I just happened to be flipping through the channels last night before I watched Monday Night Football and I randomly ended up on ABC Family.
I have to admit, I have watched ABC Family on numerous occasions, and it has never really bothered me, but for some reason last night it finally hit me - and I was really bothered by it.
It started off on a commercial for ABC Family, highlighting a few of the shows that are premiering or starting back up this fall. As I sat through the commercial, I really wondered what kind of "family" that ABC thought it was promoting. Here is a sample of their Fall lineup:
Greek: A show about "college life" that really doesn't look like college life at all. It is a blown-out-of-proportion look at crazy parties, alternative lifestyles, drinking, and promiscuous everything. Exactly what I think teenagers need to see. Wait...On second thought...
Now, they do have shows like Full House and Fresh Prince of Bel Air, both of which promote pretty healthy families, but they also have shows like The Secret Life of an American Teenager and That 70's Show, both of which depict less-than-healthy relationships and lifestyles.
Overall, it worries me that ABC can have an entire channel devoted to "Family" with shows like these. Their tagline is what really gets me: "A New Kind of Family". ABC thinks they are doing something different. Unfortunately, they're just following a culture that is declining in Family Values and overall morals. This "New Kind of Family" didn't start with them; sadly it's been happening for a long time. It's what we are seeing more and more in our churches, schools, governments, and even our own families.
No longer do we have the Cleavers (Leave it to Beaver) or Taylors (Home Improvement.) Although somewhat dysfunctional, what family isn't! Now they are mixing Michelle, Stephanie, and DJ Tanner with sorority girls and potheads.
I think I will stick with my Old Kind of Family...
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