Posted on 12/29/2006 1:41:29 PM PST by Watershed
This year, FOX listened to the American public and just said 'no' to O.J. Simpson.
The cancellation of Simpson's interview, in which he would have hypothetically detailed how he killed his wife, made enough of an impact to become one of the American Film Institutes eight moments of significance for 2006.
A 13-person jury selected these moments which may include accomplishments, trends, milestones, anniversaries, movements in technology and negative/positive influences on film, television and digital media.
Regarding the decision to not air the Simpson special, AFI states, "2006 marked a moment when what didn't air on television was as compelling as what did ... The cancellation showed that a moral standard still exists for television, albeit a limit that had to be pushed to an extreme to be of note. That it was self-regulated, however, and not legislated by the government, is cause to celebrate."
In another television standards arena, the networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX -- challenged the Federal Communications Commission ruling that cited several incidents of "indecent" language. AFI felt this was noteworthy since it brought free speech back to America and pushed the FCC to provide clearer and more consistent definitions of its terms of decency.
A third television moment of significance occurred when "The Colbert Report's" Stephen Colbert stayed in character to wryly roast President Bush at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. The tense and uncomfortable atmosphere made this moment of journalism a favorite on C-Span and later on the Internet, which introduced a younger generation to the midterm elections discussion.
In a similar vein, the rise of the Internet's YouTube.com became a cultural phenomenon in which the audience could interact by self-producing and -distributing content. Camera phone videos and home movies gained popularity, but also allowed the world to get in on political "broadcasts" such as George Allen's senatorial race-ending statement, calling a man of Indian descent "macaca." This site also became the portal for numerous viral videos, most recently "Saturday Night Live's" latest mock music video "D*** in a Box" by Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake.
AFI also noted the death of VHS cassettes, Clint Eastwood's release of "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima," the death of legendary director Robert Altman and the global power of documentaries.
Meanwhile Time reports (also via Drudge) that by next year at this time, folks overseas might be able to buy If I Did It
(if OJ manages to get the rights to the book back...)
Funny, I could say the same thing about the Nick Berg video in 2004. Clearly the media which showed us snipers lining up shots on American troops doesn't actually believe their own convenient lie about "not showing violence" or "respect for the family".
In a similar vein, the rise of the Internet's YouTube.com became a cultural phenomenon in which the audience could interact by self-producing and -distributing content. Camera phone videos and home movies gained popularity, but also allowed the world to get in on political "broadcasts" such as George Allen's senatorial race-ending statement, calling a man of Indian descent "macaca." This site also became the portal for numerous viral videos, most recently "Saturday Night Live's" latest mock music video "D*** in a Box" by Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake
And again they get it wrong. Mojo Magazine understands that the real strength has been in the distribution of long suppressed clips (live performance and promotional) of performers. Things that have illegally been sold by bootleggers in questionable quality.
The quality may not have improved but no money is going into a bootlegger's pocket.
WGBH sits on the video of James Brown's live performance from the night MLK was assassinated (a quick decision was made to broadcast the concert live to quell riots). A 6 minute clip that was posted to youtube at the time of James Brown's death lasted about a day online.
MOJO bemoans that so much footage "sits in the vault". They say that if the distribution on youtube provokes the release of ANY of the gems that sit untapped, youtube will have made a "significant" contribution to cultural history.
On the other hand, there is political censorship afoot on the Google owned youtube. Michele Malkin has seen her video blog posts deleted and also restricted to "adult" audiences (who must separately register and I guess agree to be monitored).
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