RATED X: The Moral Case Against TV

by Mary Lewis Coakley ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 3, 1978

The object of this book is not to hand out orchids for good shows; it is to play the devil's advocate and point out the bad,"" says the author. She carries out this task with missionary zeal, ticking off with numbing repetition instances of profanity, violence, Satanism, and ""adultery, fornication, and kinky sex"" she and her friends have found on TV. Her bêtes noires are ""All in the Family"" and ""Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,"" two programs which apparently symbolize much of what is immoral on the tube. However, few shows, even the venerable ""Sesame Street,"" escape her wrath. She sees TV as the seed bed of socialism, or worse, asserting, ""Many movie moguls do not believe in the evils of Communism. Nor do many TV bigshots today, including newscasters."" She resents TV's treatment of Richard Nixon and her characterization of John F. Kennedy is from Earl Wilson's gossip column. Among the very few programs she admires are those of William Buckley and Lawrence Welk (she is his biographer). Her knowledge of the industry is as narrow and limited as her political views. She fails to note, or doesn't know, that Marvin Kitman, whom she quotes frequently, is a satirist, and she describes E. B. White as ""one of the pioneers of the TV industry."" Her prescription for curing TV's ills: donate cash to the organizations already at work in the field, write letters to newspapers, local stations, and networks. Names and addresses are appended.

Pub Date: April 3, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Arlington House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION