While I know that the VMA's don't bring politics to mind, I have a good reason for bringing this up. Did anyone watch this year's VMA's? Last year was supposedly a huge disappointment, especially for Britney Spears, and this year they were giving her a chance to redeem herself while "presenting" the 2008 VMA's. Being a closet Britney fan (I still know all the words to her songs) I decided to tune in, and got a huge political surprise in the process. Russell Brand, famous in Britain, went on a political rant on national T.V. If you haven't seen it, here is the link.
The whole time it was airing, my jaw was on the floor. I was waiting for someone to come and pull him off the stage, or for the screen to go blank as they "accidentally" switched to a commercial break. But that never happened, and Brand was allowed to continue his rant supporting Obama and busting Bush's balls. He mentions that he is required by broadcasting law to be 'fair' to both sides, and mentions Bush in no positive light whatsoever, and almost reprimands Americans for allowing him to be in office for so long.
I couldn't help but feel awkward watching it. While I know that MTV has always been a sponsor and advocate of getting young people to vote and be involved in politics, I also felt that it was inappropriate to allow Brand to impose his opinions on an entire viewing audience. But then I had to ask myself why?
It could be because of my upbringing to not impose my opinions on others, especially while putting down someone who disagrees with me by embarrassing them or calling them names. It could be because politics was not something that was discussed in my house, mainly because my parent's sit on opposite sides of the fence. It could be because we are so censored when it comes to opinions, and take such care to make sure that the news doesn't offend anyone, that I am simply not used to such blatant opinions regarding such sensitive and important topics.
I feel that I should applaud MTV for allowing freedom of speech to be practiced on their channel, but I can't help but wonder how far it will go. If someone decided to do the same thing regarding even more sensitive topics, such as abortion or homosexuality, would it still be allowed to air as Brand's opinion were? If so, is that ok? And if not, why? And I can't say that I have a right to reprimand Brand either. If anything, he got young people talking about politics in general, something that rarely happens, and if it takes such bold statements as he made the other night to get kids off their facebook pages and onto political websites, I can't really say he's in the wrong.
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4 comments:
I completely agree. I did watch the VMAs last Sunday and I was a bit surprised to hear such ranting. I did think it was all about getting a higher representation of the 18-25 year old age bracket, but this seemed a little absurd. I felt like a boundary was pushed for some reason although I am not sure why. I just know that I was uncomfortable and it didn't seem right! (like you said). I wonder what columnists and others have to say about this, if anyone caught on...
I agree that the ranting made me uncomfortable. I feel that MTV has always been very much to the left, but never offensive. This rant went too far because it was just not tactful. Also, why do I care what this British guy thinks about American politics? I don't kow who he is and he can't even vote here.
going off of katie's comment about "this British guy" interfering in "American politics"...I think that is exactly what could make people feel so uncomfortable. A foreigner trying to insert his opinion where it might not be wanted...the truth is that most people abroad are extremely interested in American politics because our country's government has so much influence on the rest of the world. We should take the opinions of foreigners more seriously. Why? Because international relations are more important today then they have been in the past. Other nations fund our budget deficit by allowing us to borrow money. They let us drill for oil on their land. And they provide cheap labor and raw materials not found in the U.S. Maybe we should consider the opinion of this ranting British guy after all.
I agree with Toni on this one. Although Americans aren't nearly as involved with other countries politics, other countries are very involved in ours. This is mainly because, as Toni said, that our country has a lot of pull in other countries politics. We step on a lot of toes, and we cross a lot of boundaries, but we also lend a helping hand when possible and attempt to set a "good example". Sometimes I think other countries citizens know more about our elections than we do, which brings up a question... should other countries have a say in who becomes the next American President?
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