TV Archives - Page 16 of 19 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Post VMA Regrets?

Posted on: 09/11/08 9:08 AM | by Jonathan McKee

There’s a lot of hype this week following the “purity bashing” and “slut bashing” that went on at the MTV Video Music Awards this past Sunday night.

If you missed the craziness, David and I summed it all up in our Post VMA Thoughts article Monday.

Basically, the host of the show, British comic Russell Brand, bashed purity all night, using the Jonas Bros as the main target of his jests. Then Jordin Sparks snapped back with a few thoughts of her own, defending purity pledges and ending with, “Not every guy and girl wants to be a slut.”

Now we’ve seen a myriad of articles and blogs chiming in on the aftermath. OMG! Yahoo reports:

The Jonas Brothers have no beef with Russell Brand after he mocked their virginity on Sunday’s 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.

“For us it’s cool to see that he recognizes we are gentlemen,” Nick Jonas told BBC’s Radio 1.

Sparks says that she wishes she would have worded things differently, but doesn’t regret that she said something. Hollywood Insider gives the scoop:

Attending the show for the first time, the American Idol winner went off-script after being agitated by host Russell Brand’s repeated mocking of the Jonas Brothers’ promise rings. “It’s something I feel strongly about,” she tells EW.com. “I wish I would’ve worded it differently — that somebody who doesn’t wear a promise ring isn’t necessarily a slut — but I can’t take it back now. It was a split-second thing, and it came out kind of wrong. Still, I don’t regret it.”

I don’t regret that she said it either. Her comments can’t be torn out of context. She stood up after 90 minutes of crude jokes, sexual references and racy songs… her comments were the lone voice siding with purity (because no one else spoke up). Her message had to be that polarized to even break through the smoke. It didn’t insinuate that people who aren’t virgins are sluts at all. It communicated that those who were making it light that night probably were sluts.

It was a risky move for Sparks. It wasn’t a popular opinion to verbalize. It was the highlight of the show.

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MTV VMA’s Poke at Purity All Night

Posted on: 09/8/08 8:10 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last week we prepped you for the MTV Video Music Awards show that aired last night, one of the most reflective and predictive youth culture barometers of the year. This year, British comic Russell Brand was the host… and I guess he was intimidated by the purity pledge of the Jonas Bros.

The Jonas Bros are not only the hottest thing to arrive to the tween world since Miley, they actually have a pretty clean slate. Last night Brand ridiculed the Jonas Brothers’ public stance on sexual purity. All three of these pastor’s kids wear a promise ring and have vowed to remain celibate until marriage.

In his opening remarks, the British funnyman pointed out to the audience,

“In case you are unaware, each of the Jonas Brothers does wear a tiny ring as a mark of their commitment to God. I’d take it a little bit more seriously if they wore it on their genitals. And also, it is a little bit ungrateful, cause they could literally have sex with any woman that they want…they’re just not gonna do it. That’s like Superman just deciding not to fly and to go everywhere on a bus. Bless em, though, them lads.”

The jesting went on throughout the evening, until American Idol icon Jordin Sparks hit the stage and had a chance to retort. All these details and more in this week’s Youth Culture Window article on our website.

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Britney Opening the VMAs

Posted on: 09/5/08 1:52 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’ve been blogging about the VMAs all week. (you can catch most the hype here, and here). David’s Youth Culture Window article is preparing us with what to expect. And now we know something new… Britney will be opening the VMAs.

No, she won’t be performing. Who knows what MTV has up their sleeves. But Britney will be kicking off the show.

ET says…

The pop princess herself told us Wednesday afternoon, “How can I not be there to kick off their 25th VMAs? I’m excited to open the entire show, to say ‘Hi’ to my fans and to be nominated,” also noting, “MTV has long played an important role in my career.” (ET online, 9/3/08)

Hmmmmm.

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Predicting the Content of This Year’s VMAs

Posted on: 09/3/08 1:07 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Last year’s MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) were one of the most sexually charged award shows I’ve seen (I talked about it here). This year, it will be interesting to see if they continue down that route. We’ll find out this Sunday night.

Why do I wonder if it will be different? Several reasons:

1. The emergence of Miley and the Jonas Bros.

The fact is… two of the most popular artists of today are pretty dang clean. Miley has had her scandals, but overall I think she brings a positive element to music. She is up for the best new artist category for her “7 Minutes” video.

The Jonas Bros are not only from a Christian family (more about them in our Youth Culture Window article here), but their music and videos have maintained a pretty clean slate. Their “Burnin Up” video is actually up for the coveted “Video of the Year” spot.

2. The recent Teen Choice Awards were as clean as I’ve seen them.

Every year we review three shows that we feel are the biggest youth culture barometers: The MTV Movie Awards, The Teen Choice Awards, and the MTV VMAs. And every year all three are depressing. But this year’s Teen Choice Awards was actually clean. It still featured shows kids shouldn’t watch and awarded celebs who are not positive role models… but the “show” was actually clean (my Youth Culture Window article on that show here). That’s the first time in a while. So it will be interesting to see where this year’s VMA’s fall.

But I’m probably pre-mature if I predict a clean show this year. After all, just a couple months ago we saw MTV’s Movie Awards and they were far from clean (you can read our Youth Culture Window article on that show here).

So what do you think? Do you think this year will go dirty as usual? Or might they clean up a bit? David provides the list of nominees and gives us his two cents in this week’s Youth Culture Window article.

One interesting note is the five finalists for video of the year. Of the top five videos, only two of them are really sexually charged. Here’s the list:

Chris Brown
“Forever”

Jonas Brothers
“Burnin Up”

Pussycat Dolls
“When I Grow Up”

Britney Spears
“Piece of Me”

The Ting Tings
“Shut Up and Let Me Go”

Can you guess which two are?

Now… one of the remaining three isn’t great. Typical R&B. Lyrics like “ecstasy, pleasure, all night” scattered throughout the song. A pretty clean video, not much more than dancing, kissing, embracing…

But then two of them are pretty fun.

You can take a peek for yourself here on MTV’s page.

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Youth Culture Barometer

Posted on: 08/30/08 2:37 PM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s that time of year again… the time where we gain a little insight into the collection of media that kids are putting into their heads. A few weeks ago we saw this via the Teen Choice Awards and I offered my two cents. This coming week we see the biggest youth culture barometer of them all… the MTV MVAs.

David wrote the pre-VMA piece for this week’s YOUTH CULTURE WINDOW article, a great summary of what to expect. Next week I’ll write the afterthoughts.

This week I’m checking out this page– the MTV.com VMA page that allows you to peek at all the nominees for the different awards, including Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Male Video, Best New Artist, etc.

Keep your eyes on this blog. I’ll be writing about a lot of these this week.

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Reality Television at Blame

Posted on: 08/22/08 9:14 AM | by Jonathan McKee

There really isn’t all that much I can add to this Media Life Research article:

Reality television has already been blamed for many societal ills, from the dumbing-down of television to the rise of the faux celebrity culture (think “Surreal World” contestants). Is it also responsible for promoting promiscuity?

Yes, says a new study from the State University of New York at Buffalo, at least when it comes to online social networks. The study blames heavy reality TV consumption for the proliferation of “promiscuous friending,” or being more likely to engage in friendships with people with whom you have no off-line relationship. Heavy reality TV viewers have larger social networks than average and share more photos online. What’s more, heavy reality TV viewers may adapt personality traits associated with celebrities, such as sharing personal information with all those online friends. The researchers say reality TV even may be to blame for the erosion of the distinction between the everyday world and the celebrity world. (click here for the entire article)

It’s always fun when I see research confirm my own observations.

(shout out to Anastasia at YPulse for the link)

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Reflecting on Last Week’s Teen Choice Awards

Posted on: 08/11/08 1:51 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Last Monday night the Teen Choice Awards was not only the cleanest it has been in four years, it was also the most viewed in four years, with 4.4 million viewers (as reported by Media Life). Blame it on Miley or the Jonas Bros (the popularity, or even how clean it was)… the results were a hit with teens, tweens and kids.

Last week I gave my annual report on the award show, a television event that I call a “must see” for youth workers. In that report, I remind youth workers that the show doesn’t provide the whole picture if you don’t know the “content behind the names.”

This year the TCAs provided keen insight as to what kids are watching and listening to. The show always is a great pop culture barometer, allowing teens (or anybody who logs onto their website) to vote as many times as they want on a huge collection of entertainment-based favorites including movies, TV shows, music, fashion, and more. Just as the show boasts, the TCAs lets teens share “their choice and their voice.”

Every year this two hour show reveals volumes to parents and youth workers about the content being thrown at our kids- we should pay attention. But understand, a glimpse of the list of winners doesn’t reveal a thing if you don’t know the content behind the names. That’s why I am filling this article with links so you can click to read more or even peek at videos and lyrics from some of these “role models.”

And that’s just what we did. We provided you with links about Miley, the Jonas Bros, Gossip Girl, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Katy Perry, Usher…. you name it. Click here for the entire article.

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“Gossip Girl” Pushing the Limits

Posted on: 07/31/08 2:25 PM | by Jonathan McKee

If you’ve seen even a few minutes of the TV show Gossip Girl, you probably wouldn’t let your teenagers watch it. (Heck, if you knew what the “textspeak” slang in the ad to the right meant… you wouldn’t let your kids watch it.)

Today’s Reuters article,about the hit teenage show (“Sex and the City” for teens? Critics slam “Gossip Girl”) summarizes it well.

“Their wardrobes are full of designer clothes, they drink cocktails at New York City’s coolest bars, dabble in drugs, have sex in places like the back of a limousine — all while still in high school.”

Now even some of the actors are verbalizing their surprise about the racy content.

Blake Lively, 20, who plays character Serena van der Woodsen, says even she is surprised by plot lines of the show. “Everybody is dating everyone and sleeping with everyone and there’s lots of scandalous stuff happening in the Upper East Side,” she told a news conference. “Even I am shocked; I’m expecting my sister, that I don’t have, to be my father.”

And where are the parents of the literally millions of kids that watch this show?

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Hayden Panettiere

Posted on: 07/18/08 1:09 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Before she was “the cheerleader” on the hit show Heroes… before she was releasing music videos, I interviewed Hayden Panettiere and we had a conversation about celebrities as mentors- the way celebrities dress and behave themselves. At the time she told me that she’d like to stay away from being known as a “sex vixon,” instead being known as “classy.”

I think her new music video just exited “classy” and took the “sex vixon” onramp. (what the heck was the whole “pulling up her jeans” thing at :58 seconds??? Note the lyrics shortly after.)

Here’s a peice of my October 19, 2004 conversation with Hayden.

JONATHAN: …Now tell me something. As you see other teen actors or musicians… Hillary Duff, the Olsen twins, Lindsey Lohan … Some of these girls are turning 18. There is an image that goes along with them; we’ve seen some of the same trends. What makes you different from these people?

HAYDEN: I think that they’ve got to do their own thing and I got to do mine. I want to be Hayden. I don’t want to be them. I don’t want people to think that I look like them, that I act like them, or that I dress like them. I am me and they’re them. I want to be separate. I have met them and they have always been nothing but sweet to me and I adore them … but I want to be myself. I want to do things differently.

JONATHAN: That’s neat. Now, I study the trends that kids follow and one of the biggest influence on kid’s lives these days is the media. Kids are looking at teen magazines and seeing celebrities like the ones you mentioned: The Olsons, Lindsey, Hilary … to see what they are doing. We have noticed, that as these celebrities grow up, some of them often change from “Mickey Mouse Club” to “sex vixon” …

HAYDEN: I definitely want to stay away from that. I don’t think that I would ever be the type of person that would go to a premier with tight tiny, tiny mini skirt and like a bikini top.

JONATHAN: Let’s talk about dressing for premiers for a second. For example you’ve got Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries I and II, Ella Enchanted) … when she showed up to the School of Rock premier, she’s got this see through top on. I mean she might as well not even wear a top. Now, my daughters are 7 and 9 and they loved her in her films. And I’m thankful that they never saw the pictures from that premiere. Where do you …

HAYDEN: Personally, I am too shy. I don’t think that I could ever do that. But I think I might, you know, wear like a little belly shirt once and a while or something like that. You know, if you have the stomach for it. I wouldn’t at my age.

JONATHAN: Some other actresses and musicians have shown up on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing very little or at movie premiers with dresses that ‘shock.’ Some are highly critical of this kind of thing, others defend it. I would think that there’s a line that exists somewhere of ‘what you do and don’t do.’ Where do you draw that line?

HAYDEN: I think everyone has the freedom to wear what they want and do what they want to do. But I think they should consider what everyone else will think. Rolling Stone can be a “sexy magazine.” Personally, I wouldn’t do anything like that. I do draw the line at certain things like, ‘that skirts getting a little too short’ or ‘that top’s getting a little too tiny …’

JONATHAN: Sure.

HAYDEN: … and the clothes get less and less and when you wear certain things … I don’t want to judge anyone—they can wear what they want to wear, but I’m going to wear more conservative clothes or something a little more classy.

JONATHAN: I guess the bottom line is this: As you get, older, more popular and get even more roles, and if you know that your poster is going to be on the walls of little 8 year old girls across the country … would that make you think? Is there a responsibility that comes with this? Are you now a mentor?

HAYDEN: Personally, I think so. But for me- dressing raunchy is just not who I am. I am a little scared to say that’s not who I am, because I definitely have a rebellious side along with my more conservative side, but I would never show that through the way I dress. I can be rebellious through other ways than ‘wearing less clothes.’ It doesn’t prove that I’m more rebellious just because I wear less clothes and feel the need to walk around like that.

JONATHAN: What do you want to be known for?

HAYDEN: I’d like to be known as classy.

JONATHAN: What do you NOT want to be known for?

HAYDEN: I don’t want to be known as a party animal, or dressing trashy or …

JONATHAN: You want to be remembered for your talents and abilities rather than, “Hey, she’s the one that got caught on video doing … whatever!”

HAYDEN: Absolutely.

Sigh.

Here’s my entire 2004 interview with her.

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The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Posted on: 07/14/08 6:56 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I always like to keep my eye on what teenagers are watching. And right now the show creating the most buzz is “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”

Yesterday I just saw a poster (with the image to the right) for the show all over the mall by my Virginia hotel. The timing can’t be better for this “Juno-esque” marketed program hitting the ABC Family channel. It’s launch was a raging success. Media-Life Magazine detailed its success:

ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” Tuesday 8 p.m. The series premiere averaged 2.8 million total viewers, making it the most-watched original series premiere in network history. It was also the highest-rated original series telecast in network history in households, adults 18-34, 18-49s and 12-34s.

Curious about the content of the show? Check out our own David R. Smith’s incitefull new Youth Culture Window article giving us a glimpse into the porthole of this “Secret Life…”

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