How Low is Too Low?

In my Ethics class, we spent a whole day talking about what we consider "too low" in the media. The conversation was sparked by the family guy episode "Screams of Silence" which was about domestic violence. I wanted to share this with the class because I thought it relates perfectly with the class.

The issue with this family guy episode is that when the thought processes of such a huge issue and the actions are the way it is in real life, it can no longer be called satire. We discussed satire at the beginning of the semester. While yes, some people are offended by things on tv (which i am) more than others, critique of this episode was blasted all over the internet and news programs. Did the writers of this program go to far? I believe they most certainly did. While some, probably several in the class, would argue "not to watch it if you don't like it," I still firmly believe that writers of television and film go too far to get viewers.

The "don't watch it if you don't like it" is exactly what I do. I make the decision not to watch things that are harmful to my mind and spirit. I choose not to laugh at a show's sick jokes or watch a gross horror movie. In my ethics class we made a list of things that make us look away or turn off a program. The things people wrote down ranged from making fun of a mentally handicapped person to rape. My professor asked us if anything was sacred anymore with any medium. Unfortunately most the class believed that there really isn't anything sacred. If you can mock it, it will be mocked. If you can have sex with it/him/her, it will be done. If a religion can be blasphemed, it will.

I think this could be an interesting topic to discuss in our popculture class. I do think that different backgrounds culture backgrounds have an influence on the things we watch. How low is too low for you?