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"Jagged Television or Anti-Cretinization" (1989) by Isidore Isou |
The implication here is that fiction is healthy and TV is unhealthy. Have you always found that to be the case? Can you think of any examples of ways that you have benefited from "the glow of television"? Does the daily balance of 5 hours of television vs. 20 minutes of reading sound right to you? What is the ratio in your own life? Do you think we could expect people to respond honestly to that question if they do, in fact, watch 5 hours of television for every 20 minutes they spend watching television? Do you think society might have changed some way between 2009 and today such that the balance is not the same?
Individuals vary in the way they learn. Many learn best by seeing written words on a page. The written word stimulates the imagination and emotions and thus the learning experience. Others learn best by hearing. If pictures go along with the hearing they enforce the act of hearing. Depending upon the writing skills of the author, and the interest in the particular subject by the reader, determine the degree to which one is pulled into the story, and is mentally transported. True, movies and TV can limit the viewer's imagination to only what is shown, but when conveying pictures of actual events occurring in a given time and place, the viewer has an advantage over the reader. When we talk about stories written for the sake of story rather than as news, I believe the reader has the advantage, based on the range of the human imagination. For current news, however, nothing stirs the heart strings more than the pictures projected. Of course in both cases, print and picture, the author can distort the truth by presenting his view of the situation. -And that turns the "news" into a current story. To know the "truth" or get a better perspective of the news, it is best to read the written word and to listen to/watch the news, and then to apply your own critical thinking. When it comes to stories that are written as stories, I think most people would agree that usually the written story is better than the movie or TV program.. There have been few exceptions. One of the main things that I like about TV is the access to stage performances of plays, dance, opera, orchestra, which one would not otherwise have the opportunity to see and hear.
ReplyDeleteTV isn't always unhealthy. It is true that some programs don't have much to offer, but one of the original building blocks of the television take-over is also, in my opinion, the most healthy: news. Through networks like CNN, ABC, and FOX we are given an opportunity denied to the older generation. We can be connected to the rest of the world by simply pressing the "on" button. In my own experience, television has helped me to be more aware of what is going on in the world around me. One of my best friends lives in the Netherlands, so it is important to me to be informed about international affairs.
ReplyDeleteThe daily balance (as it stood in 2009) seems correct, but it definitely has never applied to me. I might watch 1-2 hours of television a day and for the sole purpose of catching the news/weather. I know people that would answer the question honestly, and some that would answer it dishonestly. The level of truth found in their answer depends entirely upon the person. I do believe society might have changed between 2009-2014; in fact, I believe it has changed far more than we might realize. If anything, the time spent in front of a TV has probably grown right along with the information age. Time spent reading could be growing too, but only if the statistic counts all the hours people spend mindlessly scrolling through their newsfeed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the like.
-Sidney Lewis
I don't see anything inherently bad about watching TV, as well as reading fiction, it all depends on moderation. Sure there are people who watch entirely too much TV. Though the attention and singling-out of television is just because it is the new thing on the block and because it's it the “cool” thing to do right now. You can't tune into a news station or talk to a single senior citizen without getting a warning about watching too much TV.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time there are people out there who read entirely too much fiction – at least in the sense that if it were TV we were talking about we would be hearing people complaining – yet you hear no such thing. As anecdotal as it may be, I can't recall a single instance I've heard someone say someone (sincerely) reads too much. Nor have I heard any such thing come from a newscaster or concerned grandparent.
Is watching a family sitcom or fantasy flick on TV and reading fiction really the same thing when we get down to it?
In my opinion, I think watching television is not an unhealthy lifestyle. Even though researchers had shown our time spend on television is 5 hours daily, it will be fine if you use it the right way. All of us have distinguish study strategies, which nobody else can force another to be the same as them. Overall, most of us use visual study strategies which we prefer presenters who use gestures and picturesque language. We tend to take in information easier if we were to present with pictures, posters and slides. Television programs is when they combines pictures and music with stories which leave a better impression in our mind. It will be easier to recall from the television programs when it comes to learning material. People’s mind set on television are always non-educational thrilling drama which they can be really addicted to it. Television do provide a window into world as they have some really interesting educational program, like Ultimate Survival Alaska from National Geographic Channel. Those are places you may not be able to go in your life and people just made a documentary video for all of us out here to feel what they experienced. You can always read these from a book but you can never picture the real one unless you watch it from television.
ReplyDelete- Jia Ying Loh