Today, when you turn on your television after school you might hear a curse word or see a dead zombie’s head coming off, but television wasn’t always like this. Many channels on television used to be afraid to show a married couple sleeping in the same bed. So what makes all these things acceptable in today’s society?

Shows like I Love Lucy and The Brady Bunch which were both critically acclaimed and watched by thousands of Americans a week once were squeamish and afraid to show too much to its viewers. I Love Lucy did not allow the married couple to sleep in the same bed at their apartment. Lucille Ball, the actress in I Love Lucy was pregnant with her on and off screen husband Desi Arnaz’s child. CBS incorporated the pregnancy into the show, but was unwilling to allow the word “pregnant” to be used on the air.

In The Brady Bunch, a show where six children had to share a crowded bathroom, but the bathroom seemed to lack a toilet.

As the media “pushed limits” to make television more entertaining, people became more accepting of things like bathrooms with toilets and pregnant women on air. Today, people are accepting homosexuality, curse words, and revealing clothing such as what Miley Cyrus wore on the VMA’s in late 2013.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest film with Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street took the title of the films with the most swears of all time. DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort, who was convicted of money laundering. Along with the 506 curse words in a three hour span, the movie flaunts money, sex, and drugs.

The Walking Dead, an AMC show which was named by many the goriest show on television, received only a rating of TV-14 by AMC. The show depicts many scenes of murder of both the living and the ‘undead.’ Many don’t believe that kids at the age of 14 should be watching the show and believe that AMC should reconsider their inaccurate rating.

Even though the media has “pushed limits,” they have also been reluctant to show some things to the public. Modern Family, a show on ABC shows Phil and Mitchell, a gay couple. While most people would say that ABC is “pushing the limits,” many disagree, noticing that the couple has never kissed on air before.

Do you think that the media is going too far?