Smothering TV
Why did CBS censor The Smothers Brothers? How did The Smothers Brothers respond to CBS’s attempts at censorship? How did questions of what constitutes appropriate content for network TV play out in the late 1960s and early 1970s and how do they play out today?
The Smothers Brothers got away with a lot while on CBS. Due to its very specific target audience, the disaffected young 16-24 year olds, they could use the political interests of the viewers to socially orient the show. Though censored, the show got a way with a lot. Goldie O’Keefe, for example, represented the hippie drug-using counter culture. Though not mainstream, Goldie used slang words that censors and older audiences did not know. The show also domesticated Goldie, taking the teeth out of the message. She was not rallying for something but rather was in a traditional format of daytime television, teatime. Also, Goldie looked young and subversive rather than aggressive or problematic and this helped keep the older audiences at bay. In the clip we watched in class, though, we did see at least one of the Smothers Brothers skits cut. This particular skit was about censorship. The skit attacked the censors and this was seen as non-mainstream ideology. Today, shows are still censored. If a show is inappropriate, either for violence or sexual scenes, it is kicked off of the main networks and placed on a channel like HBO or Showtime that viewers pay to have access to. By making the content not openly available to everyone, they are able to get away with a lot more than can be done on prime time cable television.
ReplyDelete“The Smothers Brothers” was revolutionary in providing a voice and series for a younger generation of television viewers, and proved that there was a market outside of wholesome, family fare. But when the Brothers began to push the boundaries of what’s acceptable on television at the time, they were met with resistance from CBS censors. CBS censored the series because it deemed the content inappropriate and indecent. In order to get around this, “The Smothers Brothers” got more inventive in the ways in which it reached the younger audience. Particularly through the Tea Time segment, as articulated by Bodroghkozy, “The Smothers Brothers” snuck in references to drugs and counterculture so that both an older generation could watch without getting offended and a younger generation could find solace and value in a “mainstream” form of media. In one instance, the brothers even showed the script of a cancelled sketch to the audience because they couldn’t actually perform it. Even today there is similar pushback among broadcast television networks and the FCC, though the content that tries to get pushed through is increasingly more explicit than it was in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. But even now, it seems like “The Smothers Brothers” was a comedy show better suited for cable TV, though it wasn’t around at the time to save the hour from cancellation.
ReplyDeleteThe “Smothers Brothers” was a rather racy show on CBS in the 60s and 70s. It addressed many controversial issues. These included everything from criticisms of the horrific Vietnam war taking place overseas and the rising counter culture surrounding hallucinogenic drugs. CBS aired the show for a couple of seasons, before things got bad and they had to envoke certain measures in order to correct this controversial business taking place on public television. After receiving numerous angry letters from families from middle America complaining about the shows place on television and in society. As a result, the network was forced to use some censorship. The Characters were forced to be portrayed as average memebers of society, with neat haircuts, clean shaves, and proper clothing. As opposed to their hippy garb, including full beards and heads of hair. Eventually the show would be canceled because it was just to racy for the audience. Today, we see shows like these on networks like hbo. This perhaps could’ve belonged on a network like that, but not to as wide and unfiltered of an audience like the entire country in the late 60s and early 70s.
ReplyDeleteThe Smothers Brother are designed to be the “outside agitator of the youth revolution” from the premiere of the show. As Steven Carr describes the show as “over the edge of tastelessness”, the content covers so many countercultures in which includes anti-war, anti-establishment youth dissent and psychedelic drugs. The last one catches the censors attention. Since the show is particularly targets on youth audience between 16 to 24, some drug-oriented humors creates censorship problem for the show as well as the network. However,the response to the censorship was one of the kind at that time -they even make fun of the censors with very satirical jokes, just like what we’ve seen in the screening of passing censored article among the characters.
ReplyDeleteThe appropriate content in the 1960s is systematically limited by the FCC in terms of American political terrain. The crisis of authority is covered by the show and then be seriously censored for the fear that declining the credibility of the government, which is kind of different from today's censorship system. Censorship still exists today, the contents of the show are still being controlled whereas the limitation of political satires is loosen, but sexual scene, drugs and violence are still prohibited to broadcast to the minors.
"The Smothers Brothers" was met with criticism and censorship from CBS because of their "inappropriate" and controversial content. Coincidentally, it was this content that the show utilized to identify with the younger generation in the 60's and was what ultimately led the show to its cancellation. Walking a very fine line between being socially accepted and too controversial to be aired, The Brothers would use innuendos and words with multiple meanings to confuse censors and adults but at the same time, greatly entertain the youth by talking about these taboo subjects. As an example, in the documentary "Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" it was mentioned that in segments like "Share a Little Tea with Goldie", she would give tips for cleaning up roaches. For the adults, this could simply mean cockroaches and appear as genuine housekeeping advice, however, for the youth the mention of the remains of a smoked joint put the skit in a very different context. Aside from the direct mentioning of taboo terms and subjects, "The Smothers Brothers" frequently criticized the government, its actions, and its reluctance to the Civil Rights Movement through jokes. It was because of these types of skits that the show became more and more censored. In dealing with this censorship, The Brothers spared no opportunity to address the network's reluctancy to air the show that they wrote. As an example, at one point The Brothers held up a banned sketch and described each page and the actions that took place, agreeing not to perform the skit, but insistent upon informing the audience of their censorship. Today, scanning through the cable lineup of shows would give one the sense that nothing today is too taboo or inappropriate to be aired, and while this is partly true compared to censorship of the 60s and 70s, network television has still maintained a relatively conservative selection of programming. With HBO, Showtime, and other subscription services, the avenues through which this controversial content can be viewed is also grown, allowing network TV and parts of cable to remain more reserved.
ReplyDeleteIn order to survive, the Smothers Brothers had to identify who their target audience was, and how they would create content that would appeal to this audience. The identified this as 16-to-24 year olds, specifically those that labeled themselves as members of the counterculture movement, the “campus rebels”. To appeal to this audience, the Smothers Brothers incorporated oppositional politics into the content of their show. As the show became more popular, the Smothers Brothers did not hesitate to include more and more of this same content in their show. CBS, the broadcast network that was airing this show, expressed their displeasure with all of the politically charged content the Smothers Brothers were discussing by censuring what they could incorporate into their Comedy Hour. As a response to this, almost in a mocking fashion, the Smothers Brothers tested the limits of their censorship. A prime example of this was their character Goldie O’Keefe, a giant metaphor for the marijuana use that was popular amongst the counterculture audience. Yet, through the use of slang (Goldie discusses how she hates having “roaches” in her home in one sketch), the Smothers Brothers were allowed to discuss marijuana without directly stating the word. The show was ultimately cut from CBS’s programming, an example of what was (or was not) determined to be appropriate content in this time period. It is interesting to compare today’s ideas of censorship, and how premium cable networks are (roughly) allowed to implement their own methods of censorship, versus the commercial broadcast networks (such as CBS) that are subject to federal regulations. In the 60s and 70s, cable TV was entirely composed of commercial broadcast networks, which dealt with much more stringent regulations that the networks of today.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the struggle for the Smothers Brothers was due to their subversive and countercultural ideals. The duo, although they appeared clean cut and acceptable, proved to be the “outside agitators” that they claimed to be on their first episode. Much of what the brothers had to say criticized the homogeneity of society and unfavorable government decisions. The Smothers Brothers criticized the government and referenced drugs in order to reach out to the hippie audience of 16 to 24 year old youths. Struggles between the censors and the brothers began because people saw the show’s content as “over the edge of tastelessness.” The brothers were too subversive and radical. One example of conflict between the censors and the Smothers Brothers is when the brothers wanted to reference the censors preventing them from doing a skit on air. The fact that the Smothers Brothers openly challenged the censors on air caused a power struggle, which led to them being taken off of the air. Although censorship is still a part of television today, there seems to be more opportunities for material similar to the Smothers Brothers. In the case that material may be “over the edge,” the introduction of cable helps to allow an outlet for producers who wish to be rebellious or countercultural.
ReplyDeleteCBS censored the Smothers Brothers to protect their public image of authority. Regardless of the political views of the network executives, they had to censor the show for their own sake. Specifically regarding the skit where the brothers directly parodied the networks censorship; CBS’s reputation with the public would be tarnished. The Smothers Brothers were a last minute, throw away idea by the network to fill a suicide time slot, and now the two of them were challenging the operation. The network could not let it look like they were being pushed around by their own show. Some of the executives no doubt agreed with the brothers politically and found the sketch hilarious, but they had to protect their image.
ReplyDeleteThe brothers took this censorship and make the best they could of it, by acknowledging it and turning it on its head into a comedy bit. This, unfortunately for CBS, was exactly what they were trying to avoid. The Smothers Brothers were not caterers to the network, only to the audience.
This kind of censoring is not instigated by questions of appropriateness or whether the audience will consume it properly, it is about public relations. Because it is not concerned with political correctness of political neutrality it will always be around, no matter how public opinions may change.
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a televised variety show featuring Thomas and Richard Smothers. Over some time the show began to become more and more political in nature focusing on current news and events in their comedy sketches. CBS censored the Smothers Brothers because they did not want them criticizing the current political state and the emerging counterculture audience the show was attracting. The Smother Brothers did not like being censored so they began to find ways to get around the censorship. One example of this was using hippie Leigh French as Goldie in the segment “Share a Little Tea with Goldie”. During her skit she would give helpful “household” tips to her audience using references that, on the surface, seemed benign but usually were double-entendres for sex and drugs. CBS ended up firing the Smothers Brothers for the content on their show.
ReplyDeleteCensorship is still alive and well in network television. If compared to the late ‘60s and early ‘70s I would say that more controversial topics can be explored on television than they could back then. However, with cable, and other media outlets, there are more places for television shows to show their content if they aren’t suitable for network television.
The Smothers Brothers was a revolutionary comedy show, which brought up issues that dominated the American public during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The show was aimed at a young generation of television viewers, and delivered entertainment that was outside of the normal family opinions. However, soon after The Smothers Brothers show aired, the brothers began to push boundaries and attracted the attention of CBS executives. The show soon began to be censored by the network. The writers were soon told that they could not write certain skits, and other skits were not allowed to be performed. Soon, the Smothers brothers soon became very inventive with their performances, by working around the material that was prohibited, but still getting their message across. In one episode, the two brothers said they were going to show a censored skit to the audience. They pulled out the scripts, and began to discuss it while holding the paper up to the camera. Furthermore, the brothers began to sneak lingo that appealed to the younger generation into their skits. The Tea Time segment, which featured a clean cut hippie, “The Smothers Brothers” snuck phrases and words into the show that referenced counter culture, or referred to drugs.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour debuted on CBS, not many people thought much of it. Going up against one of the most popular shows on television at the time, executives weren’t sure that anyone would watch. Fortunately, the brothers had a plan. The show was to target a young audience, around the 16-24 year old age range, and discuss counterculture ideas. When the ratings began to soar, CBS was at a crossroads. The show they thought wouldn’t succeed is flourishing, but not in the way they had hoped. CBS had an image that they wanted to maintain. The network was to represent professionalism and common aspects of American life. This led CBS to censor some of the ideas that the show came up with. The team had to come up with clever ways t o get around the censors in order to broadcast they show that they wanted. Sketches that used counterculture slang, like Goldie’s Tea Time segment, were able to make it to air due to the fact that the censors didn’t know what these terms meant. The brothers even did a presentation explaining how the censors prevented a sketch that made fun of the censors themselves. The show was cancelled after only a few years, but paved the way for future television shows. Cable television currently has standard much more lenient than those of CBS in the 60’s and 70’s and seems to be getting more relaxed as time goes on. Premium channels, like HBO and Showtime, are able to go even farther than cable shows are allowed and seem to be growing in popularity. What is interesting is that network programs, while still more lenient than the previous decades, is much more strict with censorship than shows similar to them on cable.
ReplyDeleteThe Smothers Brothers did not set out to be controversial enough to be censored but many factors of their era led them to become a show of high interested but also high controversy. As clean cut young men with a variety of guest stars, the Smothers Brothers brought characteristics that appealed to multiple demographics but they found devoted followers in the younger watchers who were very opinionate regarding American society and the Vietnam War. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour adapted to speak to those individuals by including guest and skits that worked to address issues of the war, hippie culture, distrust and freedom of speech. As viewership increased, these topics drew more and more backlash from the network’s executives and censors and CBS began censoring any detectable controversial topics. In response to this increase in censorship, the Smothers Brothers fought back by making their references to these topics, such as sex and drugs, through slang or allusions. Censoring the Smothers Brothers material made the brothers keen on including more of this material in their broadcasts. They disagreed with the topics censor, topics often very relevant to the viewers’ own lives. The worked to always keep their audience aware of the censorship which in turn bringing to light the debate on what was acceptable on TV and what was not. This eventually led to a greater allowance of controversial material in the 70s that continued to grow to this day. Viewers are less aware of what might be censored on current television shows because so much more is allowed but when there are topics called in to question, the modern viewer and media society is almost certainly aware and ready to respond.
ReplyDelete“The Smothers Brothers” was censored because it discussed controversial topics that were not always allowed on the air. Since the show had a younger target audience, generally rebellious and knowledgable youths in their early to mid-twenties, “The Smothers Brothers” were able to avoid censorship by using lingo and other cultural references that their younger audience understood but the censors comprised of older people did not. They also rebelled against censorship by straight-out addressing when something of theirs was being censored, like when they held up a script and explained that they were not allowed to say something in it that they were really proud of and excited about. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, if the content of a show was questionable and wasn’t allowed then that was really the end. Today, if something happens on network that is not to the censor’s liking, the program or host can always go to cable like HBO or Showtime where they are free to say basically anything they want.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the censorship for The Smother’s Brothers stemmed from CBS’ desire to ignore or deny the problems facing the American public at the time. Unfortunately, because most of The Smother’s Brothers audience were teenagers and young adults, this meant that they wanted to hear the issues and talk about them both on the street and through their forms of media. To counter the network’s attempts at censorship, the Smother’s Brothers became very clever with hiding their messages in non-threatening mediums. For example, the introduction of the “Tea Time” segment was both a critique of the content for housewives on TV at the time and a way to introduce a hippie to the public disguised as an acceptable advise giver. The trick too, was their use of slang terminology to portray their messages to the youths who would understand it, and hide it from the network executives that wouldn’t. Today, most of our “questionable” content is shifted to the late night hours or onto a premium cable network the audience specifically opts in to watch. On the networks however, a similar technique of disguising content has continued. Most questionable things such as drug use, sex or political commentary are dressed up in innuendo, accessible to those that understand and simple another joke to those that don’t.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny: I had a conversation with my friend recently about the appalling lack of subversive commentary on television. He claimed that he thinks it's getting better. As he put it, "There was nobody like Stewart, Colbert, or John Oliver thirty years ago. There couldn't have been." As I was happy to point out to Zak, with my newfound knowledge of TV history, that the Smothers Brothers existed long before thirty years ago, and one descriptor that no one can deny them is subversive. I agree with many of those who have written before me, that the Smothers Brothers were built for cable and they could have survived were the times more appropriate. However, I think it's important that they demonstrated that subversion can indeed take place on network television. Their response to censorship reminds me of how many shows today deal with censorship; for example, when 'Family Guy' was forced to cut a scene that depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the only thing anyone heard about that episode from that point on was in reference to the forced censorship. This is obviously much more the case today, with a 24-hour news cycle and unprecedented interconnectedness of all people, but the Smothers Brothers had the right idea. By putting the focus on the censors, it didn't matter as much whether their content actually aired, or got cut — the message got out one way or another. For this reason, and not just for their progressive views, the Smothers Brothers were ahead of their time.
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