Never wanting to be left out of the conversation, the Daily Press was compelled to check out an episode of MTV’s “Skins,” the racy adaptation of the British series about the secret lives of teenagers that has generated plenty of ink over the last few weeks, and just like members of the Parents’ Advisory Council, we were disgusted.
Not only was the writing and acting awful, the gratuitous references to sex, genitals and drug use was offensive and inappropriate for teens who tune in to MTV regularly and are becoming more obsessed with celebrity and the pursuit of fame by any means necessary.
While teens having sex or sneaking off to smoke weed or drink a 40-ounce is not enough to shock the system since most of us participated in some form of ill-advised behavior in our youth, the show’s celebration of these irresponsible and potentially dangerous acts is appalling and repulsive. MTV, which has an office in Santa Monica, should be ashamed of itself for trying to capitalize on the salacious.
While other teen dramas like “Beverly Hills 90210” and “My So-Called Life” featured sex and drug use, those shows tackled these subjects responsibly, using the themes to drive home important messages about the ill effects poor decisions can have on a teen’s life. Those shows had lessons to impart. “Skins” does not. It glorifies bad behavior, making it cool to act a fool.
Schick, Subway, H&R Block, Taco Bell, Wrigley and GM have all pulled their ads from the show and we applaud them. MTV needs to realize that money isn’t everything. Protecting our youth is far more important than profit.
There are those who will call us prudish. Go ahead. There are those who will say it is the parent’s responsibility to monitor what their kids watch, and that’s true, too. But with technology today, kids can pretty much outwit their folks and watch whatever they want. It is time for the creators of this trash to act responsibly.
