So I was recently watching television when just before the next program commenced – which was at 7:30pm – this notice came up:
Look at it.
LOOK AT IT!!!
Four countries – all in South East Asia – with vastly different perspectives of the appropriate audience for the show.
OK, to be honest, I have no idea what Taiwan or Korea are saying [though I’m assuming the land of Samsung suggests you should be 7 years of age to watch the show] but the big ones for me are Singapore and Malaysia.
Let’s be honest, given Singapore is a land of bland safety … I’m not really surprised they said it was a PG certificate, because this is a country that once ran a front page newspaper story about a man who didn’t wash his hands after coming out of a public toilet. No, that’s not a joke … that really happened.
But look at Malaysia.
18.
EIGHTEEN.
Christ, they’ve managed to make Singapore look like more liberal than San Francisco and Portland put together.
I hadn’t thought about it before, but these ‘audience ratings’ are a very quick way to get an idea about how the local culture views or lives their life. Or should I say, how the local authorities want their people to view or live their life.
Of course it’s utter bollocks because despite what so many say, there are all sorts of weirdness and depravity that exists in both countries cultures … but that is nothing compared to the bollocks of both those ‘ratings’ given the show in question wasn’t some edgy comedy. Hell, it wasn’t even some news program with images of war or sexuality, it was this:
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjnyVyrHeBs%5DThat’s right, it’s a bloody home improvement television show.
No, let me correct that.
A CANADIAN home improvement show … a nation so bland, it makes beige look like a sex, drugs and rock n’ roll addict.
And yes, I do know my wife is from there – how else do you think I got her to marry me!
Anyway, the only offensive thing about this show is the fact it exists, so unless the Singaporean or Malaysian Government did it because they don’t want their people to be subjected to shittier-than-shit “reality” television, they need to sort themselves out or they’ll have a generation that thinks owning a house is the equivalent of owning an STD.