
Star Trek Voyager will also have to go, for a related reason: there is on that show a woman starship captain! Everyone knows that Trinidadian males are already suffering from low self-esteem and the State-owned media shouldn't exacerbate the situation by flinging an authoritative woman in young boys' faces. Women like UNC Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar are all right, though, because all she did when she got flung out as Attorney-General was smile and look pretty, as a good woman should. But VIP must also be cancelled. After all, can anyone doubt that Pamela Anderson corrupts moral values more effectively than a billboard?
But it isn't only the women shows which must be cancelled. Hercules also has to go. This is a programme which starts off by declaring that "the ancient gods were petty and cruel". Such a statement could encourage young children to become disrespectful of God or, worse, people who abuse power. The Pretender must also be discontinued, because nearly every episode shows people in authority misusing their power. This might encourage an attitude, which we often see prevalent in whitepeople's countries, of putting checks and balances on people in power! Such values are definitely foreign to our culture since, as Prime Minister Basdeo Panday continually tries to demonstrate, there is no point in having power unless you can do exactly as you please.
So TTT's Spin City is a definite no-no, too, for it satirizes politicians, which could result in viewers viewing our real-life Parliamentarians with contempt. And TV6 should probably axe Batman Beyond, for a key character in that show is an oily business executive whose main concern is personal gain. This could lead to children being disrespectful to prominent citizens like Brian Kuei Tung with his no vow of poverty, Ish Galbaransingh with his multitudinous contracts, Steve Ferguson with his killer pitbulls and Trevor Romano with the record-setting liaison stipend.
The NBN Board will have to take an especially close look at TTT's children's programming. These programmes definitely promote all sorts of negative values. Rugrats, for example, often portrays parents as imperfect, which will no doubt lead to a further breakdown of family values in our society. Even more pernicious is Blue's Clues, a show which encourages children to weigh evidence and make logical conclusions. Obviously, if such habits become widespread among our nation's youth, neither our political system nor our religions will long survive.
So the question is, if all these shows are axed, what will replace them? The Government has stated its intention to encourage quality local programming. Presumably, Fresh Fire will be expanded to take up the entire morning for, although this show has mostly foreign evangelists, the Christian message, unlike the liberal values pushed by the American shows, is universal. But of course, there must be parity, so no doubt shows like Dharam Vani and Dil-ul-Haq will get State funding and more air-time. These shows also promote foreign values, but the messages of Hinduism and Islam are universal, too.
We can also look forward to a lot more local documentaries from Infovision, which will let us know what a good job the Government is doing and which will promote local artists who have nothing to say that will offend anyone. With sufficient exposure to such broadcasts, every citizen will soon become a responsible, happy human being and Trinidad and Tobago will truly be a paradise.
Copyright ©1999 Kevin Baldeosingh