Note, this post references parts of the female anatomy, also graphic acts of violence on prime time TV shows. Reader discretion is advised.
So I confess, I watch a lot of television. Well, maybe not a lot but a fair amount. And I notice odd things going on with it.
For example, someone somewhere has determined that we should not be allowed to see a woman’s bare breasts. Okay, so they make that decision, whatever. So if they show a movie with nudity, they pixelate over the woman’s chest so we know she’s naked but we can’t actually see much of anything. Not sure what they are trying to do here, but, again, whatever.
But then, on the next channel over, I will watch a crime drama on a primetime network show, and it will start with an absolutely horrific act of violence. I watched a Law and Order SVU episode tonight (and I really need to stop doing that) that showed 2 women getting viciously beaten. Quite graphically, by the way. And that was actually lightweight compared to some of the other stuff I see. I saw a crime drama show on ABC the other day that had a murdered woman attached to a ceiling with barbed wire, her dead eyes staring out. with the marks of mutilation and torture quite graphically created by a very talented special effects / makeup team. Horrible. How this is supposed to be seen as entertainment is anyone’s guess.
Now, I happen to think that a gorgeous young woman’s breasts are nice to look at, but for some reason, these highly aesthetic, shapely, and appealing parts of the anatomy are actively hidden from view, while these horrific . . . actually obscene . . . acts of violence that are rather disturbing and disgusting, are regularly shown on prime time TV with nary a whimper. Why can’t they pixelate over THAT stuff? Why is a beautiful thing covered up when an ugly thing is not?
I realize that if I don’t like the violent images I can just change the channel, but if that’s the case, why can’t we have the bare boobs too?
We could get into long discussions of philosophy and history but I will tell you my theory: it comes down to power.
Violence keeps us numb. And this benefits the status quo. It makes us less ambitious. It deflates. It makes us freeze. It makes us apathetic. It is part of the grand scheme of oppression that, I confess, I am starting to see everywhere.
I have been working a lot lately on defining my highest purpose in life, and while I was pondering this big strategy last night, the TV in the background showed me a scene of a woman being viciously beaten in her office, blood everywhere.
I found it was very hard to think in a grand positive mode after begin exposed to such things. I would have been much happier to see a nice female breast.
The big answer though is, violence is allowed because it helps us to stay in a numb state. Bare breasts tend to take us out of numb states, as we want to open ourselves up to the pleasant experience, and when we rise out of numbness to feel something good we also become aware of our vulnerability and perhaps buried pain. So the constant exposure to violence acts as a sort of opiate of the masses, maintaining our spiritual callouses so we don’t feel much of anything.
So I must always remind myself that most of what is on TV these days is bad for me, it is hostile to my health, just like the corn syrup in the grocery stores. So sadly, innocence is lost, I must be constantly wary, and then I also worry about those who are not bothering to discipline themselves, and don’t bother to avoid the corn syrup and the graphically staged violent acts that are so terribly commonplace.
© Justin Locke
