(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

 When a camera caught “The Wrestler” director Darren Aronofsky jokingly making an obscene gesture on the Golden Globes telecast on NBC, as the star of his movie ribbed him from on-stage, viewers on the East Coast of the United States saw it live.
    
The Parents Television Council saw it too, and now they’re seeing red.
    
Tim Winter, president of the council, said in a statement that the middle finger given by Aronofsky to actor Mickey Rourke is “yet another example of arrogant behavior by some who seem intoxicated by being controversial, rather than eager to celebrate with the viewing audience some of the best artistic performances of the year.”
    
NBC declined to comment on the PTC criticism, and a representative for Aronofsky was not immediately available.
    
During the Sunday night broadcast, viewers on the West Coast did not see Aronofsky’s gesture because the telecast was blacked out for those two seconds. NBC could black out that portion of the show for West Coast viewers because for them it was playing on a tape delay, unlike on the East Coast where it was carried live.
    
In another controversial moment on the show, “Slumdog Millionaire” producer Christian Colson said an obscenity on stage at the end of his acceptance speech, but the audio was dropped and viewers did not hear it.
    
Winter credited NBC with eliminating some of the graphic profanity from the show. But he also said that, given the show’s content, it should not have had a rating designating the program safe for children.