Postmodernism And You Can't Do That On Television

It was silly and absurd, it was irreverent and slap-sticky, it was otherwise known as 'that slime show'---for me, You Can't Do That on Television (YCDTOTV) brings back memories of childhood summers spent at the beach. Before we got cable at home in Laurinburg, in the mid to late 80's---the beach house was the only place to watch Nickelodeon and boy did my sister, brother and I enjoy watching Nickelodeon at the beach, while eating our Kid's Cuisine meals.



Anyways, Justin Cammy, who was a cast member from 1983–1985 and who is now a professor of Middle Eastern and Jewish Studies at Smith College had this to say about the show:

[edit] Cast comments
Cast member Justin Cammy, now a professor at Smith College, described the show like this:

“ You Can't Do That on Television was the first post-modern children's program of my generation. It subverted all recognizable forms and deconstructed the pre-teen's understanding of such important institutions as the family, the school and the video arcade. When the schoolteacher did not know any better than to call Milton's masterpiece "Pair of Dice Lost", the program functioned as an ideological clarion call to future college students like you who would go on to demand the displacement of an ossified Western canon with more relevant investigations of low culture.

Continued from original source:

A.M. FitzGerald: How would you describe the show?
Cammy: "You Can't Do That on Television" was the first post-modern children's program of my generation. It subverted all recognizable forms and deconstructed the pre-teen's understanding of such important institutions as the family, the school and the video arcade. When the school teacher did not know any better than to call Milton's masterpiece "Pair of Dice Lost," the program functioned as an ideological clarion call to future college students like you who would go on to demand the displacement of an ossified Western canon with more relevant investigations of low culture. Several years ago a student who will remain nameless--her name was Jen--handed in a pictoral interpretation of the essay question in place of a ten-page paper. I instantly knew that she had gleaned her air of entitlement and complete disrespect for all forms of academic propriety from being a nightly fan of "You Can't Do That On Television." Although I failed her, it was the proudest moment of my life.

Here are some videos of the show for you to decide how postmodern the show is or not:

---YouCantDoThatOnTelevision - PovertyAndUnemployment1985Part1

---YouCantDoThatOnTelevision - PovertyAndUnemployment1985Part2

---YouCantDoThatOnTelevision - PovertyAndUnemployment1985Part3

And here's an episode with Justin Cammy in it for good measure:

---You Can't Do That On Television - Divorce 1 (of 3)

---You Can't Do That On Television - Divorce 2 (of 3)

---You Can't Do That On Television - Divorce 3 (of 3)

So what are your thoughts?