General Discussion

cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)

16. Nobody should dictate content, of course.

Wed Apr 30, 2014, 01:17 PM

Apr 2014

I am not so much complaining about Hollywood for doing wrong as I am observing our very deep cultural hostility to abortion, in aggregate.

Media reflects culture. It isn't a top down propognanda thing, it's a dialogue between culture and media which in turn shapes culture to be reflected by media.

And I believe that our cultural compromise is unsustainable. Ou compromise is that abortion must be legal BUT OMG NOBODY SHOULD EVER HAVE ONE.

That is just not sustainable. Media and culture do no operate on legal and philosophical abstractions, but rather on stories about people.

I am not calling for media to promote abortion, merely to stop implicitly condemning it.

I am leerly of media *promoting* much of anything.

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Abortion not an Option in Popular Culture [View all] cthulu2016 Apr 2014 OP

Good observation. nt ZombieHorde Apr 2014 #1

I have long noticed this about television sitcoms Tom Ripley Apr 2014 #2

Erica Kane had one on All My Children in 1973. Brickbat Apr 2014 #3

Thanks. Tom Ripley Apr 2014 #6

Erica Kane is a great example of what we are discussing, because years later they reversed it. StevieM Apr 2014 #40

Roseanne me b zola Apr 2014 #7

Claire Underwood on House of Cards. LeftyMom Apr 2014 #31

Spenser For Hire hamsterjill Apr 2014 #33

Hollywood Cartoonist Apr 2014 #4

Nobody should dictate content, of course. cthulu2016 Apr 2014 #16

I'm old enough to remember the outcry over "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Coventina Apr 2014 #5

Abortion peaked right around Fast Times. Early 1980s. cthulu2016 Apr 2014 #10

Agreed. Abortion is a moral & positive choice that liberates women, saves lives, & protects families PeaceNikki Apr 2014 #8

Exactly LittleGirl Apr 2014 #27

I have thought the same thing for a long time NV Whino Apr 2014 #9

TV series Parenthood ALBliberal Apr 2014 #11

Love that show LittleGirl Apr 2014 #32

Not a teen, but Gray's Anatomy covered it in prime time PeaceNikki Apr 2014 #12

You are absolutely correct. MicaelS Apr 2014 #13

Abortions aren't very pleasant for fiction or reality TV LittleBlue Apr 2014 #14

And apparently, many Americans are psychologically on the level of small children... nomorenomore08 Apr 2014 #41

You just noticed this? LittleBlue Apr 2014 #44

Lucy Ewing (played by Charlene Tilton) had an abortion on "Dallas" in 1982. Nye Bevan Apr 2014 #15

Around the same time as FAST TIMES (as discussed upthread) cthulu2016 Apr 2014 #19

Only one show comes to mind... skypilot Apr 2014 #17

Take notice, too, of pregnancy-test advertising. kentauros Apr 2014 #18

or depressed over a positive result. nt Ligyron Apr 2014 #25

I can understand not having that result in a commercial kentauros Apr 2014 #29

Part of that might be that people trying to get pregnant buy more tests. LeftyMom Apr 2014 #36

Okay, never thought of that point. kentauros Apr 2014 #37

Come to think of it, does/did anyone on the soaps ever have an abortion? since 1973? raccoon Apr 2014 #20

General Hospital Ghost of Tom Joad Apr 2014 #22

I just did a project on teen pregnancy arikara Apr 2014 #21

Nordic countries are so smart LittleGirl Apr 2014 #34

Maude volstork Apr 2014 #23

Thanks for posting this. hamsterjill Apr 2014 #39

You're welcome volstork May 2014 #45

Boy isn't that the truth! hamsterjill May 2014 #46

K & R SunSeeker Apr 2014 #24

Ever notice houses that the kids on Teen Mom live in and the cars that they drive? blueamy66 Apr 2014 #26

Great "conservative correctness" on the part of "liberal Hollywood". alp227 Apr 2014 #28

You're exactly right Ron Obvious Apr 2014 #30

I agree with you get the red out Apr 2014 #38

Reality TV isn't very "realistic" to me. hamsterjill Apr 2014 #35

DING DING DING! Cthulu, you're our grand prize winner! rocktivity Apr 2014 #42

thank you rocktivity angel823 Apr 2014 #43

Joan on Mad Men was given a referreral and chided for having an earlier abortion bettyellen May 2014 #47