Fox: Gotham

Just last year Fox released television show, Gotham. It was questionable as to whether or not it would do well. To the producers surprise the very first episode of Gotham reeled in over 8 million viewers, and over 22 million viewers (across several platforms) during its first 30 days. Gotham is Fox’s top show, helping Fox to rise to number four when compared to other networks. So Gotham is here to stay for a while.

Why is it doing so well? Well a big part of the reason is because the show is geared to teens, yes, but mainly men between the ages of 30 and 60… you know, the men who watched Batman in the 60’s and got their sons addicted… yeah that group. So how has Fox been able to reach these men? Sunday night football. Fox promotes the show during the Sunday games and airs it on Monday. Smart move, Fox, way to win some mega game points.

What’s the big hubbub of why parents are afraid to let their kids watch Gotham? Well I’ll get to that, but first, let me tell you a little bit about the show. Gotham’s main character is young Jim Gordon. He is a new detective at GCPD and is dealing with the corruption of the city… serial killers, dirty cops, mad scientists, mob bosses, orphans, you name it. While each episode works through a crime, viewers start to be introduced to many soon to be villains and heroes, such as The Penguin, The Riddler, Catwoman, Scarecrow, potentially The Joker, and Batman. The show gets pretty intense when it comes to all the blood shed that surrounds it, and this is why parents are so concerned. Gotham received a 2 out of 5 starts for positive role models and messages, a 3 out of 5 stars for sex and language, and a whopping 4 out of 5 stars for violence.

In a “What Parents Need to Know” section of a review on the show the violence category states “super graphic, bloody, and disturbing, particularly when it's doled out for revenge or intimidation. While most of what happens at the hands of Jim and the other cops is warranted because of the other party's behavior, other characters use it to intimidate, threaten, and punish. Beatings (usually with a baseball bat), stabbings, and shootings are the norm. Expect a realistic amount of blood and some deaths”.

I think it sums it up pretty short, sweet, and clear.

I suppose I wouldn’t really want my young child watching this show, that is, if I had one. It does have a lot of mature content in it. If you’re a parent who believes in the hypodermic needle theory, the theory that states that every audience is the same and are directly influenced by what they watch, then you definitely wouldn’t let your child watch this show in fear that young he or she will be of violent nature. If you’re a parent who believes more in the two-step flow theory, the theory that states that every audience is different and influenced more by other real life people and opinion leaders, then you’re probably going to be a little more lenient. After reading a young mothers review on the show, I would say that I’d be a “two-step flow” type of mom.

She says:

 By sitting with her child and watching the show that way, she has found that her daughter has asked some pretty tough questions about the shows blurry lines between good and bad. It is not the show that will shape the daughter’s character but the mother’s answers. Yes there are grey areas in the show, but there are also grey areas in life. Maybe it’s not the best show for young ones to watch overall, but it does open them up to some serious life lessons that may be good to hear at a young age. After all, Bruce Wayne is only ten in the show, he’s dealt with death, kidnapping, and a slew of other things already and, even though he grows to be a man who wears a bat costume, he does live by a pretty righteous moral code: save others before you save yourself, do what’s right, don’t kill.

If you're someone who watches Gotham or is interested in watching Gotham, here's a little personal insight to look out for: All the villains had a fairly bad family life, with the exception of this version of The Penguin. Ivy, Cat, Scarecrow, and Bruce were all orphans struggling to get by in this world and how they went about doing so shaped them into the characters they are in todays movies and comics. Also it's worth mentioning how the villains are the violent ones and Bruce, Cat, and Ivy (the so so violent ones) start out as innocent kids living in a violent world. Is that so different than how some kids in the real world live..growing up around gangs, murderers, and kidnappers? Every one of the characters in Gotham felt alone and abandoned. That being said, it could have been so easy for Bruce Wayne to have become a villain himself.