Streaning Star Trek: Insurrection Full Movie
6 years ago
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Gatekeepers and Power (Ch 9)
Five years ago, I decided that I no longer wanted to have a TV in my house. The main reason was that I realized that while people on TV did not tell me what to think, they definitely told me what to think about. This is an important distinction. I realized how information was manipulated to force me to think about certain topics. Sure, I was free to agree with X or Y, but I was not free to decided no to think about it. I know TV programs are evolving and with Tivo once has more freedom in what to think about. Yet, I don’t think we are at a point where I can completely customize the type of information I decide I want to receive.
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6 comments:
I am impressed with your discipline to make such a drastic move. Drastic? Maybe our culture is relying heavily on the television as our exclusive mode of communication: One–way communication. And yet, they are making the selection of programs by viewers an important reason for keeping certain programs on the air. Although I may not have your discipline to get rid of my TV set(s) altogether, I have managed to curtail my viewing to select programs. I found C-Span, KQED, National Geographic, and the History channel, to be worth viewing. I must admit that I love watching sports on the TV, so I’m not ready to give up the idea of watching something live.
I have been contemplating going on a retreat of silence… that’s a start!
Wow, you have a lot of will power to get ride of your TV! I just refused cable television for the last few years of my life and for the past year I have unhooked my TV to reduce the temptation of being brainwashed by what I’m shown. At first I thought I might be missing out, but in reality what I’m actually not forced to think about are the latest on the love affairs or parenthood of celebrities, who the next top singer, dancer, model, designer, stylist, and forth are, and a huge list of commercials I will never watch in my lifetime.
I was really surprised. Five years wow its a really longtime. I am similar opinions about TV programs like you, but i cannot stop myself from watching sports. I watch only a few channels have some simple rules for myself I mostly watch only sports channels and sometimes news channels. Things like DVR. Tivo definitely help as now you do not have watch programs just because they are the only ones coming when you have time to watch.
Some of the coverage for hours and days on some celebrity going to jail etc., i feel are really useless and irritating.
I never thought in this direction. Well your right about the television but i do watch tv as a when i have free time and have nothing to do. I mainly watch movies along with my friends as i live with my friends. I have never had such deep thoughts about this issue i guess i should think about it as you do make a good point. Well one thing i avoid watching is the advertisements to buy stuff, i dont really know what it is called but they sure can lie well. Every product is the best according to them. Well they just think that the public is gullible and would believe whatever they want them to believe.
I haven't watched television with any regularity for the past several years, and didn't own a television for the first year I was in San Jose; I now have a TV tuner in my computer that only picks up Univision and PBS, which means I still don't watch TV much. I find that I don't have any interest in television most of the time, and that I would much rather entertain and inform myself with the internet.
For a long time, I thought of myself as a more independent thinker because I was an internet news hound instead of a television watcher. The truth is, though, I probably have just moved my blinders in a different direction - seeing only what I want to see instead of seeing what the media wants me to see. It gives me the illusion of power, but if all I'm doing is exposing myself to the same echo chambers over and over, am I really expanding my mind?
This is a lively discussion! I especially love your comment:
While people on TV did not tell me what to think, they definitely told me what to think about.
I've never thought about television in this way and it actually summarizes my frustration with news channels. Interestingly, I haven't watched television in five years because I refuse to pay for the service. I have better ways to spend my money. Yet, I still see similar patterns on the internet where we are bombarded with hundreds of messages. Even on google and facebook, information is filtered and we are told what sites to focus on and which sites are the most important. I would argue that the internet is just as bad as the television because when we're surfing we still get ads about weight loss and trips to Maui. It's still the same dilemma: the media wants to tell me what to think about throughout all hours of the day. It's frustrating!!
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