It’s no news that Gossip Girl has been drawing criticism for its racy content and depictions of teenage debauchery. But the recent ad campaign launched by the CW to promote its second season has reignited the flame beneath TV watchdog groups and snobby critics alike. It’s been grabbing the attention of the show’s targeted demographic as well as news sources such as CNN. But this time, the ads (all of which can be found on the CW’s YouTube page) are under fire not only for their salacious content, but also for twisting around the words of critics and using them to glorify the show’s risque themes.

The Parents Television Council is outraged (as usual) over the ads’ audacious use of the organization’s criticism - in advertising the very show these watchdog groups are crusading against. Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, says that the ad campaign is indicative of the CW’s desperate attempts to gain more viewers this fall.
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When I was in high school I made my teacher cry. It wasn’t my fault she was in her first year of teaching and couldn’t keep her sh*t together. It’s not like I spit at her or called her names; I simply disagreed with her argument that Cyrano de Bergerac was the best book ever written. And it was a Literary Criticism course! If you can’t handle a difference of opinion, then maybe you should consider teaching Kindergarten.

Had I known then that I could have been sued for such a disagreement, I probably would have thrown independent thought out the window and nodded my head in agreement like the rest of the class.

Thankfully, my teacher just excused herself to cry alone in the bathroom, unlike one Dartmouth lecturer who took it to a much more serious level: by seeking legal counsel.

I actually got my degree in education, so I can say from experience that teaching is a very difficult and thankless profession. You spend 16-18 hours a day either with the students, preparing for the students, or grading their crappy work. Then you come into the classroom where they are disrespectful and often times annoying. It is a job that drives you to drink countless glasses of wine and wonder why you ever wanted to do it in the first place. (Note: It is also incredibly rewarding!)

But, that is all part of the job and something you surely expect getting into a profession that deals with ungrateful children. (Don’t hate; you know you made your teachers’ lives hell back in the day.) Surely this woman cannot be naïve enough to think that Dartmouth kids would be any different? Read More »