THE Chinese drama, Portrait Of Home II, airs on Channel 8 during
the 7-8pm prime-time slot on weekdays. This is the time that many
families with children would be watching television while having
dinner.
I have found that some of the themes in this series (as well as the
earlier Portrait Of Home series), such as revenge among family
members and the explicit cruel acts they do to one another, are
unsuitable for young audiences, but my family has continued to
watch the programme as it is a convenient way of exposing my
children to more Mandarin (we are an English-speaking family). As
it is on prime-time television, surely, it can't be too risque, can
it?
However, the episode which aired on Oct 17 crossed the boundary of
what is acceptable on prime-time television.
Towards the end of this episode, the character Shaodong showed the
dim-witted Dayang an X-rated VCD to arouse him. (It appears to be a
pirated VCD as there are no markings on it.)
Shaodong then encouraged Dayang to make sexual advances to his
girlfriend Baobei that night and told him that he should force
himself on her if she refused to accept his advances.
Shaodong said that the angrier Baobei got, the happier she really
was. That night, Dayang attempted to undress Baobei as she
slept.
In my opinion, this scene is totally unnecessary for the
development of the story. What message does this episode convey to
viewers, especially young, impressionable ones?
It is the duty of members of the public to raise the issue whenever
they feel that the line has been crossed, and mine is but one small
voice to show the broadcasters and producers that the public is
vigilant.
Dr Tham Chen Khong
lets watch barney and friends.
