Unforeseen Effects of the Free Press

As Namibia is a rather poor country, there are no television shows produced here save a few news programs. Thus, the two television stations here run programs that are produced in other countries – particularly, South Africa, the United States, Mexico, England, and Australia. Some of the American programs that are run over here absolutely horrify me. Now, I’m not saying that I am entirely ashamed of my fellow countrymen or embarrassed by the shenanigans of Americans, but these shows are seriously scary. I cannot even count the number of times I have sat staring at the television set with my eyes gaping in horror and my mouth open wide from shock.

One of the worst shows I’ve seen here was about Americans who believe that they were meant to be animals but are trapped in human bodies. One man on the show had tattooed nearly his entire body to make him look like a tiger. He even had his upper lip surgically clefted to look more cat-like and had implants put in above his lips so that he can screw in wire whiskers! Another man developed a wolf costume with a moving tail and face. Apparently he wanders around his home town in the costume pretending to be a wolf. The entire time I was watching this show (wide-eyed and open-mouthed) I was trying to keep an open mind but I failed miserably…I just don’t understand why someone would want to drastically alter their physical appearance to look more animal-like.

Two of the usual American shows that are screened out here and that I have personal grievances against are The Tyra Banks Show and a dating show called Next. On her talk show, Tyra and her guests discuss the most superficial of possible talk-show topics such as the traumas of botched liposuctions and plastic sugeries and how to keep one’s breasts moisturized (I kid you not, Tyra actually massaged her breasts on camera). Next is a dating show wherein one contestant has the opportunity to date up to five people in one day. If s/he does not like the person they are currently on a date with, they can say “Next!” and then that person leaves to be replaced by another. What bothers me about this show is that the contestants frequently say “next” the moment one of their dates appears because they don’t like the looks of the person. Most of the contestants also engage in the usual superficial conversations of young people who have the crazed desire to flaunt themselves on camera.

Generally, I’m a huge fan of America’s love for freedom of the press. However, living here has given me the strong urge to lobby the U.S. government for censorship in the shows that are allowed to venture across the seas and settle on the screens of impressionable foreigners. These shows greatly concern me because they paint a very bad picture of Americans – as superficial, lazy, brainless, freaks – and cause foreigners to develop negative opinions about our country. In my opinion, giving foreigners a one-sided view of a country (and emphasizing the negative qualities of that country) is a fairly dangerous thing to do.