May 2: My thoughts on television
"Suppose someone invented an instrument, a convenient little talking
tube which, say, could be heard over the whole land...I wonder if the
police would not forbid it, fearing that the whole country would become
mentally deranged if it were used."
The Dutch philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said that about 100 years before television made its appearance. And although he was probably talking about physics rather than technology, opponents of television often repeat this quote to reinforce their own positions.
For the past 15 years, I have lived without television service. I own a TV but I can only use it to watch DVDs. There is no satellite hookup at chez Shteevie.
My reason for being TV-free is more pragmatic than puritanical. I have dreams, you see. I want to publish a novel. I want to be a better magician. I will accomplish these goals much faster if I spend my evenings writing and magicking instead of watching reruns of the Simpsons.
Having said that, I can tell you there is exactly one time of the year when I really miss having television service - the National Hockey League season. My regular readers know that I am a fan of the Calgary Flames and I would be happy if I could subscribe to a TV service that would beam only Calgary Flames games into my home. That's it. Flames games. Nothing but. 82 regular season games and all the playoff games - which suggests the Flames will make the postseason sometime in the near future. If I could pay $6 or $7 a month for this privilege, I would be a happy man.
-
I can't say I hate TV. On the infrequent occasions when I visit my family in Calgary, you can usually count on me to spend at least one evening in front of my parents' massive TV set in the basement, where I'll watch anything I darn well please. Sometimes I'll order pizza from Pizza Bank and I'll eat it and drink cold Dr. Pepper and just kind of take in all kinds of trash TV.
Not good, I know. The world would be a much better place without Jerry Springer.
-
I love the movies but I don't love television. There is a difference but there's also similarities.
What's similar? Well, TV and the cinema pander to the lowest common denominator. Is there anyone with an IQ above 100 who will argue that Scary Movie 3 is a better film than Chinatown? Probably not. But Hollywood would rather give us two hours of bathroom humour because that's what sells the tickets. It's all about the Benjamins.
Here is my favourite movie theatre:
That's the Bytowne theatre in Ottawa. It plays good movies - films people make because there's a story they desperately want to tell as opposed to films people make because they definitely want to buy a new yacht. Sometime in early June, I will go to the Bytowne to see a movie called Ida, which is about a novice nun in 1960 Poland who learns that her parents were Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. It is a Polish film and it includes English subtitles. I want to see it more than I want to see Amazing Spider-Man 2.
TV has fare like Ida, I'm sure, but most of it is meant for mass consumption. What you find on TV is McDonalds for the brain. It tastes good for a few minutes but provides little to no nourishment.
-
I am a hypocrite for saying this. I am a writer and if someone offered me the chance to write for TV, I'd jump at it. I would probably wind up writing exactly what my bosses wanted me to write, mindless drivel that would entertain dummies. Perhaps at the end of the day, I could go home and write notes like this.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
The Dutch philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said that about 100 years before television made its appearance. And although he was probably talking about physics rather than technology, opponents of television often repeat this quote to reinforce their own positions.
For the past 15 years, I have lived without television service. I own a TV but I can only use it to watch DVDs. There is no satellite hookup at chez Shteevie.
My reason for being TV-free is more pragmatic than puritanical. I have dreams, you see. I want to publish a novel. I want to be a better magician. I will accomplish these goals much faster if I spend my evenings writing and magicking instead of watching reruns of the Simpsons.
Having said that, I can tell you there is exactly one time of the year when I really miss having television service - the National Hockey League season. My regular readers know that I am a fan of the Calgary Flames and I would be happy if I could subscribe to a TV service that would beam only Calgary Flames games into my home. That's it. Flames games. Nothing but. 82 regular season games and all the playoff games - which suggests the Flames will make the postseason sometime in the near future. If I could pay $6 or $7 a month for this privilege, I would be a happy man.
-
I can't say I hate TV. On the infrequent occasions when I visit my family in Calgary, you can usually count on me to spend at least one evening in front of my parents' massive TV set in the basement, where I'll watch anything I darn well please. Sometimes I'll order pizza from Pizza Bank and I'll eat it and drink cold Dr. Pepper and just kind of take in all kinds of trash TV.
Not good, I know. The world would be a much better place without Jerry Springer.
-
I love the movies but I don't love television. There is a difference but there's also similarities.
What's similar? Well, TV and the cinema pander to the lowest common denominator. Is there anyone with an IQ above 100 who will argue that Scary Movie 3 is a better film than Chinatown? Probably not. But Hollywood would rather give us two hours of bathroom humour because that's what sells the tickets. It's all about the Benjamins.
Here is my favourite movie theatre:
That's the Bytowne theatre in Ottawa. It plays good movies - films people make because there's a story they desperately want to tell as opposed to films people make because they definitely want to buy a new yacht. Sometime in early June, I will go to the Bytowne to see a movie called Ida, which is about a novice nun in 1960 Poland who learns that her parents were Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. It is a Polish film and it includes English subtitles. I want to see it more than I want to see Amazing Spider-Man 2.
TV has fare like Ida, I'm sure, but most of it is meant for mass consumption. What you find on TV is McDonalds for the brain. It tastes good for a few minutes but provides little to no nourishment.
-
I am a hypocrite for saying this. I am a writer and if someone offered me the chance to write for TV, I'd jump at it. I would probably wind up writing exactly what my bosses wanted me to write, mindless drivel that would entertain dummies. Perhaps at the end of the day, I could go home and write notes like this.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Comments
Post a Comment