TV must recognize its ‘winner-takes-all’ mentality is hurting society

In a recent column for “Televiews” for the Daily Yomiuri, Wm. Penn wrote:

Takeshi Kitano makes his fourth attempt to solve the nation’s education problems tomorrow with Takeshi’s Japanese Education White Paper 2008 (7-11:40 p.m., Fuji). Aired annually since 2005, the theme for this year’s White Paper is the need for change in parents, schools and society.

The always sharp-tongued Bakusho Mondai duo will be along to help steer the discussion during this live, 280-minute special. Would it be too much to hope they might even throw a little self-reflection into the section on society and tackle the influence of TV itself?

The insidious power of TV and its ability to set a national tone that gives unacceptable concepts acceptability kept creeping into my mind last week as I pondered my choice for this month’s Most Irritating Euphemism Award. The winner is “suna buro asobi” (playing in a sand bath). Although the term “suna buro” conjures up images of people lying down in the sands at a resort spa, this month “suna buro asobi” was used by the media to describe an incident in which four young teens in Tochigi Prefecture were buried up to their necks in sand by two other boys in a suna buro asobi game. They competed to see who could free themselves first. The last one to scramble out was then pelted with sand by the other five. This boy, in a coma after choking on sand, is now in the hospital, fighting for his life.

Reports suggest the boys were all good friends. There have been no charges of bullying. Rather, it appears to have been a game that just went terribly wrong. Still, I can’t help but wonder what role TV plays in tragedies like this. So many programs convey the prevailing sense that there are winners and losers and you can’t just lose. For the loser, there has to be a penalty.

more