Posted on 07/12/2010 1:16:12 PM PDT by OldDeckHand
NBC's "Friday Night Lights" wants to tackle more than football players.
In a bold move for scripted dramas, which usually shy away from taboo issues, the July 9 episode of the network drama featured a high school-aged character deciding to have an abortion, declaring it was "the right thing to do." The plotline earned praise from many in the media.
Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker praised "Friday Night Lights" for delivering "one of its finest hours ever."
In a July 10 blog post, The Atlantic's Tony Lee noted that he was impressed by the "nuanced, apolitical manner" that the writers used to convey the dilemma facing this pregnant teenage girl.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
boycott
Wait until they set up gay atheist teen whorehouses ... Hollywood will give it an Emmy ...
I remember the movie. I couldn’t watch it to the end. I thought maybe the TV show might improve on it (critics seemed to be insistent). So I tuned in. Watched for, oh, about 10 minutes. Realized it was about teenaged angst for the umpteenth time and would have little or nothing to do with actual wholesome teenaged life, the kind I remember living. Tuned and never looked back.
Yes, never watch broadcast TV.
Oh, really? So they're going to show her in her 50's having felt guilty ever since for taking the life of her unborn child? Or perhaps being sterile because of the abortion? Or having self worth issues for having killed her unborn child? Or the alternative story line where that child develops a vaccine for AIDS or becomes president?
No, they didn't present the story in an apolitical manner, they showed it in the typical leftist manner that the blog poster agreed with and strongly endorses.
Frame of reference: I watch ‘Bones’, ‘NCIS’, ‘Burn Notice’, ‘Leverage and Harry Potter movies (ABC Family was designed by somebody in Hugh Hefner’s family, IMHO). That’s it. Maybe some NASCAR, if it’s Talladega, Lowes or Daytona. Maybe some baseball. Not much else. TV is not for people with forebrains much anymore.
All television. The only way it changes is if people (conservatives) cancel sat and cable TV. If not - accept serfdom.
The worst is sports because that is where your overlords make the big money. The public will accept serfdom in exchange for TV.
Exactly. I’m sorry I watched. I am always attracted to shows with Kyle Chandler, though.
No one in this episode provided a moral point of view to the pregnant teen. She went to coach’s wife for counseling before approaching her own Mom.
The baby’s father finally decided to call her and stand up like a man, said he would help raise the baby, but she had just had the abortion.
It ended that way, with her crying.
Another dead baby while those with no morals cheer. What a stupid program. Glad I’ve never seen it. It’s no wonder viewership on the alphabet channels (ABC-CBS-NBC) is sinking.
http://broadcastengineering.com/news/broadcasting_cable_rates_climb/
“As for broadcast television, the FCC said audience levels continue to decline.”
Notice how she called her baby “it”.
Is it possible for a nation to become any sicker than ours has become?
Adopt Islam as a state religion?
Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton were long overdue for the emmy nominations they got last week for their work on this show.
I haven’t seen this episode yet, but I doubt it is as good as the one earlier this season dealing with the death of of the father of one of the main characters.
No, how about just going back to outlawing infanticide? Now, there’s a thought.
Oh crap! Now I can never watch this show again.
“It ended that way, with her crying.”
Well that’s good anyway. That shows regret.
{SIGH} We have the whole season of this recorded and haven’t watched any of them yet.
Today is just very irritating all around!
Did she have the abortion?
I did not see the show, but the article says that she did.
I just re-read the article and it did not state she did. Rather, she is faced with the decision to go thru with it and I suspect that a future episode will reveal what her ultimate decision will be............
Sorry, I got that information from one of the articles that the story links to - The Atlantic article, where it says...
"But I'm more curious and interested in how the show will portray the aftermath. Will Becky be ostracized? Will she come to regret her choice, especially after the touching and supportive phone call she got from Luke after she completed her abortion?Apparently, and I gather this from my daughter who did watch the program, right after she had the abortion, the baby's father called her to tell her that he'll help raising the child - and that is the end of the show.How will the writers deal with Luke? How will this impact him? Will he come to resent Becky for terminating their pre-born child? Will he regret that he didn't take more proactive steps toward convincing Becky to keep their child?
Thanks.......Maybe the show is leaning towards the guilt that this girl is going to suffer from her decision to have the abortion.........
I don't know, I'm just surmising........
That's a fair point. The show could really dive into her regret about her decision, as well as the traumatic post-abortion experience. It could be a vehicle to explore the flippancy that some people take when weighing this decision, and the aftermath of that flippancy.
I'm just not going to hold my breath.
To be consistent, next week they’ll have one of the players decide to rape a cheerleader because “it’s the right thing to do”.
FNL did show the anguish of a confused 10th grader and the father of the baby who was an injured star football player.
The acting was good, in fact as she and her mother were driving off to the abortion clinic, there was a palpable sadness on her face and I felt a knot in my stomach watching it.
I am pro-life and have counseled girls not to get abortions. What they showed was unspeakably sad honesty. The presentation did not make the event consequence free. On the other hand, everyone involved from the girl to the boy to the mother and the principal, are positioned with the knowledge that they let her down and either couldn't or wouldn't help her when she needed them the most. And where was her father? Off getting some other girl pregnant.
FNL is real life.
The girl asked the principal what she would say if her daughter came to her and told her that she was pregnant. And the principal had no answer.
As a parent, and someone who has dealt with this problem head-on, I know that kids need to be instructed along the way not just when they get into a crisis. My first advice to my son when he started dating was that he needed to be respectful of his date, and I included physical respect. I told him that he should not touch her in any place hidden by a two piece bathing suit.
The only way I was able to speak to him this way was because I had been giving him mental notes to ponder for years.
FNL does not preach. It takes the reality of young people's lives and shows them struggle with their decisions. I do not like abortion, however, this was a raw presentation few people witness unless they are smack dab in the middle of a crisis.
I lost respect for FNL when Lyla become a Christian on season two and by season three was back sleeping with Riggins. To have the only Christian character do that isn't real life.
I don’t think her conversion was ever portrayed as legitimate. It seemed like she threw herself into the most obvious group she could find to deal with what all she had been through.
The religion of the characters otherwise hasn’t come up much. Although it was very important for Mrs. Taylor that Julie continue going to church with her. So it has been brought up that one of the leads is a Christian, and one of the best characters on the show.
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