Controlling the Boiling Points I don't own a TV set. Not because I don't like TV. My
sister and I rented our apartment in August and just haven't had the
opportunity to buy a set. Besides, even if we had one, neither of us is
at home long enough to watch it. When we're home, the Internet takes up
all our time, and anyway it's too cold in our living room to sit there
just killing time. Whatever... Since I don't watch TV when I'm not visiting
my relatives or parents, I'd forgotten about the hidden camera show
called "Boiling Points" featured on MTV until I went home in January.
Here's the description of the show from MTV's official website: "’Boiling
Points’ is the show where it pays to be patient. We create stressful
situations, such as accusing people of things they haven't done,
invading their personal space or by just being downright annoying, and
set the clock to see how long it takes for their tempers to boil over.
And if our unsuspecting targets can keep their cool, they win stackloads
of cash!"
 Clever,
huh? MTV--the icon of rebellious youth since the 1980s--annoys people
and tests their patience. It doesn't sound very interesting when you
look at it this way. But what if we analyze the process to see it more
clearly? "’Boiling Points’ is the show where it pays to be patient,"
they say. That's right; they pay a person if that person doesn't curse
or call the cops in a very annoying situation. So, all the winners have
a common quality: being cool (which is a concept lacking a real
definition but widely used by the "MTV generation"). According to the way mtv.tv describes the show, to be cool
in an annoying situation, you have to follow these two main rules:
1) Don't call the police, and
2) Don't use bad words even if you can't solve things through discussion.
In other words, if you want to be cool, you'd better not
do anything when something annoys you. Just smile and accept it. How rebellious! MTV's most popular hidden camera show
tells us that if we don't disturb the cops and don't act "bad," we'll
get $100. If we do either of these things, we'll get nothing. Most people, especially those who don't like the newer
lifestyles, believe that MTV and other youth broadcasts try to make
their viewers uncontrollable. Who can think this way as long as we have
programs like "Boiling Points" on MTV? In fact, the obvious logic of the
show makes one think the opposite: consciously or unconsciously, MTV is
creating a generation that can readily be disturbed, humiliated,
controlled or ignored by strangers. This generation will have no
personality, but not because they're rebels--it will be because they
won't know how to react the right way when they're forced to.
Ýsmail O. Postalcýoðlu (POLS/III)
ismail_orhan@yahoo.com
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