RUTHIE KELLY: TV has lost its appeal
Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: State Of Mind
stopped watching TV about seven months ago. There's only so much energy I'm willing to waste restraining myself from breaking my expensive new flat-panel TV. And as time goes on, the overwhelming urge to throw something at the screen becomes harder and harder to ignore.
The vapid, two-dimensional female characters I see babbling inanities with every flip of the channel enrage me and instill despair. None of the most charismatic or powerful characters are female.
Watching women on TV makes me feel ashamed. The female characters fight and bicker, compete with each other for male attention and obsess over their appearance. They're petty, catty and superficial. Admittedly, there are people like this in real life, male and female, but when virtually every representation of women on TV displays these traits, what does it say about our cultural attitudes toward women?
It's not confined to the "chick" dramas either - even the female characters on the shows whose male characters I love commit the sin of stereotyping their characters according to sex, minimizing their accomplishments or making them weak, emotional or clumsy.
Of the few interesting, powerful women who were the center of the script before, more and more are being upstaged or shunted off into minor roles. The result is less appealing television, especially for intelligent, educated women who seek out these qualities in the shows they watch.
Further, the few examples of strong female characters that do exist are mostly confined to some science fiction or supernatural scenario. Surely a powerful, compelling woman is not that unbelievable.
When smart, ambitious women like myself turn on the TV and see no indication that women such as ourselves exist, we have no reason to keep watching. Male characters inspire guys to be adventurous, daring, honest and bold. Female characters inspire women to buy more junk and betray their friends and loved ones - all for the right handbag of course. If this is reality, then give me sci-fi any day.
The vapid, two-dimensional female characters I see babbling inanities with every flip of the channel enrage me and instill despair. None of the most charismatic or powerful characters are female.
Watching women on TV makes me feel ashamed. The female characters fight and bicker, compete with each other for male attention and obsess over their appearance. They're petty, catty and superficial. Admittedly, there are people like this in real life, male and female, but when virtually every representation of women on TV displays these traits, what does it say about our cultural attitudes toward women?
It's not confined to the "chick" dramas either - even the female characters on the shows whose male characters I love commit the sin of stereotyping their characters according to sex, minimizing their accomplishments or making them weak, emotional or clumsy.
Of the few interesting, powerful women who were the center of the script before, more and more are being upstaged or shunted off into minor roles. The result is less appealing television, especially for intelligent, educated women who seek out these qualities in the shows they watch.
Further, the few examples of strong female characters that do exist are mostly confined to some science fiction or supernatural scenario. Surely a powerful, compelling woman is not that unbelievable.
When smart, ambitious women like myself turn on the TV and see no indication that women such as ourselves exist, we have no reason to keep watching. Male characters inspire guys to be adventurous, daring, honest and bold. Female characters inspire women to buy more junk and betray their friends and loved ones - all for the right handbag of course. If this is reality, then give me sci-fi any day.
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