My mother always admonished me to turn off the damn tv. Maybe she intuitively knew something.
Mack White: Television and the Hive Mind
It is not just commercials that manipulate us. On television news as well, image and sound are as carefully selected and edited to influence human thought and behavior as in any commercial. The news anchors and reporters themselves are chosen for their physical attractiveness–a factor which, as numerous psychological studies have shown, contributes to our perception of a person’s trustworthiness. Under these conditions, then, the viewer easily forgets–if, indeed, the viewer ever knew in the first place–that the worldview presented on the evening news is a contrivance of the network owners–owners such as General Electric (NBC) and Westinghouse (CBS), both major defense contractors. By molding our perception of the world, they mold our opinions.
From the Cleaver:
The mainstream is the way of the hive. Perceive the hive as a medieval city within defensive walls. What goes in and what goes out is controlled by official guards operating under strict orders. All access to information, goods and services is meticulously regulated by the rulers of the city. As a citizen living within the hive, the knowledge that is available to you has been edited, spliced and diluted before you get anywhere near it. You have no real idea about what goes on outside the hive.
Podcast: Know your Trances
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
John Prince 08.25.08 at 3:02 pm
“…contrary to the usual image of the news media as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and defense of justice, in their actual practice they defend the economic, social, and political agendas of the privileged groups that dominate domestic society, the state, and the global order.” - Noam Chomsky
“… the world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes”. - Benjamin Disraeli
John Prince 08.25.08 at 3:06 pm
“…contrary to the usual image of the news media as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and defense of justice, in their actual practice they defend the economic, social, and political agendas of the privileged groups that dominate domestic society, the state, and the global order.” - Noam Chomsky
“… the world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes”. - Benjamin Disraeli
Werner Patels 08.25.08 at 8:05 pm
I admit I love TV — always have, always will. But I have always been a fairly independent-minded TV viewer.
In the early 1970s, thanks to my dad’s involvement in the industry, we had one of the first VCRs, and so I learned early on to become my own “programming director”, i.e., select, record and watch in my own time.
I don’t watch shows because ratings or critics say that they are good or popular. I look at new shows and reach my own conclusions. A show can be tops in the ratings, yet you won’t find me watching it. “House” is a case in point. I watched the pilot about halfway in and then decided that the show was rubbish.
There’s nothing wrong with TV, but people have to be more discerning about what they watch. Reality shows like “Survivor”, as far as I am concerned, are for losers (it figures therefore that the most recent season of “Survivor” was in the top 5 shows in Canada every week, while it was unable to break the top 10 in the U.S. — Americans, it seems, have already caught on that it’s a stupid show, but Canadians are still mesmerized by it).