In my psychology class, my professor blamed "Saved By The Bell" for all the recent school violence, and the downfall of many teens. He stated that the show sent out a negative image of life, and portrayed non-popular students as subhumans.

I was surfing the internet yesterday, and came across Jump The Shark. On that website several people blamed "Saved By The Bell" for the same reasons.

Here are some quotes:

Although it's impossible to take a show as asinine as Saved By The Bell seriously, if you look below its shallow surface, you see some quite disturbing messages about teen self image, popularity, and cliquish behavior. The pretty, popular boys and girls were the only ones who mattered. Everyone else was just a "nerd" fit to be ridiculed, ostracized, and manipulated. When we teach children that that kind of mentality is OK, tragedies like Columbine should come as no surprise.

this show is just pure evil. Basically what the producers said was "since we are aiming this show at stupid kids, we can save a bundle by hiring kids that can't act and writers who can't write." What amazes me is how any parent who ever watched this show could consider it good for kids. The whole idea that if the characters aren't doing drugs, drinking alcohol, or having sex with each other, it's "perfeect for the kids" is thrown pout the window with this show and others like it. Consider this, the "geek " character on the show is supposed to be the best buddy of the lead character, yet on each show he is put down time and time again by EVERY other character, until the end when they all realize what a great guy he is and hug and make up. They never treat him as a valued friend. What kind of message does this send to the little kids this show is supposedly aimed at? Treat the geeks like crap until they "save the day". This shows does/did nothing but emphasize the differences between the popular kids and the unpopular ones. What leads to alienation more? And yet the creators of this show still get paid a lot of money to develop shows for young people, all with the same themes, (sometimes even re-using the same actors) That, to me, sucks.


There are comments in the website.

That's so rediculous, I cant even find the words to describe it.

Originally posted by JS9
That's so rediculous, I cant even find the words to describe it.

:nod:

Originally posted by JS9
That's so rediculous, I cant even find the words to describe it. :rofl:

I find the blame ridiculous also, but they do make some strong points. Most fans watch "Saved By The Bell" as an innocent sitcom about far-fetched high school sappy fun, but imagine how others who consider school as hell, and despise people like Kelly, Zack, Slater, and Lisa and all their superficially and abuse of Screech.

Do you really think that in real life they will be friends with Screech?.. No. Even in the show it's shown that they only take advantage of him. They love him when he does good, but belittle him and practically "disown" own him when he ****s up. The perfect example is the "All In The Mall" episode, even the simple comments that the gang make against him and even the little facial expressions of disgust towrads him make me cringe. They treated like a subhuman.

What if Kelly was the one that got out line?... would they have reacted the same?

Now I know why so many people who are considered social outcasts HATE the show. But... I still like it. :\

After initially reading what SBTB Geek wrote I must admit that I had the same reaction as most of you. But after objectively thinking about it, it seems that he MAY have a point. Especially given the fact that I'm almost positive that I remember reading/hearing that the two kids from Columbine were big SBTB fans.

I don't think this show is responsible for the actions of Harris and Klebold. I can't picture them watching this show. I think that violent movies, TV and video games, plus parents who didn't know what their kids were doing and didn't care, were the real culprits. I remember when this happened, they kept saying on the news that Harris and Klebold were obsessed with a certain video game that involved shooting and killing people. No, Zach and Screech are not to blame.

Its totally ridiculous. SBTB aired some Ten-Twelve years BEFORE Coulmbine.... Also SBTB is NOT THE ONLY sitcom to presnet such an image. The real blame is on the insane, criminals that commited this act, also the parents have some blame as well.

SBTB aired some Ten-Twelve years BEFORE Coulmbine

Sure it aired nearly a decade ago, but a day still doesn't go by where it doesn't affect my life in some way. I'm sure the same can be said for you since you still posting on this board! The impact SBTB had on the Columbine killers is hard to deny.

Originally posted by theTHRILL
The impact SBTB had on the Columbine killers is hard to deny.


Really? Hmmm i don't remember even ONE newspaper or news report making any mention of SBTB... this whole conversation is ridiculous.

Originally posted by factsoflife
Really? Hmmm i don't remember even ONE newspaper or news report making any mention of SBTB... this whole conversation is ridiculous.

The thread isn't totally blaming SBTB, but it's bringing up the point of how we shouldn't be surprised whenever the media reports school/peer violence because TV always sends off negative messages of self-image and how "nerds" and "geeks" are portrayed.

At Bayside High, the geeks were always shown as COMPLETE worthless losers, and at Columbine High, Harris and Klebold WERE those geeks.

(1) The SBTB gang did not run Bayside. They were just a clique like every other group on campus Since the show is about these six teens, of course most of the focus is going to be placed on them. Kelly, Zack, and Slater were actually the only really popular people in the group. Kelly was a cheerleader, Slater played a number of sports, and Zack was a troublemaker who made the school exciting. We've all seen people like this. Screech and Jessie were bookworms and Lisa was known for her sense of style and outgoing personality, but they weren't really popular. Did you ever see Lisa with a boyfriend on the show? (2) Zack and Screech knew each other their whole lives, which is why they hung out with each other, not because Zack wanted to take advantage of Screech (even though he did at times). (3) One more thing, the group did not always gang up on Screech. There were times when Zack acted like a jerk and the group got back at him. Screech wasn't subhuman. Screech dated Kelly for a while and in the college years, he stole a girl from Zack. They were all different people with different personalities. Some were popular, some were not so popular. Sometimes, Jessie had their day in the sun, and other times Lisa did. Sometimes, Slater was the odd man out, other times Zack was. In the end, they all managed to get along. That is what this show is really about.

1. What do you mean the gang didn't run the school?... They were practically in charge of everything. They had such a deep influence on Mr. Belding, and he always gave in into their ideas.

2. Yes, Screech and Zack knew each other their entire lives, but that doesn't mean Zack was a great friend. Most of the time Zack just stayed friends with Screech to take advantage of him.

The friendship between Slater and Zack was much more solid.

3. ...In most of the episodes they did. Whenever Zack screwed up all they did was get back him, but whenever Screech did, they practically attacked him.

SBTB Geek, you make such good points! I've always viewed SBTB as an innocent sitcom even as a kid I knew school wouldn't really be like that (however I did used to think high school would be like Grease lol!) but I agree with pretty much everything you say, especially about the gang's treatment of Screech.

They were appauling towards him, but then again Screech is kind of to blame too because he LET himself be used and treated like crap over and over. Most people in his position would've labelled Zack and Co total jerks and ditched them completely after the first few times, surely. I know I would've of at any age.

In response to this thread: SBTB is a tv show, not reality, but SBTB Geek has many great points!!!! This caused me to look deeper into the show.

Originally posted by Finer Feelings

They were appauling towards him, but then again Screech is kind of to blame too because he LET himself be used and treated like crap over and over. Most people in his position would've labelled Zack and Co total jerks and ditched them completely after the first few times, surely. I know I would've of at any age.

I totally agree with you, but I guess Screech stayed with them because they were as close to popular he would of ever get. Come on which other popular clique like them will befriend a "geek" like Screech?

I disagree. As a certified outcast in high school, I, along with my fellow outcast friends, loved this show. It was entertaining. Sure, I don't think the group would have accepted Screech in real life. But I don't think they would have accepted Jessie either, with all her big causes she talked about constantly. Most kids would roll their eyes at her. When I think about it, this group didn't have much in common at all.

I also think Screech was a little clueless. And I thought he could be really irritating at times. I didn't blame them, Lisa especially, for being less than patient.

This show was pure fantasy, and if two kids based their decision to blow up their school on this show, they were already living in another fantasy.

Good points were made in previous threads. If you watch SBTB you will notice that with the exception of a pretty lady the guys wanted to date everyone was nerdy but Zack and Co.
To answer some points made, someone mentioned that only Zack, Kelly, and Slater were the real popular ones, and did you ever see Lisa with a boyfriend...
Well Jessie was popular, she dated the star wrestler AC Slater, won class president, starred in the school play Snow White
And yes Lisa had boyfriends. She dated Zack for one, a 9th grader, Jessies step brother, and had dates with people that you just never saw on screen
And yes they did run the school. They organized everything, starred in everything, etc..
Now that, thats cleared up on to the Columbine incident
It is obserd to say that one thing like a show was there reason. I recall Marilyn Manson being blamed also, video games, name calling, violent and graphic images, etc...
I can see the point that SBTB shows that if you want to do or be anything in High School you have to be popular, and if your not one of the members that run the school you are nothing but a nerd, blah blah blah.

Stop blaming things on TV and music. It takes a sick individual to take the life of another (other then self defense or war) and you cannot go blaming every wrong on society. These 2 kids were messed up mentally.

SBTB showed average people to be geeks and nerds, and I could see how you could have a hard time relating to some of the characters, if you were not voted most popular or in charge of everything, but it was geared toward very young kids that is why it originally aired on Sat mornings when most kids watched TV not adults.
If its the case that SBTB showed over popular teens taking advantage of nerds and not so popular then you could blame a lot of shows for that...

SBTB showcased just one set of kids who hung out.

When I was in HS there were nerds in my group and popular people. Of course we goofed on the nerds but, we goofed on everybody. Popular people & Me included. What those 2 guys did at Columbine are the results of dysfuntional individuals who had messed up brains.