A few quick answers to questions and comments on my last posting (the Copenhagen script):
Yes, I find Danes to be extremely happy. I think part of it is their commitment to social security. While people don’t get too far ahead, no one seems stressed out about covering their basic needs. And, for the Danes, small really is beautiful.
We need to be careful not to show too much skin, but PBS is not the only shy network. While cable stations don’t use “public airwaves,” the big commercial networks and PBS do. Since their use is granted by the government, the current Christian Right-driven prudishness has resulted in an FCC that is deaf to any reason. Therefore, TV producers like me need to deal with a law that makes any station that shows a “secretory gland” liable for a $225,000 fine. In plain terms, according to the current law, because a nipple, penis, anus, and vagina all secrete things, they are dirty. I can say those words, but I cannot show those things. (Forgive my testiness here, but I have a real problem with fig leafs in the 21st century. Porn is porn and tastelessness has no place on the public airwaves. But there’s nothing pornographic about great art or Danes enjoying the sun.)
Do I write out what my local guides will say? No. But I have a sense of the points I’d like them to cover (assuming they agree with them) and I rough those ideas out in the script. My challenge is to get them to be concise (necessary for TV) without stilting their generally wonderful delivery. My producer gets upset with me when I coach them. But I need them to address certain key points. That’s the challenge. Bottom line: A local voice gives the show a wonderful extra element, and many things are better said by locals than by me.
How long did it take to write the first two sentences? That boring kick-off for the show is just a placeholder for what we call the “tease.” I need to introduce myself and the show, but work really hard to find something really goofy and surprising in the open (like in a mud bath, tossing a caber, marching with a military band, or riding in a horse cart with a dozen Turkish kids). That makes a good tease.
The other day, I was autographing my guidebooks at a store (my first time doing this at a “big box” store). As usual, customers lined up with the guidebook and a post-it note saying who they want the autograph personalized to. It was a great crowd–lots of enthusiasm. Right off the bat, two customers threw me for a loop: One had a sticky note that said, “to Doreen and Jane.” I signed the book “to Doreen and Jane,” and she showed me a second book and said, “That book was for only Doreen. This one’s for Jane.” The next customer handed me a book with a sticky note that said, “To Dad and Jerry.” I wrote on the book, “Happy travels! To Dad and Jerry. Rick Steves.” The lady looked at the book and said, “No. Dad’s name is Thomas.” After that, communication improved.
How about noses, ears, and mouths – they seem to also qualify. Anyway, I am in your corner. Once you get past 50, there ain’t too many people interested in your body parts anyway. I had a friend who once wrote a book and at a gathering of 3000 people announced he would be in the lobby to autograph books for anyone who was interested. After signing his name 2000 times, his fingers were forever curled into a claw like appendage – just kidding, he recovered but never volunteered to sign books again.
Ha Ha I love the “to dad”..I’d have to have a couple of drinks before I could sit still that long taking all that in your face people contact like that. I suppose if you wanted to get out of it early you could have broken into your Rick Steves Euro Rap, I still laugh when I hear that …especially the Yea Boooyyy… Brian I’m with you once you get over 50 interest wanes. When I was on the 2005 Best of Europe in the Cinque Terre there were topless people all over the place, no one cared. My friend was in the Air Force and stationed in Denmark and said when the sun came out the tops came off and when the Danes went inside the tops went on..he seemed to cope with it pretty well. As for art lest we forget John Ashcroft covering up the statue hoopla with that.
Oh Rick, I have the solution. Did you ever notice that the Travel Channel shows bare boobies of all sizes, ages, and sagging lengths. Well, maybe that won’t help in Denmark, since they have what is called white skin. Maybe the FCC doesn’t think that black savages count as human. I don’t think I want you to show much of this, but when we were in Denmark in the ‘70s and ‘80s, we found the adults to be wonderful people, but the college aged were even worse than in this country. Their hatred for the US matched their lack of knowledge. They had no knowledge about the Soviets either, but they loved them. We had purchased a large “coffee table†book about the US, that had been printed in Vienna. In Copenhagen we showed the book to young people manning “hate the US†booths on the shopping street, but the young people just could not imagine the photographs were real. They said they had never been told that the US looked anything like that. They could not imagine the beauty of the country, and the photos of happy, healthy citizens. They were sure that the scenes in the very popular, in Denmark, TV program “Dallas,†were not real, but were created in a Government propaganda factory. We told them we had lived in Dallas, and could recognize the sights, and that similar scenes could be filmed in hundreds of cities in the US. They scoffed.
Hi, Rick. I understand the guidelines for skin on TV, and your challenges as a producer. Europe has a more liberal view on this topic than other areas of the world. The show script sounds wonderful. I know I’ll ejoy all parts of it. Best wishes in your travels, and new filming adventures.
Rick, thanks for answering my question on the script for the local guides. I guess the topic that’s really getting discussion going on here is the nudity issue. I was one who thought nudity shouldn’t be allowed on TV at all. And I still do for the most part. However, in October, I had my first experience on a nude beach at Figueira beach right by Salema. And it was nothing like I expected. I thought the nudity would be a big issue but it wasn’t. I was definitely embarassed and shy about it but it’s not the picture most people have in their minds at all. It’s just casual and free and not a big deal. It’s nudity that’s very tasteful, enjoyable, and not sexual in any way. And I say this being a bit conservative in my view of things. There were old women and men, middle aged guys, and even an attractive 30 something year old couple and yet there was nothing remotely sexual at all. After a while, I got the courage to join in and I was nude as well. It was fun and freeing. Funny thing is I was WAY more conscious about being white with no tan than I was about being nude. Tan people can be intimidating if you are without a tan but tan NUDE people are REALLY intimidating. :) So I was more conscious about that. I came away from that experience realizing that nudity can be done tastefully and without any sexual innuendos. Nude beaches and sunbathing do not provoke the sexual thoughts we may think. Ironically enough, the most attractive woman on the beach that day was in a bathing suit (and yes, there were plenty in bathing suits as well). I agree with Rick that porn and tasteless nudity has no place. There is a lot on TV involving sex with no nudity that is far worse than nude sunbathers in Denmark. And I may not have agreed with Rick on this at first. But my own experiences have taught me otherwise. I still think we need to be careful with the skin we show on TV but any time it is done tastefully, as it would on Rick’s shows, it should be ok.
Jeremy I know it sounds crazy but just think how far we have come so “fast” in TV land. If you think about it, it wasn’t so long ago that we were not allowed to show beds on TV for married couples, then we could show twin beds but no one in them, then twin beds with people in them and now we have people nude with three people in bed having sex. A recent study showed there is twice as much sex scenes and less partial nudity now as 10 years ago. Oprah and Dr. Phil have shows about “the lifestyle” and child molestation and shows cover these topics in prime time TV shows as well. Where not too long ago you had to go to a back room in a video store, adult store or black market to get a soft porn now you just turn on the internet and you are bombarded with hard core porn any time anywhere any age. When doing a show I guess the FCC should weigh if the nudity is part of the mainstream culture or someone just throwing it in to catch your attention and keep you focused and community standards used in determining whether a piece of material is obscene. So if one communty in podunka says a butt is obscene and California says we are ok with it you have to go with “protecting” the ones offended.TV succumbs to moral pressure. The Janet Jackson thing actually caused a moral panic and outcry and put the TV stations under pressure to tighten the rules, so we are the ones asking for this. So I guess if Rick can list his show as an anthropological documentary then he should be able to show some body parts and get away with it otherwise he’ll get dinged.
Rick, If I see you out there will you sign my book to : Fred in Atlanta? Ha! Just joking I would never ask you for an autograph. Stay away from the big box stores they are scary and full of folks who think the Oprah book club is gold. Fred in Atlanta
I have travel photos on my cubicle wall–keeps me focused on what the real goal of working is all about! One of the pictures is of Michaelangelo’s David. Sure enough, a 40-some year old woman in the office snickered and expressed shock when she first saw the photo. As a side note: it’s amazing how many people will look at my photos and say things like: “I haven’t been to Italy but I was at Bellagio in Vegas”. They really don’t understand the difference! Oh well, to each their own!
Rick, Thanks for posting your script! It was neat to see some of the behind-the scenes work. I appreciate your view of Danish history, culture, and the socio-political system. I had a great adventure when I traveled in Copenhagen, and I have several Danish friends to this day. Good luck with the filming in Copenhagen!
The summer before last, I was in Finland with my daughter and we went to the beach in Hanko. There happened to be this 5-year-old boy, that was naked, playing at the beach. My daughter did not even seem to notice him but my mom took some pictures of my daughter, that showed also that boy in the background. When back home at the States, I put all my pictures as a slide show on my computer screen saver because I enjoy watching my yearly vacation pictures. My husband saw one of thouse pictures with the boy and just freaked out. He is American, and here naked means sex. Where I come from, kids are often naked and nothing is thought of it. Here also breast feeding is a controversial issue. Breast were meant for feeding kids not to be sexual but the American culture, where some body parts are tabu, has made things that are natural into something unclean and purely sexual. In Finland many families go to sauna all together naked and there is nothing sexual about it. That is the big difference culturally – when nakedness is not seen in just sexual terms there is nothing wrong with it. On the other hand I have never been without a top on the beach but that is just a personal choice. I do not frown on women that do. They just want that perfect tan with not lines. That is what it is all about.
I always told my Sweetie that there’s nothing more beautiful than a beautiful lady, and the less the clothes, the more the beauty. But I don’t really see a need for the obscenities in movies and TV these days. Tell me a story where a word, or words that are considered obscene by most people are the only words that can be used to make that point. How about tone of voice, facial expression, body language, etc. === In my “Writing Gems†(I mailed a printout of some to Rick), one of the best is a true story, “There’s good news – there’s a lady in the hot tub without her bra. And there’s bad news – I need one as much as she does!†And another says of a lady in France, “The young lady would have been considered exceptionally gorgeous, even if she hadn’t lost most of her swim suit.†And one more true story, “We rented a pedal-boat for a ride on the Verdon River in France. I pedaled just as hard as I could when I saw all the ladies barefoot from the waist up. But Sweetie did the steering.â€
Hey, Rick, don’t be so hard on those people in the book store, at least they are in a book store! Judy
Kaarina such very very good points. I was trying a divorce case and my client was Finnish still Finnish national and lived here for 15 years. His wife had found some pictures of him and about 10 other men running naked on the beach after a party while he was in Finland visiting and pulled it out at trial as a card to play where she was going to say he was homosexual and “here’s the proof”. Kid and custody involved got very ugly. The county is super conservative, republican bible belt so we were hung, the Judge would have thought the worst. And don’t even think about posting naked baby pictures to the internet for family and friends to laugh at you’ll have the feds on you for child porn, intent apparently can be stretched more than taffy. I could tell you stories that would make your hair curl and scare the beegeebers out of you.. what looks so innocent can be twisted so easily to be sinister and criminal. You ain’t in Kansas anymore.
Oh my, I just can’t resist posting this Snippet. == Michelangelo got his hammer, made a few changes, then said, “It’s finished.†But what did he know? Emmy thinks the right hand, and certain other unmentionable parts of Michelangelo’s Statue of David, are still out of proportion to the rest of the body — picky, picky. When I said, “How do you know,†she quickly changed the subject.
Rick, your bookstore experience is nothing. Out here in CA you can go to traffic school if you get a ticket so it doesn’t go on your record. I did that about 6 mos back, and it is frightening to see the reasoning ability of a lot of people out there steering 3,000lb cars!
Rick – Maybe you shouldn’t sell your wonderful books to those slack-jawed idiots. If you are forced to do so by the extremists, maybe you could segregate the money received from those stores so it doesn’t mix with the “good, educated” money you receive from small, quaint, smart people stores. I’ve purchased from both kind of places so I guess I’m…? I don’t know.
KethyM, I understand the moral pressure. And to be honest, I would rather fall on the side of caution as far as nudity rather than taking more extreme approaches like what they show on TV in Europe. So I do think there need to be guidelines. However, you can follow the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law. As you mentioned above, TV has gone from the Ozzie and Harriet days to blatant sex on prime time TV. And according to the FCC, showing a nude shot of Michelangelo’s David is inappropriate. Showing nude sunbathers in Europe is inappropriate. However, exposing kids to sexual activity on TV with simulations and heavy foreplay is ok as long as there is no skin shown. HUH??? If we see everyone sleeping together on TV and all these sexual acts that are implied or simulated, we are just dumb, not affected, and don’t know what is going on. But if a nipple were shown when one of these things is happening, then that is overtyly sexual and we have crossed a line. This makes NO sense!!! Tasteful nudity outside of sex can be appropriate. The FCC doesn’t understand cultural nudity for other countries that has no relationship to sex. Yet they basically allow gratuitous sex as long as there is no nudity. I don’t get it. again, I say this as someone who is conservative and rather young (33) and believe we live in such an oversexualized culture that makes it difficult for the current generation. As you stated, porn was something you had to make an effort to find. Not it is on our computers and TV shows. Yet, we live in a day and age where all nudity is wrong but sex is ok. Makes no sense.
Rick, Thanks for answering my question. -Richard
KathyM, I do believe you. I’ve been living in the bible belt myself for 4 years. Coming from southern California, it has not been easy, and as a matter of fact we are planning to move back to California. This area with it’s weird weather and bible belt culture is not for us. I hadn’t been to Europe for years but after moving here the pull got really strong. I just couldn’t take this place without summers in Finland. Jeremy B, you are so right about the culture here. I call it the moral double standard and it scares me because my daughter is 11. So far I’ve been able to shield her from the smut. Luckily she is very bright and not into the MTV culture. I even find all that asking to go out stuff at school offensive at her age. She is not even in puberty. I guess we Finns are more shy and kids don’t start dating so early there.
So we can look forward to a future Rick Steves DVD called, “Denmark, the Unrated Version”? Some people are too uptight.
Kaarina, I was born and raised in the bible belt and lived most of my life there (26 years). I now live in CA and it is quite different out here. I miss many aspects of the South and the culture there but do like the weather here in CA better. I think regardless of the South or West, the culture here in the US is much different than it was 20 years ago. I work in IT, deal with somputer systems, and know my way around a computer. And yet I never even had internet access when I was in high school just 15 years ago. Think of all the things we have today that weren’t around 15 years ago. And as KathyM pointed out, look how much the smut on TV has progressed in that time. This generation has smut on TV, cursing in elementary schools, porn at the touch of a button, sex as part of every TV show and plot, sex used to sell every product (commercials today show more skin and sex than TV did 20 years ago!), and an oversexualized culture. Yet the FCC worries about art with nudity and nude sunbathers but encourages and endorses all this other oversexualized behavior. I am glad your daughter hasn’t been exposed to much of this yet. The sad thing is that my first child will be born in June and it scares me to death to raise a child in this culture we live in today. I wish the FCC would go back more to getting rid of the baltant offenses on TV and go back more to the days when TV shows were good, clean, and fun. However, thank goodness the FCC still outlaws non sexualized nudity and art. :rolls eyes:
I couldn’t agree with you more Jeremy B. That to me is hypocracy. I take my daughter to museums to see the culture that I want her to be exposed to – not the bubblehead culture. It is all about the friends with the kids. If you want yours to be one of the popular ones – look out! They will be into the main stream oversexual culture. I rather have mine be one of the brainy ones – geeks are into other things. I love to do things with my daughter on our trips. We go running in the woods or pick berries or mushrooms. We walk a lot. We go to museums and old castles or manor houses or churches. We go to my friends summer houses on a lake or on an island on the sea. She loves the ferry rides to Stockholm and to Tallin! She gets to experience the nature and history and art and travel. This is how I want to raise my child – not watching mindless TV. Good luck with your coming fatherhood!
Thanks Kaarina. That’s good your daughter has the right friends and is into the right things. Maybe you are right – TV is evil (except for Rick Steves’ episodes of course). :) Also, I am sure I am one of the few on here that has been to Tallinn. I went twice back in 95 or 96. I see sure Humberd as been there but I go way back when it comes to Estonia (I love Tartu better than Tallinn!).
Jeremy B, I have only been to Tallinn twice for a day trip (last summer and the summer before last). I never had any interest to any of those countries when I lived in Finland. I’ve never been to Russia either. Years ago my dad was there (Tallinn) on a business trip and had a couple beers and sang some German march music and got some Soviet spy after him. He didn’t go there for years after that. These days my parents take trips there several times a year. I have a friend in Finland, that loves to vacation in Tartu also.
Kaarina, just so you know when I was there in 95 and 96, the Estonians had a nickname for the Fins “the 4 legged dogs.” The reason for that was that alcohol was much cheaper in Estonia than in Finland so people came across on the ferry and got so drunk that they ended up crawling around on all 4. That was just an interesting story that Estonians shared with me about the Fins back in the day.
Well Jeremy B., the young ones can get a little roudy.
Rick, Thanks for answering my question about the Danes. — S. K.
Rick, Don’t put down the people who buy your book. You shouldn’t judge them by where they shop. They are helping to support you.
Nudity is a favorite topic among the Americans who live over here. Extreme example was a mom from the mid-west who said she wouldn’t allow her kids to go near the Danube during the summer because of all the bare breasts. She also complained (! :-) !) about the international school selling alcoholic beverages for the parents at its various events (I’ve never seen a parent drunk yet). Went to a business conference at a hotel that had a Sauna (co/ed, nude.) People would go there in the evening, after the meetings but before dinner, which wasn’t til 8:00. The Americans and Brits in attendance avoided the Sauna like the plague, while their European counterparts thought nothing of it. (The Americans might have gone if they were the only American, but they’d never do it with other Americans!) Just yesterday we got an advertisement in the mail for some kind of health product… full frontal nude on the cover. See occasional nudity on TV too. I’ve got two pre-teen kids and am not worried about it. Agree that, generally, although there is nudity, it is mostly not accompanied by the frenzied sexual hype you find in the States. There are some exceptions though: usually involving subculture adds plastered on walls advertising some disco event or another. No place is perfect. But over all, I’d agree that the attitude is healthier and less up-tight over here. My wife makes the case that by seeing toplessness all over the place in summer (teenagers through seniors, size 2s through size 18s) our daughters are getting the message that all shapes and sizes are o.k. and you don’t have to have the perfect body. She may have a point. By the way: last Sunday we had sunshine and temps of almost 70 degrees. Very very unseasonable for February in Vienna. But we enjoyed the opportunity to sit in the sun at an outdoor table at a Heuriger. Very nice break from winter weather. Best wishes to all!
Rick why do the bookstore signing….it sounds like this is something you don’t enjoy doing so why torture yourself. You sell enough books without it. The customers probably picked up on your negative feelings and it makes for a bad experience for all. You love giving lectures and doing the TV shows maybe that’s enough face to face people contact for you.
Sauna in Finland is a place where business deals are made – naked. You know that business has to be honest if you are together without any cover, no hidden cards in your sleeves. The whole top floor of the company building, where my dad worked before he retired, was a nice sauna suite for entertaining customers. Also, I have heard that the politicians there polish up their consensus in the sauna setting. Obviously, sauna is in no way sexual. I know most Americans can not imagine how it is possible. My husband would not go and sit in a sauna with his Finnish brother-in-law, but for the Finn it would be a nice thing to do together and have some beer and grilled sausage afterwards. Mmm, maybe even some salt cured salmon and reindeer – I am getting hungry!
Maybe your shows need a disclaimer at the beginning so people who might be offended will be warned: “This program may contain naked marble boys.”
Why is it that Europeans and Americans have such a different view on nudity? In America, I think much of our morality is wrapped up in our politics which is why we have so many laws against it (beaches, the FCC, etc.) – some of which I agree with. I believe Europe has the right idea for casual nudity – beaches, art, etc. However, don’t think I approve of Europe’s morality. They are more acceptible of affairs (not all, just in general) and of sexuality in general. Yet we are not in favor of sexuality on TV yet seem to have more problems with it in our oversexualized country. Maybe it’s not a problem elsewhere because it is accepted. There is a place for nudity that isn’t sexual. We have all agreed on that. But where does it cross the line? Which has the better attitude towards sexuality and nudity – the US or Europe? And how far is too far? I find myself agreeing with the US on some issues regarding sexuality and agreeing with Europeans on nudity. Why the difference and which is right?
The FCC isn’t stacked with anyone fitting the description ‘Christian Right’. Anyone with half a brain knows that standards for public broadcasting decency have changed little from administration to administration. You like and admire how different countries express themselves uniquely, yet you’re uncomfortable with that notion applying at home.
FCC standards may not have changed, but the draconian fines and the undiscriminating way in which they’re applied certainly have. That said, I’m inclined to think that a program filmed for an American audience comes across as prurient if it shows too much continental skin. The same applies in Britain: though British travel shows have greater leeway, the beach shots always seem more leering than matter-of-fact. The era of Benny Hill and the smutty picture postcard hasn’t quite been put behind us.
Rick, Please don’t forget to read my FOOD post from yesterday! For those who can’t wait to see Rick’s video check out these sights and sounds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkkt7_dGW-s&feature=related For those who love SKIING u MUST SEE this http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=waMBt6EnsT8&feature=related
Sorry; here’s the correct links. A MUST SEE! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkkt7_dGW-s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waMBt6EnsT8