For assignment #6 I will be doing option number two, and my topic is a Television.
Imagine walking into a friends house for the first time, you enter through the garage, the hallway leads into either a kitchen up ahead, the living room to the left or a bedroom to the right. You look right, and see a 46” hanging on the wall at the foot of the bed. You look ahead, and see a small 17” flat-screen below the kitchen cupboards. You look left and see an 82” projection screen that has dropped down from the ceiling. This is only in your first minutes within this friends’ home; this sight might be a little exaggerated, but at the same time it isn’t all that uncommon. Televisions are taking over, and it is strange to walk into a home that has less than 3 TVs.
According to USA Today, the average home has more television set’s than people living there. There are 2.73 TV sets to every 2.55 people per home, that’s only a small amount more.
I don’t think I can walk into a house, apartment, hotel, or anything else without having a television is one of the first things I see. It’ll either be HUGE and the focal point of the room, or there will be a countless amount of TVs around the house. I know for myself, whenever I get home, one of the first things that I do is turn on the television; usually I’m home alone so it’s nice to have noise on. I like to watch the news, but there’s usually a couple hours before the 5 o’clock news when I get home so the mindless television sucks me in. Which I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Television as a form of media reminds me on McLuhan’s reading of ‘media is an extension of man’, and how people are so hooked on media, and the need for such things. Media is taking over, but at the same time, culture is changing to incorporate these changes and include media in our daily lives and in our culture itself.
Good point. It seems like the growing influence of television in our lives hasn't been completely beneficial. Rather, television emphasizes the negative impacts of media. Reality shows provide distraction and thoughtless pleasure. Even Baby Kochomma in “God of Small Things” stopped tending to her garden once she installed a new satellite cable dish (28). Though McLuhan claims media to be an extension of man, what does the the complete submersion in passive television watching say about the state of Joe Briefcase in current society? I wonder if the recent increase of interactive, Joe Briefcase-made media (eg youtube) is a direct response to dominant passive television watching.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting you bring up the point of televisions being a main focal point of various types of rooms. Also, the influence of movie theaters is huge in our culture. What I have recently found to be the most bizarre is the amount of televisions you can find at the pump and at restaurants. As if you really need a television in front of you for those brief few minutes you are putting gas in your car. Also, at restaurants, are you there to watch television or to socialize with your friends? It can be a huge distraction at times (say, if an NFL game is on); television can take away socialization.
ReplyDeleteI think television may actually affect people's social skills over a long period of time. A combination of television, laptops and cell phones seem to do this. People are glued to screens now days and are communicating less in-person.
TV's have definitely taken over many homes. In my home my parents have 5 TV's. It is amazing how much a television also takes away socialization. TV's are making an appearance in many places that don't need them. I really get annoyed when people are so distracted by NFL games when eating out at a restaurant! That time is supposed to be used to socialize not watch TV.
ReplyDeleteThat was a good point about how we watch TV sometimes for the sake of having noise in the background. We are pretty hooked to the media and this is a good example of how people can't function without the constant stream of media in their lives. In my dorm room, my roommate and I forgot to bring the cable cord for our TV and getting used to having no cable was really odd.. it felt like there should definitely have been some sort of noise in the room. We started using the radio/watching TV online a lot more. This is also another example of how we have grown accustomed to having media constantly with us,
ReplyDeleteI never had cable when i was a kid so often times i feel like a sheltered child. But none the less, i think no t.v. is a very good thing. It just numbs one's brain anyways and i'll just say pick up a book once in a while at least
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