All TV shows aimed at children?

I've been watching a show called Criminal Minds recently. It's a successful series that has been on for 7 or so years now, I think. I never watched it until about a year or so ago, and have only recently taken up re-watching it. Not that I like it, particularly...it's just something to watch amongst the pap of reality shows that are on every other channel at the same time.

The show is disturbing in one way, as it deals with serial killers, all of them mentally abnormal (well, you'd have to be abnormal to be a serial killer, but the ones on this show are made as abnormal as possible.)

And most of the reasons why these people kill are because, according to this show, something happened in their childhood to warp them and make them kill - typically either abusive parents or abusive school mates.

And in real life, while abusive parents/peerse might not turn kids into psychotic killers when they grow up, it obviously is not going to do the kid any good.

And then I look at the cartoons and tv shows aimed at kids, that a great many kids watch as their "baby-sitter" - they are inculcated with this dangerous garbage six or more hours a day. And even if their parents don't allow them to watch such shows, there are always commercials that sneak in that can be damaging as well.

Now, what do I consider damaging?

Well, about 50 years ago, comic books came under attack for warping kids. In the 1970s, violence on TV had to be toned down. (I well remember this, there was a show starring William Shatner and Doug McClure called Barbary Coast, and because of the new rules all their fights had to be turned to comical effect, and of course no blood must be shown... pretty much ruined the show.

But what is worse for kid's TV - violence or sexual innuendo? I'd have to say sexual innuendo.

More on this in my next post.