Free Porn

One thing that took some time to get used when I moved to Greece was the laxity in television programming. On normal Greek networks you can see boobs, hear curse words, and various and sundry things that are NEVER allowed on U.S. network television. And believe it or not, in the wee hours of the morning, some of the Greek networks actually show soft core porn. There is nothing more interesting than checking the upcoming television schedule and seeing 4 hours of porn followed by cartoons at 6am.

The first time I watched an American movie on a Greek network, I remember turning to my husband and saying "they said shit! they said shit and didn't beep it out or voice over it!" Of course he looked at me like I was crazy and said "of course they didn't beep it out or voice over it, THIS is a civilized country!" Eventually I got used to the fact that I could actually hear cursing and see breasts in all the glory on regular TV, and you know, I kinda like it. I didn't realize how annoying all the bleeping of curse words in movies was, how silly it was to cover breasts, in general, how limiting American censorship is.

The Greeks do have a ratings system for shows on television, and it goes like this:

• A green diamond is for shows suitable for any age
• A blue circle is for shows suitable for most with parental supervision (most American network television shows fall in this category, like CSI, Friends, Alias)
• A yellow triangle for shows suitable for older children with parental supervision (kinda like PG-13), which includes shows like Sex and the City and Nip/Tuck
• A purple square is kinda like an R rating, and usually includes shows and movies with lots of violence or sex (basically anything that isn't porn)
• A red x is for porn and really excessive violence/drug use, that sort of thing

Of course, my husband maintains that these are all white with a colored background, but it sounds stupid to say "a white diamond with a green background" so this is what I call them.

You may wonder if there is any kind of judge or control over what is broadcast, and there is an FCC-like entity in Greece, that does impose very stiff fines for mislabeling programs (ie. saying something is a blue circle if it is a yellow diamond), showing programs at unsuitable times (ie. having a yellow triangle+ show on too early), etc.

In the end, I don't think the youth of Greece are any worse for the wear for having T&A and cursing and violence on television. It seems that for the most part they ignore it, or see it as being a movie or T.V. show and don't give much credence to it. Amazing, isn't it - that youth can be exposed to all these things and not be violent or sex crazed (these kids are the opposite of sex crazed, a lot of Greeks wait til marriage to have sex, can you believe it?)? In the end, it seems it is up to the parents to control what children watch and educate them on what they see. And for the most part, it seems that Greek parents are doing a pretty good job in that regard.

Still, it IS a bit disconcerting to be flipping channels at 3am and come across someone slapping a girl's ass with his penis. But in the end, all I have to do is keep flipping.