Two-A-Days - a post by Josh
MTV is something that is relatively new to Canadian culture. For decades we the only music channel geared towards adolescents was good old MuchMusic, but now MTV has invaded Canadian households with its less than godly perspective on teen culture. One of the MTV shows that I am guilty of watching sometimes is Two-A-Days. I am definitely not addicted to Two-A-Days, but whenever I catch the show it’s usually entertaining. The show documents the Hoover Bucs a highly successful varsity football team, from Hoover, Alabama and the lives of its players in MTV’s version of reality TV, which is usually scripted. I am a football fan, but also like Two-A-Days because I played varsity sports in high school and it’s interesting to see the differences between high school sports in the states and in Canada.
I enjoy the on-field segments of the show where game and practice footage is shown simply because I am a sports fan; but the show also documents the lives of the students at Hoover High School. This is where the show tends to send the wrong message to the teens who watch it. The show sends a message that says if you aren’t a football player, you’re nothing. I’m sure Hoover High does have other positive aspects, but the show depicts the students as a part of one of three groups. A Hoover student is 1. a football player, 2. a cheerleader, or 3. one of the hundreds of crazed fans that wish they could be on the field.
Two-A-Days also sends negative body image messages to teens. The football players are massive; in the same vein that Lebron James didn’t look 18 when he entered the NBA, these guys are monsters! I know I didn’t look like that in high school, and I didn’t know many athletes who did. I’m fairly certain that the prototypical cheerleaders in the show don’t make teenage girls feel great about themselves either.
So how, as youth ministers, do we respond to shows like Two-A-Days? Shows that send out negative messages to teens? I’m not sure, but it is our responsibility to be familiar with the values that MTV and MuchMusic project in order to remain in touch with the culture that our students live in the midst of. What should our response be when a student says it’s just a TV show? Should the students who are passionate about reaching their friends with the gospel watch questionable shows that their classmates do in order to stay in the loop at school? These are all valid questions that we as youth ministers must answer, but as for me, I have to go, The Hills starts in 2 minutes.
I enjoy the on-field segments of the show where game and practice footage is shown simply because I am a sports fan; but the show also documents the lives of the students at Hoover High School. This is where the show tends to send the wrong message to the teens who watch it. The show sends a message that says if you aren’t a football player, you’re nothing. I’m sure Hoover High does have other positive aspects, but the show depicts the students as a part of one of three groups. A Hoover student is 1. a football player, 2. a cheerleader, or 3. one of the hundreds of crazed fans that wish they could be on the field.
Two-A-Days also sends negative body image messages to teens. The football players are massive; in the same vein that Lebron James didn’t look 18 when he entered the NBA, these guys are monsters! I know I didn’t look like that in high school, and I didn’t know many athletes who did. I’m fairly certain that the prototypical cheerleaders in the show don’t make teenage girls feel great about themselves either.
So how, as youth ministers, do we respond to shows like Two-A-Days? Shows that send out negative messages to teens? I’m not sure, but it is our responsibility to be familiar with the values that MTV and MuchMusic project in order to remain in touch with the culture that our students live in the midst of. What should our response be when a student says it’s just a TV show? Should the students who are passionate about reaching their friends with the gospel watch questionable shows that their classmates do in order to stay in the loop at school? These are all valid questions that we as youth ministers must answer, but as for me, I have to go, The Hills starts in 2 minutes.
posted by blair at 3/04/2007 03:39:00 p.m.
1 Comments:
I personal enjoy watching this show. It is one of the few televsion shows that I watch. And I don't really find anything wrong with it. I do believe however it shows the level of comentment of the kids who play. Which could inspire other teens watching the show. The one thing that I don't enjoy about this show is that the coaches can be a little too hard on the players. When they are still that young. But I believe it is to represent the point that they have to work that hard to be the best.
Geoffrey Millar
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