Showtime: Taking It Seriously
Reader unndunn was tired of seeing fat jokes on Showtime's commercials and shows, so she wrote a letter. Here it is:
I want to lodge a complaint about the offensive jokes being shown on Showtime as previews for the show Weeds and "I Can't Believe I'm Still Single" I love Showtime. I've been a subscriber for more than 15 years. It's my favorite channel. I love Weeds, Dexter, Big Brother After Dark, the L Word and everything else. I love the fact that you don't have to deal with censorship the way other broadcast channels do.
I watch Big Brother After Dark every night. During the show you cut to commercial several times to show upcoming series, episodes etc. For the past week I have had to watch the same clip from "I Can't Believe I'm Still Single" where the star of the show talks about wanting to have sex with a fat woman who is walking down the street with her friends. It's part of his show, and I can respect that, but it's really demeaning to that woman and all other fat women who hear these kinds of things all the time. Now, in the current Weeds commercial, the character Doug finds out that Andy has located the woman he has been wanting to see again. He asks Andy over the phone "did she get fat?" So, now several times a night, every night, I have to hear these slurs against fat women. It is hurtful. It makes me wonder why it's okay to put down fat people, especially women, and not even think twice about it. Not everyone lives in thin-obsessed LA. Real Americans with real bodies are your subscribers.
Once again, I love your channel, but I am finding myself not wanting to watch it at night because of these commercials. One line in an episode isn't a big deal to me. It can be humorous depending on how it's done. But the same line over and over and over again making a mockery of fat women is too much.
I am a member of a fat advocacy group and plan to let everyone know about this situation. I respectfully ask you to please consider how these clips may make your subscribers feel.
Nicely done. And the response?
Thank you for contacting us and for bringing this matter to our attention in this light. It is not the network's intention to insult or offend any of our viewers, and we understand that the repetition of these promotions could be found troubling.
Your comments have been forwarded to the individuals within our organization who are responsible for on-air promotion, and the matter is being seriously considered.
Thank you again for writing to us, and thanks as always for watching Showtime.
They're taking it seriously! Oy.
A somewhat interesting offshoot: Showtime's site features some full episodes of series - US only, unfortunately - including the "Obesity" episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit!
Publicly Fat in Australia - Part 1 | Publicly Fat in Australia - Part 2
Posted by paul on August 16, 2008
while Penn & Teller may be better than most, they still believe the calories in/out rubbish. Their argument is based on the idea that while being fat isn't bad, it is caused by our modern lifestyle where we have the ability to eat whatever we want to and don't have to do so much manual labor. They may not be fat haters but they are still a long way away from fat acceptance,
I only order Showtime once a year when all the Tudors are on "demand" and I can watch them at my leisure and try to cancel within the month otherwise it's useless to me. Probably should just buy the DVD but normally don't have the patience! moxie3
Wow, undunn, I am more than impressed with the result you got! Let's hope they do take it seriously. I've written several letters to a local radio station who broadcast fat-phobic crap all the time. Thus far no one's taken a blind bit of notice no matter how many times I tell them that broadcasting as if only the thin half of their listenership can hear them is ignorant, rude and extremely irritating.
I agree with Buffpuff; any suggestion that Big Media might be taking our concerns in the slightest bit seriously is A Big Deal. I've emailed the BBC on countless occasions with complaints about fat-phobic TV/radio programmes or the tone of some of their website articles, and never had so much as an acknowledgment from them. (The Beeb in particular invoke my ire because, unlike commercial broadcasters, where I find the 'Off' button remarkably useful, we Brits fat and thin alike have no choice but to fund their propagandising through a compulsory license tax backed up with the threat of imprisonment).
"if you think fat people have no self-discipline, consider the fact that they haven’t killed you yet." - Miss Conduct, Boston Globe
"We're taking it seriously" is just the standard PR BS companies spew off no matter what the complaint. Sadly, after that kind of response, I have no illusions of them ever thinking about it again. They have form responses for these things just waiting for the complaint letters they get, and being a premium channel with more explicit content I imagine that they get plenty.
While disappointed with Showtime's response I can't say that I'm surprised. But given that they've optioned and are planning to air a television show based on the blog, book, and subsequent tour of notorious douchebag Eric Shaeffer, I can't say I'm surprised. Anyone wanting to know more should google the words, get the blog, and also see if you can't find the Gawker saga which was hilarious. Pretty much, everyone was calling him on being a tool and most were spot on.
I'm a little less troubled by Weeds because that is a fictional programme about clearly loathsome people. While Eric Shaeffer is also pretty sad, he lacks any self awareness (this is evident once you read his blog-- he can't believe he's still single, really?). I hate to see him receive any encouragement.
I want to point out the major thing you did right. You may already know it since you're the one who wrote it, but for other people who write protests themselves:
You emphasized that you really liked their network.
You are much more likely to get results from an individual or organization when you state something positive in addressing the negative. It gives the receiver of the message the idea that you're offering a well-considered opinion and that you took their point of view into account.
I certainly hope you get some results, though there may be a lag - sometimes those promos are finished months in advance.
Great letter!
Di
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