Wednesday, July 9, 2008

viewer discretion


Okay I'm taking a major risk by even mentioning this, but as a parent, I am compelled to share a little landmark occasion in the life and consciousness of my first born.

I'm certain 99% of you will storm my house, torches ablaze, but sometimes I let my kids stay up and watch a little grown-up prime time tv with me. Our favorite shows in syndication are Will & Grace and Frasier, the latter being the drier and more cerebral of the two. I have very specific reasons for allowing my kids to view these programs, and I always love to hear them chuckling over the subtleties and soaking in whatever cultural/social diversity they can.

We have this rule in our house, though I LOATHE television in the daytime, as well as most other times, especially Disney Channel propaganda bullshit, but we have this rule that if for some reason I oversleep, my kids can watch tv until I wake up. This rarely happens, as I am a serious early bird. But this morning, as well as a couple weeks ago, I did oversleep, and Quinn was watching the tube. As I fumbled around for my coffee, I noticed he was watching Frasier, as opposed to the various "children's" channels. This morning, in fact, he was suffering through ten minutes of the Golden Girls just waiting for Frasier to start. Strike me down, but it warmed my heart. I still hate tv, but it signifies that his sensibilities are becoming more sophisticated, and frankly, I think the "kid" channels are more damaging for them than anything aimed at adults. The way in which these children speak to adults, and to each other, as well as their obsession with drama, fashion, and status, makes me want to bomb the networks, whereas the well-scripted, adult debauchery seems better suited to its cast(s), and of course, its audience.

It's not so much that I'm proud of my son watching adult programming, it's that his preference is showing some refinement, and exquisite taste I might add. I know most of you will disagree with me on principle, and I can take it, mostly because there's a Frasier marathon on...

9 comments:

gail said...

i love fraiser! too bad i can't enjoy the marathon...i think it's funny to imagine quinn suffering through the golden girls, lol. i agree with you about the disneyesque programming.

gail said...

what a goof, i hate spelling errors: frasier, frasier, frasier.

BK said...

*bismol

Thank you for bein a friend. Traveled down the road and back again. Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant...





...and if you threw a party...

Anonymous said...

You think they're ready for Six Feet Under?

Cheyenne said...

I don't know, Arthur was pretty creepy, and I don't want to have to explain to them that his real name is Rainn...

...that is, because there is no explanation.

Megan said...

Letting my kids watch TV is yet another thing I'm slightly embarrassed to admit happens here.
The TV watching has dramatically decreased though now that Grey can use the computer. The computer feels easier to control. I know which websites and games are acceptable whereas you never know what kind of storyline might pop up on Arthur. My kids always seem to emulate the bad behavior and completely miss the lesson they are supposed to learn by the end of the show.

There were two weeks of Mar acting like "Jetta" from Clifford. Ugh.

Cheyenne said...

I hear that. Quinn's been emulating Jack from Will & Grace for a while now.

Hennifer said...

Um... could you like write something new now? I'm waiting... and I'm pained for your dislike of those Golden Girls. They still make me laugh.

Cheyenne said...

Don't get me wrong, The Golden Girls was my favorite show in 1988, but as my heathenism developed and ripened, I became drawn to the more irreverent programming.

Also, in reading about Estelle Getty's death yesterday, I did become wistful of her famous, "Picture it: Sicily" bit.

As for writing, I sort of feel a lull in the blogosphere, like no one is reading or writing anything--which may just be that I haven't really perused much lately.

I promise to post something soon, and you are very sweet to flatter me.