Television

[LOVEthroughINTELLECT]

This is not a thread for another battle in the so-called "culture wars". This is simply about the nature of the medium of television, never mind the ideological undertones of its content.

I have resisted purchasing a television set.

I do not know what it was like before I started watching a lot of television, but I find almost all of the television programs that I see today to have little merit. Watching television today is like watching paint dry. It does not matter if the program is news, opinion/debate/commentary, sports, a documentary, drama, reality TV, comedy, educational or any other type of program. Invariably, I leave a program thinking that I did not gain anything from viewing it that I could not have gained more of through some other medium or in person.

Why does television continue to be so popular? I do not know what the most recent statistics are, but every time I hear how many hours the average American (I do not know about outside of the U.S.) spends watching television I find the numbers to be asburd.

I would rather read, write, work on creative projects, attend sporting events in person, etc.

Maybe it is the price. Maybe it costs so much to have access to most of today's television programs that people feel that to justify the expense they have to view several hours of programs.

Anyway, does anybody else feel the way that I do? Is there anybody else who rejects television simply because the programs have little merit, never mind the "culture wars"?

Is there a woman who would share a household with me without television?

 

[RED that's ME]

There are guys & gals who don't watch tv or a lot of it for different reasons. I don't watch a whole lot but I do use it to watch movies at times.

 

[JPPT1974]

Well I am trying to resist tv myself
Except for the news and the CSI shows,
NFL, and Survivor!
Trying the best not to watch it as much
As I used to! Especially with sex, violence, and
Cursing more than ever.

 

[Spicy McHaggis]

This is not a thread for another battle in the so-called "culture wars". This is simply about the nature of the medium of television, never mind the ideological undertones of its content.

I have resisted purchasing a television set.

I do not know what it was like before I started watching a lot of television, but I find almost all of the television programs that I see today to have little merit. Watching television today is like watching paint dry. It does not matter if the program is news, opinion/debate/commentary, sports, a documentary, drama, reality TV, comedy, educational or any other type of program. Invariably, I leave a program thinking that I did not gain anything from viewing it that I could not have gained more of through some other medium or in person.

Why does television continue to be so popular? I do not know what the most recent statistics are, but every time I hear how many hours the average American (I do not know about outside of the U.S.) spends watching television I find the numbers to be asburd.

I would rather read, write, work on creative projects, attend sporting events in person, etc.

Maybe it is the price. Maybe it costs so much to have access to most of today's television programs that people feel that to justify the expense they have to view several hours of programs.

Anyway, does anybody else feels the way that I do? Is there anybody else who rejects television simply because the programs have little merit, never mind the "culture wars"?

Is there a woman who would share a household with me without television?

You know, if you start a thread asking people to sign up and pledge to goa month without TV and journal and post about the change...


...and waited until after the DETROIT BASEBALL TIGERS play in the World series...

...I just might give that a try.

 

[Barren]

I love watching movies.
I've not had TV(like, channels n'stuff) for over 2 years. I just moved into a new pad last month. My roommate bought a 56 inch TV and got the uber best cable package there is.
I put on the History Channel or C-SPAN while I'm making food in the kitchen, doing laundry, or cleaning the house. I watch about one football game a week. Other than that I have not been watching it, I don't want to watch TV anymore.
I agree with most of your post, 99% of it gains you nothing. I'd rather hang out with real people, do active stuff outside, read, or do homework so I can be one of those students who actually gets a decent grade.

 

[LOVEthroughINTELLECT]

Bump.

 

[TravellingGrace]

I generally watch more movies on my TV, but I can also watch movies on my laptop (if it's just me)...

I enjoy watching the odd show sometimes just to relax, but I could live without a TV.

 

[Gimpy]

Heres an old song you might appreciate by Bruce Sprinsteen. its called 57 Channels and Nothin' On

I bought a bourgeois house in the Hollywood hills
With a truckload of hundred thousand dollar bills
Man came by to hook up my cable TV
We settled in for the night my baby and me
We switched 'round and 'round 'til half-past dawn
There was fifty-seven channels and nothin' on

Well now home entertainment was my baby's wish
So I hopped into town for a satellite dish
I tied it to the top of my Japanese car
I came home and I pointed it out into the stars
A message came back from the great beyond
There's fifty-seven channels and nothin' on

Well we might'a made some friends with some billionaires
We might'a got all nice and friendly
If we'd made it upstairs
All I got was a note that said "Bye-bye John
Our love is fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"

So I bought a .44 magnum it was solid steel cast
And in the blessed name of Elvis well I just let it blast
'Til my TV lay in pieces there at my feet
And they busted me for disturbin' the almighty peace
Judge said "What you got in your defense son?"
"Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"
I can see by your eyes friend you're just about gone
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on...
Fifty-seven channels and nothin'

 

[Gimpy]

I make no excuses, I do watch some stuff on tv when I feel like watching tv. I like some of the comedy on Comedy TV like old reruns of Scrubs and the occasional standup comedian, Law and Order, Football and some stuff on History Channel plus any movie I may have purchased at Blockbusters, my favorites being Tombstone with Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell, Five People You Meet in Heaven, Crash, and Man on Fire with Danzel Washington and Dakota Fanning.

 

[Laurie919]

I really don't watch TV. I will watch law and order from time to time but that is it.

 

[violetpen]

My parents had satellite TV for a while, but we switched back to our old practice of simply watching movies. After years without them, the commercials were quite annoying. Most of the time I just do stuff on the computer while movies play, unless they're a new release.

 

[simmeringabsolute]

The only shows I have any interest in watching on are 24 and LOST. A couple other shows that had my interest but were cancelled are Firefly and Wonderfalls. Arrested Development was also hilarious. In the past I have watched FoxNews and Animal Planet. After Survivor 1 hit (which I recall loving), things have seriously changed for me. I don't know if it's the premise of the shows, or just that I am not so inclined to waste my time watching the kind of people on those shows do what they're doing. It troubles me a bit...

Movies are different. -,- (Spiderman 3 was great fun, although Venom was majorly miscast). Some anime is different, as well.

 

[GoodNewsJim]

Movies are different. -,- (Spiderman 3 was great fun, although Venom was majorly miscast). Some anime is different, as well.

There was one part in the movie that I thought to myself,"Dumbass." Too many kids in the theatre to shout it.

 

[simmeringabsolute]

There was one part in the movie that I thought to myself,"Dumbass." Too many kids in the theatre to shout it.

Was it the kiss? lol Poor spidey has webbing on his brain.

 

[Blackguard_]

Why does television continue to be so popular?

People hanging on, in the most likely vain hope it will get better? I'm certain that's why people still watch the newer Simpsons episodes (I know that's the only reason I'll watch them). Maybe society has simply degenerated and people honestly like the new stuff?

The best shows on nowadays are "Scrubs"(the "MASH" of the 00's) and "Deadliest Catch"(the only good Reality show).

 

[VozNocturna]

LovethroughIntellect:

Since you like to read academic books, I'd like to recommend a book for you. It's called Consumers and Citizens by Nestor Canclini, a Latin American social theorist. It's a rigorous, intellectual analysis of the relationship between citizenry and consumption as a product of the globalized era we live in. Anyway, he spends a great deal of time talking about TV and how people consume what it means to be members of society through the media, particularly TV. He suggests that TV offering a simulacrum of real society, meaning that people watch TV--particularly soap operas--because it helps them rationalize and process aspects of their lives that they may not be able to process in real life. I tend to agree.

I don't have a TV and have no plans to get one ever. I miss watching movies on a larger screen. But, my computer comes in handy for that. Unfortunately, I discovered abc.com. :o So, now, I'm hooked on three shows and trying to deprogram myself. I spend my days reading and writing, so movies and online shows help me decompress (that's why I come on here also)--otherwise my brain would implode.

 

[TravellingGrace]

A couple other shows that had my interest but were cancelled are Firefly and Wonderfalls.

you watched Firefly too?!

I may or may not have watched the whole thing on DVD plus the movie they made afterwards....

The best shows on nowadays are "Scrubs"(the "MASH" of the 00's) and "Deadliest Catch"(the only good Reality show).

I love Scrubs. I think it's really well done, and hilarious. That's one of the shows I really enjoy watching whenever I do watch TV. that and CSI, NCIS and Without a Trace

 

[simmeringabsolute]

you watched Firefly too?!

I may or may not have watched the whole thing on DVD plus the movie they made afterwards....

Ya. I also own the DVD and movie, as well. I try to give away the series whenever the opportunity presents itself. (although I have basically given up hope of a continuation)

If you like Firefly, check out Wonderfalls (which I also own on DVD). One of the guys involved in making FIrefly was involved with Wonderfalls -- it's a pretty unique and humorous show.

 

[LOVEthroughINTELLECT]

Anyway, he spends a great deal of time talking about TV and how people consume what it means to be members of society through the media, particularly TV. He suggests that TV offering a simulacrum of real society, meaning that people watch TV--particularly soap operas--because it helps them rationalize and process aspects of their lives that they may not be able to process in real life...

It seems to me that television shapes a lot of social of experience rather than merely reflecting it. For example, the evolution of the sport of American football has probably been influnced more than anything else by television.

Yet, even in something as heavily influenced by television as the sport of American football there are elements that transcend television.

But it seems that we can't simply say that television is popular because it allows a large audience to experience what otherwise only a few people would experience. It is not like if we could build stadiums and other infrastructure with the capacity to allow every person who wanted to to attend a football game in person that television would suffer. Indeed, many people, it seems, do not want that experience outside of television and if there were no television they would not be interested in football.

Why people like television so much--so much that if it were not for television they would not be intersted in consuming/participating in certain products/experiences--is what I do not understand.

 

[uiucollegeguy]

I have a tv but I only check it for weather (ok sometimes I watch the history channel or pbs if there's a special thing going on). My parents got the tv for me but at school in my own apartment I am busy doing other things.

Why do people watch so much tv you ask? My 2cents is this: A lot of people aren't exactly the happiest with their lives (i'm sure us included to some extent). Tv pulls us away from reality. It is visually, mentally, and audioally (sorry if that's not a word) stimulating. What I mean by stimulating is that it isn't hard for people to get into the stories. I'm sure there are quite a few people who don't watch tv. But a lot of people use it as their escape. They come home from a hard days work, don't want to think about their struggles or even talk to their spouse or play with their kids. It's much easier to sit on the sofa, grab a bag of chips, and turn on the tube.

Hope that helps.