More Censorship

Last Sunday night I watched the finale of "Design Star" with Mrs. Mac. I was hoping that Kim won, and I admit to going to the website and voting for her. Kim won.

The show ended and the cable surfing started.

My wife and I both grew-up in Massachusetts, so we are marginally New England Patriots fans. But the obvious blow-out of the San Diego Chargers by the second quarter made Sunday Night Football a boring option.

I had already seen this particular episode of the 2007 World Series of Poker. So I kept surfing by that.

Fox Soccer Report was delayed a half-hour to accommodate United Soccer Leagues' post-game celebration of the first round of their playoffs.

Mrs. Mac did not insist on further HGTV viewing, and we landed on the Emmys being broadcast by Fox.

The Edie Falco category was happening when we surfed in. I like Edie Falco a lot and assumed she would win the award. She didn't. Sally Field won.

I like Sally Field. She was Gidget and The Flying Nun when I was a boy, and she had a comeback in the 1980s, when comebacks were hard to come by.

As usual, she was very excited and a bit discombobulated. In her acceptance, she thanked everyone and said the award was shared with all mothers, especially those whose children were in harm's way, like at war. Then she went on to say that if mothers ruled the world then . . . and the broadcast cut away. They were censoring her remarks about war.

Word from the Fox apologists is that they censored her because she used the word "goddamn" or some version of taking the Lord's name in vain. They insist that Fox did not censor her because of her opposition to the war.

This is bullshit, of course.

If she had said something like "I share this award with mothers who hate these goddamn hippies protesting the war. . . " you can be certain that Fox would have let that through.

But, because she (like all decent people) is opposed to this war, she was censored.

Censorship is dull.

I want to hear what people have to say, no matter which side they pretend to support. If I am stooping so low as to watch the Emmy Awards, you might as well broadcast what these people are saying!

Sally Field is a winner, we should hear what all the winners say. And if television can't broadcast the remarks of the winners then they should stop broadcasting the awards. Or maybe I should just stop watching them (especially if they are on Fox).

Field has another memorable award speech

I have written about censorship in the past:

Project Censored

Shortbus Censorship

Net Neutrality



Dick Mac Recommends:

The Gospel According to St. Matthew
Pier Paolo Passolini