I always knew American TV was vacuous at best, but after spending a summer in England and watching too much BBC, I came to realize how pervasive the self-censorship is, also. The BBC was awesome, not only for its shows but especially the documentaries and current events programs. I saw footage of American soldiers in Afghanistan, including one where the GI's threatened the BBC film crew if they didn't stop filming, that you just would never see on American TV. To their credit, the BBC kept filming, and the American special forces soldiers didn't carry through on their threat. Most Americans would bristle at the thought we live under heavy "censorship," yet the fact they also don't want to entertain that notion speaks volumes. But the BBC does it too, sort of; BBC America keeps the juicy political stuff off the air, so you only get to watch it in Europe.
