Word: argumentative
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...true, you say? OK, then, just for the sake of argument, let's take a look at a few of these "hits" we're all supposed to be running...
Despite its apparent simplicity, this case encompasses myriad legal issues. The Boy Scouts' argument, for example, was prefaced with the idea that gay people are not welcome in their ranks because their presence indicates an implicit approval of a gay lifestyle, which, according to Scout spokesmen, is in direct violation of the group's identity. The Court agreed; their ruling established that as long as the Boy Scouts believe that Dale's sexual identity renders him incompatible with the group's mission, they are free to exclude him. It does not matter, apparently, that Dale has proven himself...
...something many sitcoms and dramas don't. Surprises, for instance. "It's like a baseball game," says Paul Romer, the Dutch executive producer and creator of Big Brother. "Even when the game isn't interesting, you wait and stay because the next hit could be a home run." True, arguments over who's hogging the rat meat are probably not what Aristotle had in mind when conceiving the Poetics. And producers can contrive conflict, such as Survivor's races and bug-eating contests, not to mention its million-dollar endgame. (Georgetown linguistics professor Deborah Tannen, author of The Argument Culture...
...about that guilt? VTV detractors like to invoke the Christians and the lions, but there's an important element missing in that argument: volition. As in so many matters sexual--and there's almost always a sex element in VTV, right down to the syndicated candid-camera dating show Blind Date--there is a divide between those who will accept any act between consenting adults and those who will not. The criticism that VTV "reality" isn't "real"--it is edited, subjects adopt false faces--is absolutely valid. It is also, by now, a truism, widely acknowledged by viewers...
...Lord of the Flies and No Exit. But if what they show can be ugly, it's insulting to the audience to assume viewers must take this as a model for life--that's like saying Chinatown is an immoral movie because the bad guy gets away. The argument for and against VTV comes down to this: Are people helpless against all-powerful media? Are they incapable of participating in the media of their own free will? Are they unable to watch people acting badly and yet remain good themselves...