Honoring ‘The OC’ is misguided I find...
Honoring ‘The OC’ is misguided
I find myself a little unnerved to discover that on Oct. 28 at
6:30 p.m., Newport Beach Mayor Tom Ridgeway will award the key to the
city and immortalize the cast and producers of Fox’s hit show “The
OC” on the Newport Beach Walk of Fame at the Balboa Pavilion.
Am I the only person who has actually seen this show?
Having worked in the television business for almost 10 years, I
take no issue with Fox’s right to air their program, nor do I usually
speak out on moral issues to which I usually fall on a more liberal
stance, but as a member of the community and father of two, I feel I
must comment on this one.
I cannot believe that Ridgeway and the City Council want to
formally endorse this show as representative of our community by
bestowing its highest honors upon it. This is a television show that
repeatedly portrays Newport Beach as a haven for teenage drug use,
absentee parenting, snobbery, spousal infidelity, public corruption
and crooked business dealings.
On “The OC,” a mother sleeps with the 17-year-old boyfriend of her
own daughter, her husband steals millions from his own friends, and
the show generally portrays our teenagers as out of control,
uneducated, violent drug and sex addicts. The lead couple attend a
wife-swapping New Year’s Eve party, and all the while, a Donald
Bren-ish character repeatedly bribes, threatens and coerces everyone
around him -- including his own children -- in the normal course of
strengthening his grip on the community (characteristics that as far
as I have read are far from those of Bren).
This and a whole host of other salacious events are just from last
season. I can only imagine what the soon-to-be-aired next season will
bring us.
“The OC” also unfairly and snobbishly portrays middle-class Chino,
where the main character hails from, as a haven for criminals, thugs
and wife beaters -- so much so as to force their local politicians to
condemn the show as defamatory.
I don’t doubt that Newport Beach probably has a darker side to it,
but I see it generally as a good, family-oriented community. I take
no issue with the show for its entertainment value and concede that
it shines a little glamour on our little beach town, but I think the
mayor and the City Council should take a real hard look at the show
before they put our city’s seal of approval on it and say to our
children that these are the values held by the residents of Newport
Beach.
J.P. HANNAN
Newport Coast
A sign the rules do not apply equally
The “silly season” for campaign signs is in full swing. In a
recent letter to the Pilot, Costa Mesa City Council candidate Mirna
Burciaga complained that someone was “stealing” her campaign signs
(“A sad sign for political process,” Oct. 10). It is interesting to
note that Burciaga has placed many of her signs in the public right
of way and other places not allowed. This past Sunday, I even saw
them at Costco in Fountain Valley. Is she running in Fountain Valley
also?
Burciaga apparently failed to be aware of the sign ordinance. She,
along with other candidates, have placed signs in inappropriate
places. It makes you wonder how good a City Council member they would
be when they can’t follow the campaign and sign rules.
Business owners who place signs in the same areas as candidates
are often cited and fined for violations. Candidates are seemingly
not given those same consequences.
Maybe the rules should apply equally to all violators. I am going
to ask for a refund for the garage sale sign violation I recently
received, when one of my clients left the six signs up after 6 p.m.
on a Sunday.
LARRY WEICHMAN
Costa Mesa
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