To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing as a concerned MTV viewer. I just finished watching episode 4 of The Challenge: Cutthroat. I have never been so disgusted and disappointed with MTV programming. If you are unaware, the Gulag (elimination challenge) shackled opposing competitors by the neck to a table. The host, TJ Lavin, then proceeded to provide the competitors with flyswatters with which to hit each other in the face with as hard as possible in alternating turns. The flyswatters were then upgraded to a heavier model for the second and third rounds of competition.
Your programming represents some of the darkest aspects of society. How are people to supposed to respect rights to personal security when your network encourages making a spectacle of their violation? The themes of the movie Hostel are echoed through your choices. That film showed wealthy businesspeople paying to painfully murder a stranger. The Challenge: Cutthroat profited off of suffering that was by no means an expression of sportsmanship, intellect, or competition.
Simply, your programming went too far. Dystopian literature and films have described a twisted reality TV world where viewers observe suicides. For the same reasons this is wrong, so were your creative choices. Violence and suffering were promoted for MTV’s profits, and I believe this is a travesty that ought not to be repeated. I implore you to take the appropriate actions of issuing a public apology followed by the adoption and public announcement of a non-violent reality TV programming policy.
I will be vocal about this effort, and I hope your sense of duty will convince your decision makers that the actions suggested are prudent and necessary. If this alone will not, disappointedly, I would hope further public response will.
Sincerely,