MTV: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

“Mom…can I watch channel 19?” “What channel is that?” my mom asked. “MTV”, I replied. “Absolutely not”, my mom said. My mom would never let me watch MTV when I was younger saying it had too much profanity and too much sexual orientation, yet that didn’t stop me. Growing up, MTV was the coolest show to watch. Times have not changed when it comes to MTV (Music Television); it is still the top choice when it comes to America’s youth. MTV does it good, has its bad, and you can’t forget about the ugly.

It would be hard for anyone to dispute the fact that MTV has influenced nearly every pop culture trend since its birth in 1981. One might even go as far as to say MTV is pop culture. No other media network holds in the palm of its hands the power that to control popular cultural evolution the way MTV does. What other media network could influence one to go buy a brand new bright orange pair of sneakers and in the same outing, go register to vote, all in the same show? Whether it is streaming through their internet cables or coming through their television, MTV can be found 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and now on two channels (MTV and MTV 2) so that youn

One of the many good things MTV has done since its arrival is serve as the voice of youth in today’s society. As a result of MTV’s success, the young people of America now have international platform on which to share their common voice. Demographic groups, such as African Americans had been socially silenced prior to MTV’s ability to market urban music. MTV has also contributed to the involvement of today’s youth with segments such as MTV News, in which young people get other young people to take interest in modern issues such as the environment, safe sex, racial tolerance, and AIDS. MTV has also played a big hand in promoting politics and the importance of voting and getting involved. Yet, even though MTV has and continues to make wonderful contributions such as those mentioned above, there is a fine line between good and bad.

The line between good and bad gets crossed when people do not realize that in the grand scheme of the media and its interactions with its audience, we as the public are merely “the consumer”. The only reason TV exists and is able to continue to exist is for advertising. If no companies wanted to advertise their goods and services during the Superbowl, do you think it would be televised? I would bet that half of the people who tuned in to watch the Superbowl only did so to see the ads. In order for netw

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