I was browsing through this evening’s TV schedules when a programme called ‘My Breasts Could Kill Me’ leapt out from the electronic page.
Possessed of inquisitiveness (yes, it really is a word) I delved deeper and discovered that the somewhat populist title masked a two-part documentary on breast cancer.
I’m annoyed, and I’m annoyed on two levels.
Level The First: I’m annoyed that the television-makers have set such an obvious trap.
Level The Second: I’m annoyed that I fell in to the obvious trap.
Do you see what they’ve done? They’ve taken a body part that more than 50% of the population is attracted to, and created an attention-grabbing tabloid headline-style title around it.
Is it big? Is it clever?
Yes, I really am annoyed that I fell in to such an obvious trap, but the point is, it worked, didn’t it?
The trap – the tabloid headline-grabbing programme name – caught my attention and made me delve deeper.
So what is the lesson to be learned here?
Is it that I’m not as erudite as I think I am? Or that I am as susceptible to schoolboy diversions as, well, a schoolboy?
Or is it that I am relieved that I won’t run the risk of suffering from breast cancer, unlike my childhood schoolfriend and still very good friend Lesley, who underwent treatment so punishing that the cure almost killed her.
Pauses for a long, deep thought
Whilst education – and the programme in question is undeniably an educative tool – is important, I can’t help wondering if, in the interests of sexual equality, the makers of My Breasts Could Kill Me will be filming My Cock Could Kill Me, or My Prostate Could Kill Me…
I doubt it.
Tabloidism begins and ends with breasts.
I must drop Lesley a line. We haven’t had one of our world-famous catchups for ages, and we’re massively behind on our emails.
The last big catchup we had was when she flew over from Texas to Eire and I flew over and joined her and we talked, almost non-stop for 24 hours.
I don’t want to piss on your party, but men can have breast cancer too.
I echo what KK says re male breast cancer.
I think that programme has been on before. I think it may be the one with the extremely annoying Dawn Porter.
I couldn’t decide whether or not I was irked about this programme and it’s attention grabbing title. I know I am super sensitive when it comes to cancer, but the tabloidesque treatment of it adds a sense of titillation.
I expect a lot of people switched over expecting some freak show story, and perhaps were disappointed. Ok, it would have raised the topic of breast cancer in their minds, perhaps momentarily, which is arguably better than not at all. I just think it a pity that TV show makers have realised that this tactic is one of the only ways to get to ‘the masses’. I suppose in a way, it was almost admirable and I guess my irked feeling about it isn’t really directed at the programme makers but society in general.
It’s too early for me to be commenting like this. I know this comment doesn’t come across in the way I want it to. But anyway…
oh my, rogue apostrophe there. Tired!