Better By Nightfall

When Lacey first told me about the homosexual episode of "Wanna Come In?" I initially thought she was joking. However, as I was flipping through channels waiting for what was going to come on next on Adult Swim, I stumbled on MTV's "Wanna Come In?" and realized she wasn't joking.

The basic premise of the show is to try and get the geeky guy to get asked into the house of this hot girl.

MTV's description says the following: "Two geeks bump greasy heads with one another to win money for a hot date with two beautiful girls. Wanna Come In? is the new show where nerds sweat through several challenges in an effort to get invited up to a babe's pad. The geeks are not alone, though, they'll each have their own personal "stud" coach to help them hear those coveted words: 'Wanna come in?'"

Well, apparently MTV went beyond that this time and turned the show into a homosexual episode. When I stumbled on it I was more surprised than anything else. The first thing I thought was "Wow, MTV really is trying to market itself to everyone." I don't think it's a bad thing to be airing homosexual-oriented episodes of any show, per se, at least on MTV--The Real World might as well just be that. However, it makes me wonder what else a network like MTV will try to market itself to all. Moreover, I wonder what will happen if younger kids happen to see these episodes. The show does come on late at night, but it doesn't mean that kids and teenagers won't see the show. And sure, children these days deal with more social issues than I ever really knew about when I was younger just 10-15 years back, but, perhaps, more exposure is not what they need in order to understand sexuality. Perhaps all they need is education, understanding, and tolerance of it all. Airing it on the networks people enjoy watching doesn't necessarily do that. It allows for the show to slowly become culturally acceptable over time, but it disregards the opinions many have about the subject at hand.

You can always change the channel like I did, but it doesn't mean that the issues regarding the content of shows on a particular network are swept away with it. Nor is the profit-motive and market. I just think that a network with as much influence on tweens and teens like MTV needs to proceed cautiously with what it's doing. Don't force the opinions of sexuality upon people. Let them decide for themselves, just as they decide to flip through the channels.