Trash TV
Will Super Bowl Sleaze Prompt A Real Crackdown On All That Media Smut?
Still, there are signs that the country may have reached the point of sensory overload. Author Weston says even kids are now asking, "Why does this have to be so in our faces?"
TV's outer limits
By pushing the taste envelope, some television has been thought provoking, some has been deemed hilarious, and some judged downright offensive. Here are a few examples:
1964
Peyton Place
The first prime-time soap opera, with tawdry story lines about illicit sex and thievery.
1971
All in the Family
The Bunkers address formerly taboo subjects such as race, class, menopause, and sex.
1981
MTV
With the debut of MTV, cable viewers watch pop stars sing about or simulate sex nearly 24 hours a day.
1987
Married With Children
Brings jokes about vibrators and nymphomania to broadcast television.
1992
Seinfeld
Seinfeld's cast avoided censorship by referring to masturbation as "master of your domain."
1998
Monica Lewinsky
News programs report that the White House intern performed oral sex on President Clinton.
2003
Golden Globe Awards
Bono quips, "This is really f---ing brilliant," upon receiving his award. The FCC rules that using the "F" word as an adjective is not obscene
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