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Skins Scares Taco Bell, Titillates Parents TV Council
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 21, 2011
Modified Jan 21, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 21, 2011
Modified Jan 21, 2011
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The pseudo-scandal surrounding Skins, MTV's latest drama, continues. After reports surfaced that the network was retooling an upcoming episode for fear of it being perceived as child pornography the network got the expected results: The Parents Television Council is asking the Justice Department to investigate and the show has "lost" one of its original sponsors, Taco Bell. We say pseudo-scandal and put that last bit in quotes since we're increasingly inclined to agree with folks in the comments that this is more a well executed publicity grab than a real thing (remember there was a similar fuss, which also led to an advertiser leaving, when Jersey Shore hit the boardwalk way back in 2009). Which doesn't mean we think it isn't interesting/depressing.
Anyway, the always-uppity PTC is leading the charge on this one, asking the Justice Department to investigate the series over the porn concerns, as "it is not necessary for Viacom or MTV to distribute the material in order to be in violation of the law...Furthermore, we urge you in the strongest possible terms to compel the Attorney General to mount an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the production of ‘Skins’ has violated federal law meant to protect minors from exploitation.”
Taco Bell, meanwhile, explained its departure as being because "the show is not a fit for our brand [so we] have moved our advertising to other MTV programming.” And we are sure that this campaign had nothing to do with that.
For what it is worth, if the show and the original are as similar as we've repeatedly heard, BBC America has already shown the pornographic scene in question—in which a high school boy runs naked down the street when his home is taken over after a party. The only difference is that the British high school boy was 19 when his behind was filmed (playing a 17-year-old), while the character in America is played by a 17-year-old actor (Jesse Carere) playing a 17-year-old.
Either way, we're still way more likely to rewatch the original than bother with a toned-down carbon copy.
Tagged
child pornography
justice department
mtv
pseudo-scandal
Skins
taco bell
Garth Johnston
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