From my sometime nemeses at the Parents Television Council comes word that NBC, like Saul on the road to Damascus, may have had a change of heart in its dealings with the Bible-oriented cartoon VeggieTales. As I wrote earlier, NBC had been editing out overtly religious messages from the cartoon when broadcasting it as part of its Saturday-morning block. Now we hear from the show’s creator that in several of the episodes re-aired, the upfront "theistic" content has been left in.
I have had my differences with the PTC before, but in this case I agree with them entirely. You may, like me, not particularly want your children receiving religious instruction from an animated tomato. That’s fine: for us, there is an entire world of non-religious kids’ programming out there. But if you want to watch VeggieTales, you want to watch VeggieTales, and there’s no point to watering down its essential message. By the same token, NBC did the wrong thing by cutting out a controversial scene from a Madonna concert in which she appeared on a cross: if you want to watch a Madonna concert, you want to watch a Madonna concert, and the cross is part of her message, whatever that is.
It’s all about choice, in other words, which is a point the PTC and its ilk only seem to get about half the time. Some of the groups’ efforts are focused on expanding consumer choice–especially its crusade to allow cable subscribers to choose from tiers of channels, which unlike many TV critics I support. But choice goes both ways, and unfortunately too much of the PTC’s effort is dedicated to taking away choice: in particular, pressuring the FCC to suppress primetime programming that millions of viewers want to see, because a relative few don’t like giving other people the option to see it. (The PTC, notably, did not advocate for NBC to keep the crucifixion scene in the Madonna concert.)
Maybe the VeggieTales victory will persuade the PTC, and others, that what we need is more choice, not less, that the ideal media environment is one in which they can see their Biblical cartoons and I, my filthy reality shows and crucified pop stars, without either of us trying to frustrate the other’s choices.
Maybe. But I expect to see vegetables talk first.