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What You See Is What You Get

Americans Complain About Sex And Violence On Screen Q But They Keep On Watching

June 13, 1995|By Allan Johnson Tribune Staff Writer.

Violence and sex in entertainment is again a hot topic in America. And kids are voicing their opinions along with adults on whether they think there's too much of the so-called naughty stuff in movies and on TV.

U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, a Republican from Kansas, is the latest to issue this cry, accusing Hollywood of turning out stuff that hurts the country's morality.

But here's the catch: Americans might be calling for less violent, more family-geared movies and TV Q but that's not the kind of stuff they end up watching.

One of the country's most popular movies is the super-violent "Die Hard with a Vengeance," which made more than $60 million in the first four weeks it was in theaters. Also popular is "Casper," which has mild violence and swearing. It has made close to $40 million in its first three weeks at theaters.

But non-violent movies like "A Little Princess" are dying at the box office. "Princess" had made just a bit more than $6 million, through its first five weeks in theaters.

One of the most violent shows on TV is "Highlander: The Series.

" It's based on movies about a race of immortals on present-day Earth, who die only by having their heads chopped off. Gross, sure Q but the show has had a loyal following throughout its three years on the air.

Then there's "NYPD Blue." The cop show gets slammed for sex and language, but it's one of TV's top shows.

"Television is a business of supply and demand," says "Highlander" co-executive producer Marla Ginsburg. "And every week you can tell exactly what the American people want by what they watch."

Still, several surveys point out that the public isn't too happy with the way violence and sex are paraded in entertainment.

Children Now, an advocacy group for kids, surveyed 750 kids. More than half (62 percent) said sex on TV and in movies influences kids to have sex.

Ten-year-old Aaron Y. of Chicago told KidNews, "It isn't good for kids to watch (violence and sex on the screen) because kids could imitate what they see. That's why they put movies like that at midnight."

What do actors think of complaints about shows' content?

"I have a tendency to believe that the issue of violence on television right now is a cover for people to figure why everything's not going right in the United States and the rest of the world," says Adrian Paul. He stars as "Highlander's" immortal hero Duncan MacLeod.

"It's another way of saying, 'Oh, this is the reason for it,' rather than looking at economic or other issues."

One young star, Jonathan Jackson, 13, agrees that sometimes entertainment goes a little too far. Jonathan appears on the ABC soap "General Hospital" as Lucky Spencer, a character who has been shot.

But Jackson is a big believer in individual choice when it comes to what's on TV.

"People should just make up their own minds whether they want to watch it," he says.