Hi folks:
>> I want my kids to learn from their friends, relatives,and parents, and
from their
>> experiences with weather, trees, mosquitos, etc.
>> Janine
[While the sentiment here is noble, it seems a bit "all or nothing" to me. It
almost implies an inability to resist the pretty pictures and bouncy sounds
that Sesame Street, The Electric Company, et.al, have taught our kids to
crave. Just a thought.]
To which Vera replies:
>i like the idea of a no-TV campaign, actually there is already
>a group doing that, although i forget their name.
[ In my neck of the woods, the deep South, the name of the group most active
in this area is the Southern Baptists. Cultural politics does indeed make
strange bed-fellows. Hmmm, can you say "bed-fellows" when referring to
Southern Baptists?]
>i would also like to see more international programs and with all
>the satelite technology we have, i think cable could do
>a much better job of supplying people with much greater worldwide choices.
>aren't people talking about a 500 channel system? why
>couldn't it be every major station from each different country,
>plus specialized quality programming.
[ Another fine idea, but given the dismal relationship between most US
citizens and foreign languages, there may be some translation problems.
There's a magazine called World Press Review that might sub here, and have
the added advantage of not being on film or videotape.]
>there is a ton of great films made, which usually never
>get shown on TV, which becomes such an elite thing,
>because of commercial distribution obstacles. if you go to
>specialized film libraries or international film festivals,
>it's amazing to see the richness of what's been produced and
>for the most part is never shown to the "masses,"{...}
[ There are some great mail-order-for-purchase-or-rent movie houses out
there, specializing in foreign and American independent films. You might also
consider "P.O.V." or "Frontline" on you local PBS station. 'Course, you'll
need to take off the pillowcase. Why not leave the VCR plugged in, and
disable the cable?]
>{...}exactly because it questions and goes beyond so much of this
buy,buy,buy >nonsense.
[ Well, that's probably part of it anyway. I tend to agree with J.S. Mill on
this, when he says (following David Hume) that noble sentiments are tender
plants, easily killed by want of sustenance {i.e., nothing but bad TV,
movies, music, arts}, or by the demands of living in a complex, mercantile
society. I just don't see as much ill-will as you imply. It would require a
belief in the sort of institutional competence that I just never see among TV
stations, Hollywood mogul-types, or any given organization I could name.]
>Vera
[and Harry]
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Jun 23 10:56:40 1997
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 09:56:35 -0700 (PDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Carolyn Gage <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: television
Television is a medium, and its effects are not just a function of content.
Television apparently produces a state of relaxation that is deeper than
that achieved via meditation. This may have something to do with a hypnotic
effect,etc. This state probably alters the receptivity of the viewer...
(as a playwright I am thinking of the level of discrimination audiences
bring to live theatre), and it may render them more "brainwashable."
Television operates like a drug on the mind, and this is important to
remember when comparing it with reading, theatre, etc.
Carolyn Gage
