TELEVISION MEDIUM: IS IT REALLY A "BAD THING" ?
25-Apr to 1-May was TV turn off week. I don't see the point of having such a week. What were the people who kept their TV off during the week trying to prove ? Was it that television is a medium that dulls the intellect and spreads ignorance ?
I don't dispute the fact that some (or even most !) of what television provides us is indeed "unpalatable". Whether it is the titillation offered in the music videos of old Hindi remixes or the regressive values in a few Hindi soap operas, that is the ugly side of the television medium. What I don't like is to mistake the medium for the message. The story about messengers being killed in Roman times is being played out even in our times ! Television, as a medium, cannot (indeed, it should not !) be blamed for the content that people create - and then consume !
All media have their strengths and weaknesses and when the media are new, there are always apprehensions. As far as 370 B. C., no less a person than Socrates and his disciple Phaedrus had a dialogue about the propriety of writing. Please click on http://www.units.muohio.edu/technologyandhumanities/plato.htm to see the dialogue. The key thing to note is that even a person like Socrates had doubts about writing, since he felt that people would be forgetful knowing that they have a new means of storing information !
When radio was invented and its potential for entertainment was being realised, I suppose there would have been similar arguments against that medium too. Then, once television developed as a medium and soap operas became the norm on the TV channels, the comments against the medium naturally had to be negative.
"Television desensitises us ....", "TV glorifies violence", etc. are statements that all of us have come to believe. I get a little irritated whenever I hear somebody criticises something that he/ she has seen on television the previous day. "What a silly serial ....", "What violence ....", "How outrageous that video is ....". My first (unsaid !) retort to all such opinions is that they could as well turn the TV off ! My next observation to myself is that the distinction between the medium and the programming portrayed in the medium has vanished. In a sense, the sins of the son (the content that we see on television) have been brought upon the father (the medium itself) !!
I wish people realise and appreciate the distinction. As a medium, television is an amazing idea. There is sound, there is imagery and there is science in the cinematography and transmission aspects of the medium ; but above all there is a sense of intimacy and immediacy which goes beyond the science and technology of the medium. It is its biggest strength and possibly its biggest weakness also. Let me quote a couple of examples to prove my point.
The news of the devastation caused by the tsunami moved millions all over the world and motivated quite a few of those to donate cash and kind for the affected victims of the disaster. On the other hand, after watching news of rail accidents on our news channels one after the other, the initial feeling of shock and grief has given way to a kind of numbness. These two instances show how content in the television medium can move us, as well as benumb us. They demonstrate the power of the content of television on one hand ; and how it can densitise and numb us on the other. Is it fair to demonise television without looking at its positive aspects ?
In defence of the medium, I say that the content of the medium must be separated from the medium itself. Books can be "good" and "bad". I could choose to read pulp fiction and revel in the popular authors of that genre or I could read classics that inspire, motivate and guide me to a higher level of living.
Why should television as a medium be any different ? I could watch soap, music videos and other so-called "mindless entertainment" or I could see the beauty of nature and the power of technology or ponder about the jurassic age, while watching the knowledge channels. It is entirely up to me what I pick from television. It could be regressive values and a brutality if I pander to my baser instincts or it could be a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world, if my nobler instincts drive me ! What I do pick up is my choice alone.
I will go one step further : it is quite possible that I can pick out something uplifting even in the so-called "mindless entertainment" ! One example is in the music video of the singer Rabbi called "Bulla". Please click on http://anonymous_expressions.rediffblogs.com/2005_06_02_anonymous_expressions_archive.html to see my blog on the song/ music/ video. The combination of song, music and video is a beautiful work of art (and science !) and when I contemplate the words of Bullah Shah, I realise that the song is about the spiritual quest for identity. Is it fair to generalise that music videos only corrupt young minds ?!
Going one step further, why should I blame the television medium for the sordid scenes it shows us when it is actually we who are showing it (and it is I who am seeing it !) ?! I prefer to celebrate the medium and watch it as I choose fit. If others don't like the content on it, they are free to change channels or switch the so called idiot box off. To blame the medium rather than the producers and consumers of the content though is unfair. For an invention dubbed as the "idiot box", it seems to me that television exerts an influence far beyond what that nickname indicates !!
I will end with a repeat of my earlier remark to the people who did keep their televisions switched off for a week : please, please don't kill the messenger of bad news !
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
25-Apr to 1-May was TV turn off week. I don't see the point of having such a week. What were the people who kept their TV off during the week trying to prove ? Was it that television is a medium that dulls the intellect and spreads ignorance ?
I don't dispute the fact that some (or even most !) of what television provides us is indeed "unpalatable". Whether it is the titillation offered in the music videos of old Hindi remixes or the regressive values in a few Hindi soap operas, that is the ugly side of the television medium. What I don't like is to mistake the medium for the message. The story about messengers being killed in Roman times is being played out even in our times ! Television, as a medium, cannot (indeed, it should not !) be blamed for the content that people create - and then consume !
All media have their strengths and weaknesses and when the media are new, there are always apprehensions. As far as 370 B. C., no less a person than Socrates and his disciple Phaedrus had a dialogue about the propriety of writing. Please click on http://www.units.muohio.edu/technologyandhumanities/plato.htm to see the dialogue. The key thing to note is that even a person like Socrates had doubts about writing, since he felt that people would be forgetful knowing that they have a new means of storing information !
When radio was invented and its potential for entertainment was being realised, I suppose there would have been similar arguments against that medium too. Then, once television developed as a medium and soap operas became the norm on the TV channels, the comments against the medium naturally had to be negative.
"Television desensitises us ....", "TV glorifies violence", etc. are statements that all of us have come to believe. I get a little irritated whenever I hear somebody criticises something that he/ she has seen on television the previous day. "What a silly serial ....", "What violence ....", "How outrageous that video is ....". My first (unsaid !) retort to all such opinions is that they could as well turn the TV off ! My next observation to myself is that the distinction between the medium and the programming portrayed in the medium has vanished. In a sense, the sins of the son (the content that we see on television) have been brought upon the father (the medium itself) !!
I wish people realise and appreciate the distinction. As a medium, television is an amazing idea. There is sound, there is imagery and there is science in the cinematography and transmission aspects of the medium ; but above all there is a sense of intimacy and immediacy which goes beyond the science and technology of the medium. It is its biggest strength and possibly its biggest weakness also. Let me quote a couple of examples to prove my point.
The news of the devastation caused by the tsunami moved millions all over the world and motivated quite a few of those to donate cash and kind for the affected victims of the disaster. On the other hand, after watching news of rail accidents on our news channels one after the other, the initial feeling of shock and grief has given way to a kind of numbness. These two instances show how content in the television medium can move us, as well as benumb us. They demonstrate the power of the content of television on one hand ; and how it can densitise and numb us on the other. Is it fair to demonise television without looking at its positive aspects ?
In defence of the medium, I say that the content of the medium must be separated from the medium itself. Books can be "good" and "bad". I could choose to read pulp fiction and revel in the popular authors of that genre or I could read classics that inspire, motivate and guide me to a higher level of living.
Why should television as a medium be any different ? I could watch soap, music videos and other so-called "mindless entertainment" or I could see the beauty of nature and the power of technology or ponder about the jurassic age, while watching the knowledge channels. It is entirely up to me what I pick from television. It could be regressive values and a brutality if I pander to my baser instincts or it could be a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world, if my nobler instincts drive me ! What I do pick up is my choice alone.
I will go one step further : it is quite possible that I can pick out something uplifting even in the so-called "mindless entertainment" ! One example is in the music video of the singer Rabbi called "Bulla". Please click on http://anonymous_expressions.rediffblogs.com/2005_06_02_anonymous_expressions_archive.html to see my blog on the song/ music/ video. The combination of song, music and video is a beautiful work of art (and science !) and when I contemplate the words of Bullah Shah, I realise that the song is about the spiritual quest for identity. Is it fair to generalise that music videos only corrupt young minds ?!
Going one step further, why should I blame the television medium for the sordid scenes it shows us when it is actually we who are showing it (and it is I who am seeing it !) ?! I prefer to celebrate the medium and watch it as I choose fit. If others don't like the content on it, they are free to change channels or switch the so called idiot box off. To blame the medium rather than the producers and consumers of the content though is unfair. For an invention dubbed as the "idiot box", it seems to me that television exerts an influence far beyond what that nickname indicates !!
I will end with a repeat of my earlier remark to the people who did keep their televisions switched off for a week : please, please don't kill the messenger of bad news !
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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