TV features and youngsters
TV features and youngsters
From Suara Karya
My children and I are pleased that Suara Karya is running articles on subjects such as agriculture, tourism and art. The paper's article about TV on page 7, Aug. 23, was very good and quite objective.
My child for instance, a junior high student, does not like to watch Baywatch, but has observed that the series has an educational message, like rescuing people in mortal danger.
On the other hand, another child, still in primary school grade five, likes clean beach scenes and cavorting scenes along the coast. Why is there so much objection against foreign films on TV? Is not sex being commercialized with promotions of all sorts of traditional potions, on sidewalks, in drugstores, and the mass media?
At arisan (monthly housewives gatherings), ladies always joke in an oblique way about sex. The same goes for men in the workplace.
TV is just a dead thing. I switch the TV off when there is nothing worth watching, or if a program is too sadistic for children. My family likes to chat then.
The story of a student who unveiled a corrupt school principal who imposed his intentions on pupils, the story of a policeman in New York who helped a group of ducks cross a busy road, or the story of a foreigner willing to take care of orangutans in Kalimantan, these features on private TV stations are inoffensive, patriotic, informative and of high human interest. Watching such programs preferable to watching for hours on end officials dozing in their seats, or listening to orders to kill that are, alas, not issued for vehicle smugglers, corrupt officials, or land appropriators.
A lot of affluence is displayed in front of office buildings, malls and supermarkets. There is also obvious displays of power on the road every day, which I think should stop. Many female drivers in Jakarta, for instance, are cruel and selfish toward pedestrians crossing streets, even though their cars are covered with religious stickers and the drivers reflect education and respectability.
In Australia, a driver clad in faded shorts, would step on his brakes immediately to let someone cross the road.
In Italy, for example, people frolic around in bikinis and are free to watch anything they like. On the other hand, how many unfortunate maids have been sexually abused in other countries, but the cases were not reported? One's personality cannot be fortified only by a strict dress code. There are still many people in this country who have a different opinion about how people should dress.
Also, we have yet to receive a report about an Indonesian servant allegedly raped in Australia.
Despite all the proud monuments, the towering buildings and giant projects, we still live in daily confusion, neglecting our flora and fauna, breathing in the city's air pollution. All adds to our daily frustration. These are the negative aspects we should address, for the sake of our children's future and security, instead of focusing attention on TV programs for hours on end.
TUTY M. THOMAS
Bekasi, West Java