subject: Simpler Shows And Simpler Times [print this page] When my parents grew up every adult was called Mr. or Mrs. so and so. There was respect for adults and adults had demanded and expected good behavior from children theirs and other's children alike. My parent's generation would never dream of talking back to a stranger, their parents or their friend's parents or any adult for that matter.
When I was little we still called most adults Mr. and Mrs. Even the parents of our friends were called with respect and titles. Teachers had supreme authority and parents always took the teachers side instead of their children's. If you got in trouble at school, chances were you would be in more trouble at home. Parents supported teachers and the other way around. Corporal punishment was legal and used in elementary schools to keep order and discipline. While I certainly don't approve of these drastic methods of control, they were effective and there was order and quiet in the classrooms.
Our children are required to show little respect for authority, adults and teachers. The media consistently shows teens as smarter, wiser and mouthier than adults. At the end of shows the adults usually come around to the children's points of view with the children having being right all-along. I sometimes wonder if "The Little Mermaid" didn't start this line of reasoning, with the teen daughter rebelling against her father wishes and all ending up well and good in the end with the daughter prevailing.
All is not lost with the world, I just have wondered which came first the chicken or the egg when it comes to cultural changes and attitudes. Was the world so simple before dish network channels and cable? I don't think so, problems were just different and life was more idealistic on the screen. While there is nothing wrong with ideals maybe all mothers didn't wear house dresses and have pot roast on the table nightly at 5:00. I would like to see more shows showing loving, supportive families on television thought. Maybe we just need positive role models after all, especially for those families that are so dysfunctional; "The Brady Bunch" might come be the solution at the end of the day.
