MTV has once again outraged an advocacy group that wants to reduce the level of adult content and profanity on television. The Parents Television Council, a nonprofit group known for criticizing shows, including “Family Guy,” for explicit content and adult jokes, took the network to task for airing condom ads and staging performances with skimpy costumes and sexually suggestive dancing during the Video Music Awards on Sunday.
Some viewers have said that Miley Cyrus’s performance, which included miming coitus with Robin Thicke and rump-shaking among dancing bears, was in particularly poor taste.
The Parents Television Council’s complaint about the show, which echoes similar statements it has made in years past, took on greater weight this year because Ms. Cyrus’s father, Billy Ray Cyrus, sits on the group’s advisory board. Representatives for Mr. Cyrus did not respond to requests for comment, but he may have made his opinion known on Twitter last night,writing: “Thanking God for so many blessings tonight. Continue to pray for world peace. More love … less hate.”
MTV rated the program TV-14, which means the program “contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.” But the Parents Television Council said the show crossed a line and that the network should have warned parents against letting 14-year-olds — eighth graders, typically — view it without supervision. They also complained that the ads for birth control and R-rated movies during the show were aimed at an adult audience.
On its Twitter account, the council suggested that its ire was directed at the network, not Ms. Cyrus:
SOURCE: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/mtv-awards-show-prompts-a-familiar-complaint