Television - Broadcasting the Decline of Morality, in Color

"Lucy Choo gots some 'planing to doooo!" Somehow with those words one would feel a sense of ease maybe or how about with the words "Alice, one of these days POW straight to the moon!" Alternatively, maybe even colder words such as "Goodnight, and good luck." Yes, these words spoken by others throughout the years have become a mainstay of whom we are. Even if you never actually heard them, they affected you now more than 50 years later. Because, they were from the time of the beginning of television and its following cultural turn on American popular culture. Back when, men and women were still considered married if they slept in two separate beds, the average father worked down at an office while mother stayed home to be a homemaker. It tried to influence values to society, however in the end gave in and ran over those very values to reflect what society was. From being, told only 29 minutes after a president had been shot in 1963, to watching the fate of the world change in 2001 with only a 29 second delay, that little box in the corner whom some thought would not amount to anything, ended up being one of the most influential parts of our and others culture. We have laughed, cried, stared at in awe and in shock. However, most importantly, we have allowed out morality to weaken by its warm glow.

To begin at looking how things were done to inflict a decline of morality in America via the television, one should be willing to remember though the use of television is the key factor, let us not forget the additional aid of other devices such as films presented in the cinema and of course the modern internet. Nevertheless, there is no way too truly knocking down televisions major role in the matter. The very first Television licenses issued to WNBC and WCBS in New York City on July 1, 1941 and both stationed aired news programs to begin. However, some speculate at the very best there were only a handful of homes that had the new devices due to their enormous cost between $600.00 and $800.00 depending on the set you bought. (In addition, the very first massed produced television sets were issued in 1940 for "future programming") That is right, for a mere $600 (about $7,000 in today's value, and minimum wage was .30 cents while the average yearly salary was around $2,000), you could get one of these new boxes that would allow you to see what was on the radios. No longer, would you have to sit and listen to your favorite program but now you could see as well, providing you could afford one, and of course, if the newly formed television networks will forgo their standard radio broadcast and do a visual broadcast. Sounds great doesn't it? Well of course, it did not appeal to the wide mass majority, so sales slumped in 1941 as they had the year prior. Moreover, combined with the fact that the Second World War had taken place, things would go on the back burner until the end of the war.

It was upon the arrival of the troops back home from overseas that Television really begins to make its name for itself. They would come in through the major ports (New York, Los Angeles.) and they would go into the streets and see these televisions displayed in the shop windows and they would see the news broadcast about the end of the war. They would see sports games like the Yankees playing on it and as one World War II vet told me, "I knew the second I saw it, in that window of that store that when I got home and re-established, I was going to own one!" In addition, it was not just one sailor's opinion but everyone who had been away fighting. Therefore, they came home, bought homes, made families and bought televisions. That is where we truly begin the search for some answers. Because when the Television was announced to the public, it was actually regarded by most of those who do "religious" broadcasting that it was a "tool for the devil."

Of course, much like in radio their tones changed once they found a way to garner monies by people listening to their broadcast, and mailing money in for their church and cause. All sorts of new networks were developing new shows for it. These networks knew that if you offered a show, people would watch, people watched and you could charge money to the sponsors. They pulled over to the cameras lenses that they could from Vaudeville and films to speak

their lines without a mishap as these were the days before programs were recorded. That begins with our first true strike upon the morality. Because people would flub lines, and drop a curse word.

However, it only gets ready for the downfall from there. Because stations usually ran local regional programming and only tapped into the national broadcasting for their prime shows, most people do not know of WKBD-TV in Detroit. Because on February 2, 1952, for the afternoon movie broadcast got more than a film, if their child was watching they got an ear and eyeful. A gentleman named Lou Gordon was beginning his career as a broadcaster and that is when after some commotion was heard behind the camera, a man was seen running, he was a camera operator and just then a large woman went running by screaming and throwing items at the large man. The large woman was the camera operator's wife, who had just discovered he had been spending time with one of the younger gals who just happened to be there that day. You see we know this information, because the large woman was informing the viewing public. We also saw what the younger woman looked like because the large woman took the younger woman by the hair and paraded her around. Moreover, on that day, due to the hatred of the younger woman and was ripping her clothes off, for the first time in history the viewing public saw an exposed breast of a female. Now, take these small situations and add them to the fact that the news was reporting on the planet. People were now hearing and in some cases seeing everything from murders, rapist and thieves being showcased on a daily base and one might have to own up to the fact that information is good, but information running rampant might have a possibility of waking up younger minds. (I myself recall asking my parents what a rapist was. I was 6 years old and heard it on the news. I ended up getting the pre amble for the "Birds and the Bees" speech that day.) Moreover, we all are guilty of having it happen like that.

There were news people in the 1960s that got in trouble by viewers because they had to explain what "Free love" was. Again in the 1970s when newscasters did stories on "Key Parties" are. Granted in all cases the parents did it to themselves. In most cases, the news service did always announce, "The following story may not be suitable for younger viewers." Moreover, there was another little add-on to the basic television service that was started in the 1970s that would forever change how we get information, movies, and pornography. Yes my friends, cable TV! Now with cable TV, you could now no longer have to that special theater, on the "rougher side of town." You could just switch the box over and type in the pin code.

As later devices became available through the latter part of the '70s and '80s, you did not even have to enter a pin code. Of course, I will admit it was not just pornography, let us not forget the mass amount of violence from the latest Hollywood films being shown on pay per view. And also let us not forget the one nice add on to television that most of us have, the personal gaming consol. In addition, with our taste in video games that feature violence and so forth it is no wonder the morality has declined even further. It is not television's producers, broadcaster's, cable TV's developers, nor the video game industries fault, Because no matter what, it is the responsibility of us parents to take a direct interest in what our children are viewing. Television has provided us all with the shocks that not even a parent or guardian can foresee. 30 years before television, when the Titanic sank, the world learned about its demise about 12 hours after the fact.

They had to broadcast the message on the standard Morse signal and then the news stories would be picked up to written news service and went from there. Later on just about the time was in its true infancy, the Pearl Harbor attack would be announced to all through radio, and about 5 hours after it took place. Later on 22 years later, in 1963 when a President was gunned down in Dallas, it took the television only 45 minutes to get it out to the nation as Walter Cronkite interrupted the TV series The Guiding Light. Now here we are, 2010. Moreover, nine years ago on September 11, 2001 the world watched in horror and shock as they covered their children's eyes at the sight of seeing people jump to their death, let alone the planes and the buildings. There was no chance to prepare neither themselves nor others, because unlike the past events, we watched these events live as they happened. Now the main reasons why I know all of these factors have combined to help influence the decline of morality in this country. Is simple, we know this because if you follow the most basic of anthropology. In addition, for the modern age, and reports such as the Kinsey Report (and the following reports provided by the researchers at the Kinsey Institute.) then we know there is a definite link to the decline of morality here in America. And what had been played on television has been presented over the years is nothing more than a reflection of how society was going, and that we the viewers wanted the inline in sexuality and violence to be given to us because it is what we craved. That would be a great approach to this argument with a few small flaws. Back in the 1950's it was very common for TV families' parents to sleep in separate beds. Not really that this practiced was being followed, by the viewing public. It was because the F.C.C. (Federal communications commission) was setting forth the televisions standards and practices commission and in effect gave birth to the television censors.

In addition, the television censors were of the opinion that people who lived in this country do not wish to have sexuality forced upon them. This is why it ran in television series from its main conception in the 1950s, until we saw the parents of the Brady Bunch, sleeping in their one loan bed in September 1969. But then over the years it has become acceptable to not only see people sleeping in the same bed, but now it is acceptable to have people whom are not married to be sleeping in the same bed, or even people who are cheating on a spouse or loved one with another in their bed. Also depending on what time you are watching even basic Network television, you may see simulated sex. But, as stated before, review the practices of what was being shown to the public and what was going on in the country. Marriages had an average of 1 out of every 9 chance of divorce. Now, the divorce rate is well over half. It is funny that the divorce rate began to climb after. (The Lucy Show of 1962 showing the first, divorced single mother.) To get pregnant let alone have the child out of wedlock in 1950 was almost unheard of.

Go to any hospital that has a maternity ward and count the wedded mothers now a day, chances are you will see at least 25% unwed. That I just feel is basic backlash from The divorce rate. However, one can take notice when the daughter, Julie on One Day at a Time left to go away, because she was pregnant and was going to have her child without the boyfriend's knowledge. (In reality was fired for a public case of drug abuse.) However, on a good note, Ellen DeGeneres's public "outing" did give a lot of Gay and Lesbians strength to come forward themselves. That is the real trick of the matter, TV is not the start it is just the influence. Because when people do not know about things, (Ignorance is bliss?) then by TV being the source for others to find out about this or that, even a few cases of emulation, and we have people re-enacting what they have learned from television. Which is you follow the words set forth by the early broadcasted evangelist, who proclaimed TV was "the Devil's mouthpiece" does this not mean that people can claim truthfully "the devil made me do it."Therefore, that is what that panel that is hanging on your wall right now capable of. Sure, we all admire its opportune chance to allow us to view happenings around the planet at the speed of light. Nevertheless, more importantly, it has allowed us all to become not only view horrific happenings, but it has encouraged us to engage on them in a level beyond the possible comprehensions of the inventors who first came up with the television, to the people who improved it over the years till its final debut on the public in the 1940's. We have watched history unfold, turned Living rooms and dens into a movie theater and an arcade. All from that little glowing box over in the corner.