Primary Topic: is TV an 'art form' or a 'wasteland'? Thoughts welcome.


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pinz is offline pinz Post #1  June 4,2008, 6:37am
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Consider that the tell-a-vision has only been 'in our homes' in North America since the 1950's. Consider how it has shaped and manipulated our minds, and our children and now our grandchildren's minds. Our collective consciousness, our memory maps, even our unconscious. It has amplified our high points - remember the first Beatle performance - our low points- the day JFK or Martin Luther King were shot - and so it continues - we 'watch'.


Now this Medusa Media Marvel is AMPLIFIED by additional technology so that we, the former 'spectators', are increasingly becoming the 'players'... note the poliferation of 'reality shows' where 'everyday' contestents ' act out their 'fantasies', their 'triumphs' and 'tragedies'.


Increasingly, we believe that we only exist if we are ON TV. Witness Youtube etc. We shoot video through our cellphones and post to our blogs ... We BELONG.


Question is: is this incessant desire to BE on TV of ANY real value? Wouldn't it be better and BEST if we just turned to our neighbours and engaged in genuine 'LIFE'?
 
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siren is offline siren Post #2  June 4,2008, 4:56pm
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I disagree entirely. No one I know wants to be on TV. But I think TV has matured tremendously since the fifties. Firefly, Joshua, Big Love, Arrested Development, Boston Legal, Battlestar Gallactica, Dexter,Deadwood, Ugly Betty, My Name is Earl,Psych-I could go on and on. There are SO many fantastic fantasies right there in your living room. Pretty cool. I think we're so lucky. Siren
 
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pinz is offline pinz Post #3  June 5,2008, 5:37am
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Fair enough. Perhaps I should have said 'wants to be SEEN/HEARD on the internet', not TV, in that the internet is kinda the first born of tell-a-vision. The Net is the 'next generation' of TV, literally.


No?
 
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kli1000 is offline kli1000 Post #4  June 5,2008, 3:39pm
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I would say that TV is an art form, but given the ever expanding scope of the medium (more channels), it has become a cluttered "wasteland" where finding the true "art" is often hard when one has to sift through the rubbish.


TV has been and remains (even in the expanded cluttered scope) a very powerful medium. It can shape opinions and remains the most effective way to reach the "mass audience."


And the explosion of "reality tv" has more to do with economics and has been around since the advent of the medium (witness the various variety shows, talk shows, cops, etc.). Yes, it seems that almost every show is now a "reality" tv show, but it's expensive making "art" and TV is about the bottom line.


As for the "audience" becoming the "stars." You are correct, mass media (print, tv, radio, internet) have changed the definition of "celebrity." As a result, lots of deluded people want their 15 minutes of fame. However, it's my opinion that these folks are driven more by greed than by an inherent desire to "perform." They see the value of becoming a "celebrity" and the rewards that come with it (witness Omarosa and her resulting "career").


In the end, technology has helped us stay connected and even connect in ways we never imagined, but at the end of the day, we're still human beings and nothing can replicate actual human interaction and "life."
 
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pinz is offline pinz Post #5  June 6,2008, 12:12pm
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Well said Kli1000.


I was thinking further on this - how we increasingly 'imprint' to the scintillating screen instead of on an 'everyday' person. (Kind of like those migratory geese in 'Fly Away HOme' to the tri-lite...) (Or lemmings to the sea....) I call it the 'cyborg-ization of our civilization'. People are so impatient with 'living beings': everything has to be instant gratification and NOW, NOW, NOW. 'Lights, Camera, Click'.


On the other hand, there seems to be a tandem explosion of 'virtual' creative thought and exciting exploration that one could almost consider a 'REALITY Renaissance'. I say 'almost' because more then 80% is so very superficial and narcissitic: YouTube camera swipes here and there, or boring blogs that extol the last uni-puke ... So much rubbish. Even so, the remaining 20% really do represent 'new voices' , daring documentaries, engaging art and wit, visions of other places generally obscured from the main stream of thought.


For the curious mind, there is much to learn and 'see'.


Ultimately though, aside from the perpetual hit of the 'new', I agree that actual human interaction is The BEST. Yet, it's strange even then, how we 'distance' ourselves and revert to our solitary pursuits and CONSUME 'media' ... thru a variety of different venues ... It is a constant 'feed'. People, one on one, are increasingly 'not enough' it seems, so HUNGRY are we all for 'THE NEW'.


...


I was also wondering if anyone is aware, or can redirect, to any primary research that evaluates the actual change in the brain that occurs during heavy 'watching' and/or 'interacting' with 'screens'. There seems to be some preliminary work being done in England. I spoke with a well-informed documentary filmmaker recently and he said that he wasn't aware of any reseach being done AT ALL, ever. Kind of amazing when you consider how many HOURS, DAYS, MONTHS and YEARS of our lives are spent 'glued to the tubes' It's gotta be affecting our minds - and our 'evolution' profoundly. Both 'individually' and 'as a group'. Maybe the best place to start would be the manufacturers of the actual technology, the biggies, like Sony, Time-Warner, etc. Who else?


Thoughts?
 
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Uncle Apple is offline Uncle Apple Post #6  September 11,2008, 3:36pm
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Neither. Think of tv as an open book, only no pages just moving amages and dialogue. Or think of it as a video viewer into another reality.
 
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