Archive for September, 2007

Sep
03

Challenge: Tell me one good thing about MTV… Just one.

Posted under Uncategorized

This is the first time I have ever created a challenge to my readers, although I think of it as a sort of rhetorical challenge because I don’t think anyone can come up with any legitimate responses.

There is nothing about MTV that is good. Nothing. The people, the music, all the shows, the whole culture is terrible. Music Television was created to show music videos. Wasn’t it? Or is that just an assumption I make when it’s called Music Television. It’s hard to tell though now, because there are practically no music videos, only reality shows that are continually taking chinks out of our Junior-highschooler’s self-worth and sensibility. I don’t care what anyone says about these “reality shows”, this is not reality. Or at least it wasn’t before MTV. Reality shows I guess have nothing to do with reality.

It’s funny because so many things they do try to promote things like individuality, and responsibility, when yet it supports hundreds of big-spending, reckless thugs who nurture the idea that the worth of a person is measured by the size of the rims on their Escalade. They may think they are saying “be yourself, you’re cool the way you are” but they’re not, they’re investing all their time and money in ideals of beauty and wealth, and will have nothing to do with anyone who doesn’t meet their standards.

The few music videos they have are a part of a show called TRL (Total Request Live) which is basically a show that plays the top 10 requested songs of the day. OF THE DAY!?! Yeah… the day. I know these songs are terrible because the rankings of these songs change every day. Good songs don’t lose value daily. Good songs have some sort of immortality about them; they are like Shakespeare’s poetry. I can guarantee that classical music could and would never have a show that ranked music daily. “And Beethoven’s ‘5th Symphony’ pulls ahead of Mozart’s ‘Piano Concerto #1’ to take the top spot today. Tune in again tomorrow to see if Mozart will be able to hold off Bach who’s climbing the chart fast!” Why? Ok, because they are dead. I know. AND because they created lasting music. Music that is so intricate and so original that comparing them daily or comparing them at all, is ridiculous.

The Challenge:
Tell me one thing that MTV does that is helping people or society in any way.
Anything. I can’t think of any. Some things they bring awareness to or try to help are things they are the cause of in the first place, keep that in mind too.

P.S. MTV has a slogan out that claims “Maturity is overrated”. I’m sure that’s exactly what we want to brodcast to our kids. It seems that being “mature” has been a compliment for a million years, apparently that’s no longer so.