DID YOU know that our generation is considered by adults to harbor a level of ignorance and stupidity that transcends the usual levels of most other generations? Perhaps their assertion is not that extreme, but it might explain the ABC network's pathetic attempt to lure viewers of the younger generation into becoming more involved with issues of the environment, or for that matter, any important issue at all. This past Saturday ABC aired a one-hour special for Earth Day 2000 whose focal point was to attract younger viewers by premiering a three-minute interview of the President conducted by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Even though the celebrations held at the Mall in Washington, D.C. celebrating the 30th anniversary of Earth Day were not necessarily meant to attract the politicos or Ted Koppel fans, ABC's coverage of the event marked an absurd decline in journalistic quality. The one-hour special epitomized the growing trend of blending entertainment and news solely for one purpose: attracting our generation with the insulting assumption that we don't understand multi-syllabic words.
The most apparent attempt to commercialize the coverage was a small "interview" in which the leader of the free world was pitted against the star of "Titanic." If it wasn't bad enough that the real kings of journalism were pushed aside so that a teen idol could ask questions about an important issue, the interview itself was so immaturely conducted that it would not even be worthy of airing on Nickelodeon.
DiCaprio's newfound respect for the environment may be cute to his fans, but it certainly doesn't warrant making an important issue into a Hollywood centerfold, as happened through his rather dim-witted assertions. Speaking of his concern for the environment at the festivities, Leo mentioned, "I just remember as a young man asking myself how the human race could so blindly ignore the environment it lives in. [I] was shocked to find out what we were doing to the Earth." And all this time, I thought pollution only existed on the Captain Planet cartoon.
During the interview, DiCaprio asked the president three softball questions: "Why do you think the issue is so constantly overlooked?" "For you, is it as important as something like healthcare or education?" and "Do you think we can eventually become a role model?"
These questions may seem appropriate when bantering with the president about the finer points of the ever so memorable plot of "Titanic," but when discussing an issue that means a lot to many people, it is an insult.
In fact, the political importance of the environment goes all the way back to the 1992 elections which pitted the environment as a pivotal issue in the political agenda of both parties.
The other affront came to journalism veterans such as Ted Koppel, Sam Donaldson and Peter Jennings, who aroused controversy well before the special was to be aired. They justifiably claimed that a Hollywood star claiming to be a journalist and interviewing perhaps the most important man in the world was an insult to their profession. After all, can you imagine Peter Jennings with his shirt off on the set of "Titanic" passionately holding a beautiful young woman? I didn't think so.
The question then remains, why did ABC decide to make such a blatant attempt to tailor the coverage to fit a stereotype of young viewers? According to an article in The Christian Science Monitor, ABC's justification can be summarized by David Westin, a writer for The New York Times, who said "If we don't add a younger audience, sooner or later our audience will die" ("Leo: Good or Bad," April 17)
It might surprise Mr. Westin and many members of the ABC crew to learn that young viewers will one day grow up to become old viewers. The current audience that watches Dateline or 20/20 was not always avid fans of such shows. Believe it or not, our parents were once like us and, logically, we will one day grow up to become like them.
This is still based, however, on the derogatory assumption that the current generation of young viewers is too inept to appreciate objective news without the added spice of entertainment. A glance into the political activism present in most colleges will prove otherwise. The apathetic stereotype may be true for some members of our generation, but the solution does not lie in adding to the problem.
By listening to the president discuss the environment with Leonardo DiCaprio for a little over three minutes, I doubt young viewers became substantially more informed than they were before they watched. Most importantly, I hesitate to believe that the wheels of political lobbyists and the general population were actively turned towards creating a better environment, just because the special featured a Hollywood star who recently claimed a love for the environment.
We may have earned the "MTV generation" label to some degree, but the ratings from last Saturday's special proved that we are far from naively accepting it.
(Faraz Rana's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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