The anti-MTV campaign hit its stride, surprisingly enough, around Election Day, when school board candidates blamed the series for just about every teenage problem except the outbreak of acne: for presenting Laguna teens as rich brats, making the city a potential target for sex predators and-- despite the fact the MTV is banned from shooting there-- as the #1 reason that Laguna Beach High, attended by many students on the series, ranked #1 for alcohol and drug abuse in Orange County.
A New York Times story on the fight got international play last week (a couple of days after the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau sent us a release promoting the place as "the perfect destination for girls who just want to have fun"). Today, the L.A. Times plays catch-up and weighs in with a front page story that digs up some of the real trouble the series has brought Laguna: people showing up at the high school looking for Laguna Beach characters, out-of-town teens trying to enroll, hoping to be "discovered," a few minor traffic accidents as motorists gawk at the filming, and all the girls who show up Laguna Surf & Sport to meet former employee Stephen Colletti, who starred in the first two seasons.
The paper splashes cold water on the most shocking claim: a local attorney said he attended a PTA meeting where a detective warned that the increased visibility of Laguna Beach could make it a target to Internet sex predators.
An MTV flak called the claim "completely preposterous. A police spokesman said, "Bullshit!" But in nicer words. "Is it a problem? Have we made any arrests? Not once. We have no criminal statistics that would draw a nexus between MTV and sexual predators."
Comments (3)
Maybe you could link to the NYT and LAT articles, or something?
1 of 3 | Posted by vividblurry
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Posted on November 12, 2006 12:15 PM
It *is* kind of a shame. I have family in Laguna Beach, and when I visited there a few years before the series launched, I absolutely loved it - it was a cute little artsy town where people were very friendly and, dare I say, very down to earth. When I first began watching the show, I was shocked - what I saw bore no resemblance to the Laguna I knew personally. I honestly can't blame the locals for being upset.
On the other hand, I continue to watch the show and thus participate in the town's desecration . . .
2 of 3 | Posted by mandymax
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Posted on November 13, 2006 6:37 AM
If the Laguna Beach community is SO upset, why did they print up visitor brochures identifying the various hang outs where the cast was filmed? It seems to me that the merchants welcome the increased tourism trade.
I don't think they need make too big a fuss over it. The show probably only has one more season left and then the city will go back to the way it was.
3 of 3 | Posted by lora
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Posted on November 14, 2006 7:12 PM