So I should be finishing my project, but this show intrigued me and I was sucked into media culture... again

While I came home with every intention of working on my project right at 10 pm and putting finishing touches on it tonight, I was, alas, entrapped in this television show that one of the ladies in my apartment was watching and now I have something to blog about, but no real progress on that whole project thing. Either way, I guess it's beneficial for this course, so it's only a little bit bad.

The show was a special investigation done by ABC Primetime News entitled Basic Instincts: What Would You Do? It’s a Candid Camera type show, but with socially taboo or unacceptable situations, not comedic situations. The whole idea is even if people are morally against certain issues in society, most of the time they won’t speak out against them in specific social situations. Here are the examples that I saw from tonight’s show (I guess it is a limited series).

-Homophobic cab drivers. The cab drivers say extremely homophobic remarks to the people they pick up in their cabs and for 3 nights no one fights back against remarks. Most agree and even encourage the sentiments. When interviewed later they either, a. say yes, they think homosexuality is morally wrong or b. Agreed with the cab driver out of fear of confrontation, fear of what he would do if they opposed him.
-Loud women and men in restaurant on their cell phones – different reactions to genders. The man is yelled at by fellow patrons, while people eavesdrop and are intrigued by the woman (perhaps because she is very attractive or her story is more like a soap opera)
-Elderly, helpless old man in wheelchair being verbally abused by caretaker, who then becomes physical with him, throwing things and even pushing him out of his chair. The reactions to this one are a little more uplifting. While yes, certain people just walk by and ignore it, multiple people call 911 and many people put themselves in harms way to protect elderly man.
-Out of control children in a restaurant, hurting each other and annoying other people while father is on cell phone. No one confronts the father. I know that certain restaurants are now setting up rules for children, children-free zones, which I think is interesting, but this section of the show displays that it is the social norm to not interfere with families/other peoples’ parenting skills. Customers confront management not father; desire to avoid public spectacle. When the actor playing the father is replaced with a woman, the patrons are tougher on the mother figure. Interesting how certain people think mothers should be able to control their children while accepting the fact that fathers can be absent. Another child is only one who stands up to annoying kids in restaurant and gets them to stop.
-People making out in a restaurant… very sexual, straddling on same chair, and then the man answers his cell phone and is clearly talking to his “wife” and saying he is at work. Fellow diners are upset but intrigued at same time; older women wish they were young again; one woman threatens boyfriend that he should never cheat on her or she’ll kill him

Viewers can vote online about what they would do in the situation and the results are at the end of show.
But what people say they would do and what they actually would do when put in the situation is much different. Not what would you do, but what SHOULD you do?? I think it's an interesting concept and a great way for mainstream media to critique society and the actions of members of our society.

Anyway, off to the project revisions!

www.abcnews.com

for more info/results about what people would do!