No, I don’t blame Hollywood or The Dark Knight for the Colorado shootings. But, I do blame Hollywood for the deterioration of its product, the resulting desensitization of our kids, and the overall lack of concern for what it produces and the impact it has on our souls.
The following article was originally published in The Caucus for Producers and Writers Journal in the 1980’s.
A landmark day took place the fall of 1992 in the network television movie business. ABC, CBS, and NBC each began production, on the same day, with the same scheduled finish day, of a movie about the Amy Fisher/Joey Buttafuoco story. NBC had her rights, CBS had his, and ABC had “public domain.” Each competed to be the first to reach the public and to be the most “authentic” version of the story. NBC “won” by getting their version on the air first, December 28, 1992 and scored seemingly unbeatable numbers (19.1 rating/30 share) , garnering their highest ratings of the season for a television movie. CBS and ABC followed six nights later, January 3, 1993, running head to head. ABC touted theirs as the most critically appreciated movie and the one (they had “public domain”) that told the “whole story.” CBS was relying on its wonderful Sunday Night lead-in of 60 Minutes and “Murder She Wrote.” ABC ended up the complete winner with a 19.5 rating/30 share versus CBS’ 14.3 rating/22 share, to come up number one in the Amy Fisher race. Which was the better movie? Which told. the “true story? Does it matter?
I’ve been lazy updating this section, so don’t expect the latest here. But, it’s Saturday and I’m way ahead on my writing, vlogging, and comic strip scripts! So, I decided to start a new series for my Friday #SocialMedia and #Technology columns. It is called The Evolution of Technology. To be fair, it is not totally new as I created it for a website I co-created a while ago. But, they will be NEW to you and we will continue the series beyond the original five I wrote, several co-written with Professor David E. Weber. #DadChat was so fun and so huge this past week with Pam Moore aka @PamMktgNut when we discussed the future of Social Media and Our Kids. We had over 25 MILLION impressions, 200 participants, and over 1,300 tweets. Trust me, that’s fast and that’s what I call “Brain Exercise.” All else is cool as I’m preparing for my “Back to School” drive August 24th, when I am driving nearly 3,000 miles cross-country to take my son to college. FORD has given me a Flex for the drive and we are seeking other sponsors. You will read, see, hear, and watch the trip as I plan to “cover” it completely!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Featured guests:
Wayne Levine (BetterMenCoaching.com) for “The Men’s Room.”
Pastor Drew Sams (DrewSams.com) for “Teen Rap.”
Special Guest, Dr. Jennifer Weberman (The Parenting Playground)
This show is loosely based on this week’s “A Dad’s Point-of-View” column, My Son Got a Tattoo.
FORE! Dad golfs – so watch out. And, of course he doesn’t know what “Lysistrata” is or why he’s sleeping on the couch…TY @VoogDesigns for another fun and funny Because I Said So comic strip! Do take advantage of his special caricature offer in our ad section (scroll down a bit on the right)!
Social Media is the new method of networking, working, and interacting in so many ways. We parents have begun to adopt it and, in various cases, it is a part of our lives. BUT, for our kids, it is a HUGE part of their lives. And, going forward, it will only get more and more complicated and integrated into daily life. We were honored to have Social Media and Marketing expert Pam Moore as our co-host on Thursday, July 19 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. PT. We discussed what the future may hold for us, Social Media, and our kids! But, the chat covered so very much more: Read the transcript!
The title of this column probably brings shivers to parents of toddlers and kids under the age of 12. Many parents do not like or appreciate tattoos or any so-called “Body Art.” I am one of them plus it is against our religion and is expressly forbidden in Judaism. Nonetheless, we parents have to choose our battles and this is one I chose to lose.
