Commentary: Kill Your Television??
Kill your television? Some don’t think that’s a good idea, but consider the following before you sit down in front of your tube tonight:
1. Television is advertising. It is a medium whose purpose is to sell. Sales, by definition, is the process of convincing someone to purchase what they don’t need.
2. Advertising tries to convince someone that the solution to a problem or the fulfillment of a desire can only be achieved through the purchase of a product. Television is the most effective medium for advertising.
3. Advertisers and television networks don’t want viewers to go out and search for answers on their own. They want to provide the answers on television. Television is promoting a lifestyle. It is a virtual reality that advertisers and networks seek to promote in order to gain additional revenue.
4. Perhaps there is a need for cleanliness. But that is not what advertisers sell. Cleanliness can be obtained with water and a little bit of natural fiber, or solidified natural fat. Major world civilizations kept clean that way for millennia. What is advertised is whiteness, a value beyond cleanliness; sterility, the avoidance of all germs; sudsiness, a cosmetic factor; and brand, a surrogate community loyalty.
5. While watching television, the viewer is not seeing the world as it is. He or she is looking at a world created by advertising. Television programs are put together with the conscious attitude of promoting a consumer society.
6. If you decide to watch television, then there’s no choice but to accept the stream of electronic images as it comes. Since there is no way to stop the images, one merely gives over to them. More than this, one has to clear all channels of reception to allow them in more cleanly. Thinking only gets in the way.
7. The multitude of technical events and special effects that saturate the viewer throughout an average dose of television occur with such rapid frequency that any response is essentially eliminated. Since television images move more quickly than a viewer can react, one has to chase after them with the mind.
8. Television programs, commercials, news reports and talk shows are all designed toward blind acceptance by the viewer. Because, after all, if you see it with your own eyes, it must be true. It must be real. Flashing images on the video screen. Reality inside a box.
9. Television offers neither rest nor stimulation. Television inhibits your ability to think, but it does not lead to freedom of mind, relaxation or renewal. It leads to a more exhausted mind. You may have time out from prior obsessive thought patterns, but that’s as far as television goes.
10. The mind is never empty, the mind is filled. What’s worse, it is filled with someone else’s obsessive thoughts and images. Why do you think they call it programming?
Source: Jerry Mander, a former advertising executive in San Francisco, who published Four Arguments For The Elimination Of Television. In the book, Mander reveals how the television networks and advertisers use this pervasive video medium for sales.
Source: Kill Your Television
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is his name really jerry mander?? i dunno, i’d kill the internet before the t.v.–internerd’s got much longer tentacles constricting my soul.
ugh…get real. it’s impossible to watch television critically because anyone who wasn’t a complete retard beforehand would be rendered imbecile after fifteen minutes of “rock the cradle”? have you even watched television lately? there’s been a lot more going on in that little box in the last 5 or so years than there has been in film (hollywood, indie, european or otherwise). the wire just ended a fantastic run this year. sopranos last year. the tv version of this american life leaves me speechless almost everytime. i wouldn’t know what a bose-einstein condensate was if not for nova. even the big networks have been on their game lately. this post is so full of regurgitated leftist anti-corporate bullshit that i feel stupider for having read it than i ever do after watching an episode of the office (which i just did incidentally).
ugh…get real. it’s impossible to watch television critically because anyone who wasn’t a complete retard beforehand would be rendered imbecile after fifteen minutes of “rock the cradle”? have you even watched television lately? there’s been a lot more going on in that little box in the last 5 or so years than there has been in film (hollywood, indie, european or otherwise). the wire just ended a fantastic run this year. sopranos last year. the tv version of this american life leaves me speechless almost everytime. i wouldn’t know what a bose-einstein condensate was if not for nova. even the big networks have been on their game lately. this post is so full of regurgitated leftist anti-corporate bullshit that i feel stupider for having read it than i ever do after watching an episode of the office (which i just did incidentally).
ugh…get real. it’s impossible to watch television critically because anyone who wasn’t a complete retard beforehand would be rendered imbecile after fifteen minutes of “rock the cradle”? have you even watched television lately? there’s been a lot more going on in that little box in the last 5 or so years than there has been in film (hollywood, indie, european or otherwise). the wire just ended a fantastic run this year. sopranos last year. the tv version of this american life leaves me speechless almost everytime. i wouldn’t know what a bose-einstein condensate was if not for nova. even the big networks have been on their game lately. this post is so full of regurgitated leftist anti-corporate bullshit that i feel stupider for having read it than i ever do after watching an episode of the office (which i just did incidentally).
ugh…get real. it’s impossible to watch television critically because anyone who wasn’t a complete retard beforehand would be rendered imbecile after fifteen minutes of “rock the cradle”? have you even watched television lately? there’s been a lot more going on in that little box in the last 5 or so years than there has been in film (hollywood, indie, european or otherwise). the wire just ended a fantastic run this year. sopranos last year. the tv version of this american life leaves me speechless almost everytime. i wouldn’t know what a bose-einstein condensate was if not for nova. even the big networks have been on their game lately. this post is so full of regurgitated leftist anti-corporate bullshit that i feel stupider for having read it than i ever do after watching an episode of the office (which i just did incidentally).
ugh…get real. it’s impossible to watch television critically because anyone who wasn’t a complete retard beforehand would be rendered imbecile after fifteen minutes of “rock the cradle”? have you even watched television lately? there’s been a lot more going on in that little box in the last 5 or so years than there has been in film (hollywood, indie, european or otherwise). the wire just ended a fantastic run this year. sopranos last year. the tv version of this american life leaves me speechless almost everytime. i wouldn’t know what a bose-einstein condensate was if not for nova. even the big networks have been on their game lately. this post is so full of regurgitated leftist anti-corporate bullshit that i feel stupider for having read it than i ever do after watching an episode of the office (which i just did incidentally).
ugh…get real. it’s impossible to watch television critically because anyone who wasn’t a complete retard beforehand would be rendered imbecile after fifteen minutes of “rock the cradle”? have you even watched television lately? there’s been a lot more going on in that little box in the last 5 or so years than there has been in film (hollywood, indie, european or otherwise). the wire just ended a fantastic run this year. sopranos last year. the tv version of this american life leaves me speechless almost everytime. i wouldn’t know what a bose-einstein condensate was if not for nova. even the big networks have been on their game lately. this post is so full of regurgitated leftist anti-corporate bullshit that i feel stupider for having read it than i ever do after watching an episode of the office (which i just did incidentally).
Damn Ben, where did you find that picture? I will kill my tv (and every other tv on earth) for a piece of him!!
Jesus, relax. What’s being lefty have to do with criticizing a given medium? We all love The Wire. Why people gotta be so angry and personal in these comments?
what if you can’t afford cable? does t.v. murder get knocked down to manslaughter? i guess i could date rape my vcr.
because it threatens identity, which is a deeply personal thing. It’s fear based, and the response is tied to the extent of the percieved wound. People lash out when they feel their identity is attacked. It’s basic animal behavior. In this case, a reader knows he spends too much time in front of the TV, and facing the ramifications of this in his own life is obviously something that bothers him. Facing ourselves is too painful, so striking back is preferable.
We all respond similarly, only the topics are different. We all have our triggers.
because it threatens identity, which is a deeply personal thing. It’s fear based, and the response is tied to the extent of the percieved wound. People lash out when they feel their identity is attacked. It’s basic animal behavior. In this case, a reader knows he spends too much time in front of the TV, and facing the ramifications of this in his own life is obviously something that bothers him. Facing ourselves is too painful, so striking back is preferable.
We all respond similarly, only the topics are different. We all have our triggers.
Clearly, Adams ability to think is what isn’t hear.
You totally didn’t get it.
Television is nothing more then a instrument to get you to buy things.
Advertising isn’t there to help you live a better life, it’s there emotionally manipulate you into thinking you need what they want you to have to be happy.
Television are NOT the same thing, and you clearly can’t separate the two.
The show you list are not free shows, they are paid for shows, provided when you purchase connection to cable. There are no commercials during the Wire. Nor in between the shows you watch, because those channels charge you to watch them.
Same with basic cable. Sure you get hundreds of channels, even the networks channels, but you are still paying for it.
And the getting the network channels over you cable is so funny, because it doesn’t cost them anything, and you end up seeing the advertising anyway.
Advertising brings in more money then subscription fees for entertainment. Why? Because advertising time for prime time shows is auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Sheesh, learn something other then how to hit send after ranting none stop.
I agree that most TV/Cable is pure crap. Capitalism is in full effect. Clearly more options do not mean better quality. How do I have so many channels to choose from and still struggle to find something good to watch. Maybe my standards are too high?? With this said, there are moments when good stuff does come out of TV/Cable. As others have mentioned before, the Wire is AMAZING show!!! Thanks goodness for TIVO and Neflix!
When I am with my sister the one born right after me, we do talk about stuff we learned on TV. My mother loved it because we would be babysat by the TV. That is before all the social scientists started talking bad about it. My main point is that when I go and buy here in America I am still controlled by the commercials of American products in Latin American TV (we had SCN too) and I can still repeat commercials and jingles that are not sung or said anymore or haven’t heard in years. Yes TV does do things to a young mind. Look at me now. Al pan, pan y al Cafe Duran, or singing Cafe Sitton sabroso hasta el ultimo sorbito or pinte lo que pinte pintelo con Fuller. Leche Klim which is milk spelled backwards, oh I can start reminiscing.
Yeah, interesting post and comments and all of that.
What I want to know is, where did that photo come from? Yummers! That man has nearly perfect legs. And the slave leather band on his ankle, that’s just the cherry on top.
Television can influence you only as much as one let’s it. There is very good, even great TV being made, and we are richer for it. While advertisement is an integral part of TV, it’s not all of it, and ultimately, I believe in the power of thinking individuals think critically.
To ascribe so much power to TV and so little to oneself is to self-emasculate.
the house i live in now is a cable free one! its surprising how much more i get done now instead of watching reruns of the same cycle of americas next top model for the 20th time. weve gotten used to netflix and tv dvds now so when i do visit someone with cable the commercials confuse and scare me.
thank you daniel, exactly my point. i wasn’t trying to be personal and and i’d hope that ben knows that. and i do understand (this time) that he got these points from this jerry mander character. it’s just that this bland culture jamming just grates the fucking hell out of me, because it’s so blatantly false and inflammatory.
and anonymous just because they themselves say they aren’t, doesn’t make hbo anything other than television. have you seen how much product placement they have on there? almost makes me want to go out and get an entemann’s sampler. almost.
thank you daniel, exactly my point. i wasn’t trying to be personal and and i’d hope that ben knows that. and i do understand (this time) that he got these points from this jerry mander character. it’s just that this bland culture jamming just grates the fucking hell out of me, because it’s so blatantly false and inflammatory.
and anonymous just because they themselves say they aren’t, doesn’t make hbo anything other than television. have you seen how much product placement they have on there? almost makes me want to go out and get an entemann’s sampler. almost.
thank you daniel, exactly my point. i wasn’t trying to be personal and and i’d hope that ben knows that. and i do understand (this time) that he got these points from this jerry mander character. it’s just that this bland culture jamming just grates the fucking hell out of me, because it’s so blatantly false and inflammatory.
and anonymous just because they themselves say they aren’t, doesn’t make hbo anything other than television. have you seen how much product placement they have on there? almost makes me want to go out and get an entemann’s sampler. almost.
thank you daniel, exactly my point. i wasn’t trying to be personal and and i’d hope that ben knows that. and i do understand (this time) that he got these points from this jerry mander character. it’s just that this bland culture jamming just grates the fucking hell out of me, because it’s so blatantly false and inflammatory.
and anonymous just because they themselves say they aren’t, doesn’t make hbo anything other than television. have you seen how much product placement they have on there? almost makes me want to go out and get an entemann’s sampler. almost.
thank you daniel, exactly my point. i wasn’t trying to be personal and and i’d hope that ben knows that. and i do understand (this time) that he got these points from this jerry mander character. it’s just that this bland culture jamming just grates the fucking hell out of me, because it’s so blatantly false and inflammatory.
and anonymous just because they themselves say they aren’t, doesn’t make hbo anything other than television. have you seen how much product placement they have on there? almost makes me want to go out and get an entemann’s sampler. almost.
thank you daniel, exactly my point. i wasn’t trying to be personal and and i’d hope that ben knows that. and i do understand (this time) that he got these points from this jerry mander character. it’s just that this bland culture jamming just grates the fucking hell out of me, because it’s so blatantly false and inflammatory.
and anonymous just because they themselves say they aren’t, doesn’t make hbo anything other than television. have you seen how much product placement they have on there? almost makes me want to go out and get an entemann’s sampler. almost.
While I greatly enjoy some television as well and care more about the discussion than the strident belief in one side or the other (hence, the question mark in the title of htis post), I’m not so sure of Daniel’s comment that “Television can influence you only as much as one let’s it.”
Can we really claim that knowing advertisers are trying to manipulate us somehow insulates us from the effect? I’m not so sure.
If you summarized what we know from modern neuroscience, one of the first bits of agreement across the entire field would be that most cognition occurs below the level of awareness. The human mind takes in about 11 million pieces of information a minute, of which it can be consciously aware of about 40.
So most cognition happens below the level of awareness. The conscious mind’s relationship to the unconscious mind is like the relationship of a boy to an elephant he is riding; “the boy can see further, but the elephant does most of the work.” Our minds are fed and formed beneath the level of awareness by these mental loops, by social contagions. With this in mind, if we are feeding our brain a constant loop of advertisements and ideas crafted to take advantage of our insecurities and desires, can we really say we aren’t negatively affected, regardless of our awareness?
re: right above
i dunno, ben, “most cognition occurs below the level of awareness”? sounds an awful lot like freud’s subconscious, which i’m pretty sure is the thing modern neuroscience agrees doesn’t exist (love ya anyway, siggy!).
here, an example: how many times have you been somewhere you’ve been a gajillion times before only to suddenly notice something that [you think] wasn’t there before? and then you turn to a friend and ask, “hey, when did _____ happen?” and how many times has the reply been, “um, last week/last month/last year/always, you drunk ho”?
the mind receives sensory information 5 ways 24 hours a day, but there is simply no way to process it all; the vast majority is lost. what’s my point then? you have to pay attention. if you don’t actively process something within your brain it simply doesn’t stick around. why do you think advertisers are always coming up with new tricks to try to get our attention?
but, you’re likely right, people should maybe cut the tv off and get out more. everything in moderation ‘n’ all that (said the barely functional alcoholic)…=P
re: right above
i dunno, ben, “most cognition occurs below the level of awareness”? sounds an awful lot like freud’s subconscious, which i’m pretty sure is the thing modern neuroscience agrees doesn’t exist (love ya anyway, siggy!).
here, an example: how many times have you been somewhere you’ve been a gajillion times before only to suddenly notice something that [you think] wasn’t there before? and then you turn to a friend and ask, “hey, when did _____ happen?” and how many times has the reply been, “um, last week/last month/last year/always, you drunk ho”?
the mind receives sensory information 5 ways 24 hours a day, but there is simply no way to process it all; the vast majority is lost. what’s my point then? you have to pay attention. if you don’t actively process something within your brain it simply doesn’t stick around. why do you think advertisers are always coming up with new tricks to try to get our attention?
but, you’re likely right, people should maybe cut the tv off and get out more. everything in moderation ‘n’ all that (said the barely functional alcoholic)…=P
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