The Fight on The View

I personally don't watch The View, mostly because it is on during the day and I'm not really that into talkshows, but it caught my eye that Rosie O'Donnell quit "The View" last week after a fight with Elizabeth Hasselback over the war in Iraq. I watched the video, and I have to say, I found it fascinating that these women were so passionate about the war and Bush. I thought they were supposed to talk about celebrities and things that are more trivial. Unfortunately, they were unable to have a conversation, and resorted to yelling at each other and speaking over each other, which doesn't end up being productive. After watching it, I thought Elizabeth seemed very defensive about Bush from the beginning, and Rosie seemed to be just waiting to have her feelings hurt. The shocking thing was how the show exploited their two stars by refusing to go to commercial and instead showing a split screen so you could better see their cat fight. As Rosie said on her blog (www.rosie.com), it was like the show was suddenly reduced to a Jerry Springer show. I'm curious to see what you think about this.

The Pot and the Kettle Who Lived in a Glass House

Okay, what is wrong with this picture??

Did anyone see the news about "The Simpsons" this week? 20th Century Fox is angry and threatening to sue an independent online video broadcaster for parodying their hit TV show, "The Simpsons." An online article had more details:

"The studio is pressuring online video hub Broadcaster.com to remove "The O.J. Simpsons," three animated clips that re-imagine the Fox series starring the former football star. , The three "O.J. Simpsons" clips are titled "Black and White Christmas," "Warzone" and "If I Did It," which directly references Fox and its decision to withdraw publication of O.J. Simpson's proposed book about the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman."

The Simpsons are suing someone for parody? PARODY????? Are you kidding me? The first three people to comment on this post with a story about an episode of The Simpsons that parodies something gets candy.

This post will NOT include a picture or video

I am outraged.

This morning I was reading my newspaper and I was horrified to see various images of the Virginia Tech killer sprawled all over The Globe and Mail. The main article was about how the killer (who will remain nameless- I don't remember his name and I don't care to know it) sent a multi-media package to NBC in the mail between the first and second shootings. In this multi-media package he included text explaining his motivation and videos and pictures of him posing with various weapons- the way he wanted to be remembered. When I opened the newspaper, there was a two paged spread of pictures and images from this package.

I think it is disgusting that ANY media outlet would grant this killer's wishes by allowing these images to saturate the public. These images glorify the real horror he has produced, and give him the notoriety he was craving. Why why why would we grant him his dying wish, when his victim's weren't given the opportunity to think about their own dying wishes? This is a disgrace to the families of the victims. Not only that, but publishing his material could also be dangerous, as there is a risk his message could provide inspiration for other troubled people out there who may be considering putting their own names down in history.

There is no denying that the media needs to take some kind of responsibility for these kinds of school shootings. Many of these incidents are copycats of previous shootings, which means that the killers saw the coverage of one school shooting and used that coverage as encouragement. Now I am not suggesting that these events should not be reported on; an event so devastating should not be ignored; however, those who are reporting on the tragedy need to do so with some responsibility. We should be focusing on the acts of heroism and tributes to the young people who lost their lives.

I will end this post with a tribute to Liviu Librescu, an engineering professor who was just one of the 32 murdered during the rampage on Monday morning. Students said Librescu, 76, leaned against the door of his Virginia Tech classroom, blocking the path of the gunman. Librescu's actions gave his students enough time to climb out the window of his second-storey classroom. The gunman eventually got through the door and killed Librescu, but not before his students escaped.

His bravery and heroism is a story that we can look to for inspiration in our own lives. His story is worth telling, and his name is worth remembering.

Liviu Librescu.

Pop Culture - The Trendiness of Torture

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As some of you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of both 24 and Lost. I watch them religiously, and I think about them constantly. Recently, they have both been in the news as Human Rights Organisations have questioned the abundance of torture that is portrayed in these shows. I have never thought of myself as someone who would condone the use of torture or even as someone who would find entertainment in the depiction of it. But it is true; my two favourite shows use it quite a lot. In Lost, there is usually a lot of remorse surrounding the use of torture. Poor Sayid is tortured by his own use of torture. He feels really bad about it; and really seems like he will never torture someone again.

Now Jack Bauer, on the other hand, tortures an average of ten people per day ... at least. He is also tortured quite a lot. Heck, everyone is tortured on 24, that's just what happens. Sometimes I even find myself yelling "bring in Johnson!" to the television (Johnson is CTU's torture guy - although anyone can torture anyone). What is going on here and just how did torture get so trendy? How is all of this entertaining torture affecting the real world?

Martin Miller of the LA Times reported on this issue of increased torture and reported that "from 1996 to 2001, there were 102 scenes of torture, according to the Parents Television Council. But from 2002 to 2005, that figure had jumped to 624, they said. "24" has accounted for 67 such scenes during its first five seasons, making it No. 1 in torture depictions, according to the watchdog group.

The increase in quantity is not the only difference. During this uptick in violence, the torturer's identity was more likely to be an American hero such as "24's" Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) than the Nazis and drug dealers in pre-9/11 days. The action-packed show, which drew a hefty 13.6 million viewers last week, was among the first and certainly the most prominent to have its main character choke, stab, or electrocute — among other techniques — information out of villains.

"It's unthinkable that Capt. Kirk would torture someone," Danzig said.

While hardly alone in the entertainment universe of television and movies in portraying torture, shows such as "24" and later ABC's "Lost" were sought out by the human-rights activists because of their popularity, both here and around the world. Even in Iraq, such series can sometimes substitute for or trump military training, and transmit a dark message to soldiers.

"That's all people did in Iraq was watch DVDs of television shows and movies. What we learned in military schools didn't apply anymore."

EEK! 24 and Lost inspiring real soldiers and how they are really acting in the real war?

(Unfinished)