I heard an interesting thing on my commute to work this morning, by 2009 the old TV antennas our parents grew up with will cease to work. TV manufacturers will stop making TVs that use this analog technology and start making TVs exclusively digital. Now this is no big deal to me, and probably no big deal most people in general, but it represents the end of an anolog tech in TVs. I thought this seemed worth mentioning in given the context of class.
Now, in the light of the essay about the beginnings of TV I think the above side note is even more pertinent. I found it interesting to note how the developmnet of the TV industry as we know it, was sevely affected by the involvement of the Federal government i.e. the FCC. The proscription of UHF in favor of VHF, which limited the amount of competition avaliable for the burgeoning industry essentially formed the TV world we know so well today. Things like the infamous "blue book" and censorship all sprung from the VHF restrictions.
I also found it interesting reading the recounts of early TV criticism. The fact that many thought TV would steal women at home away from their chores, and junior away from the baseball diamond, and dad away from his study doesn't seem far fetched today. I find myself immersed in crappy programs all the time, wondering why the hell I'm watching American Idol or Cops, when I should be studying for this class. Programs like Jerry Springer and The Biggest Loser also fall under the list of programs that these early TV critics prognosticated as being mind numbing and productivity killing.
Censorship of TV programs was an essetial factor in the rise of TV and I think this was a good thing. Why? Well if anyone has ever watched cable access any time after 12am we all know how inane and vapid the programming can be. Thank goodness for this little gem restricting our freedom of speech, or else we'd be subject not only to the jabbering of corporations hungry for our money but also the rants of anyone with enough cash to get a a licesnse.
1 comment:
I also liked the early tv criticisms. The funny thing is, when I first read it, I asked myself, "Why would tv take people away from their everyday activities?" I mean, I don't really watch that much tv, but after thinking about it, I do put off my studying to watch the Simpsons just like everybody else. I just never thought about the fact that I was doing it, so it didn't seem so bad. I think it was a pretty quick deduction for the early critics, they really hit the nail on the head for that one.
By the way, I really like the phrase "mind numbing and productivity killing" ... quite a bit of tv now is, come to think of it.
Post a Comment