Portrayal Of Television On The Age Of Show Business

The spread of television has affected American households universally, which started in the 1940s but has continued to make a dramatic surge. There is a trend at that is being captured across televisions in households everywhere. Politics, reality television, social media and public information is being broadcast from household to household. Television has in a way become a mode of how we think and interact with each other. Television is starting to leave that bubble where it was strictly entertainment, now television is becoming a source of what we must believe. The consumer demand for television as spiked dramatically, in the way we view ourselves and perceive others in the world around us is through a television screen. Although we are

In an effort to expose the epistemology of television, which Postman believes has not been effectively addressed, he examines the effects of TV on several important American cultural institutions: news, religion, politics and education.  All four institutions, Postman argues, have realized that they have to go on television in order to be noticed which, in turn, requires them to learn the language of TV if they are to reach the people.  Therefore, they have joined the national conversation not on their own terms, but on TV's terms.  Postman contends that this transformation of our major institutions has trivialized what is most important about them and turned our culture into "one vast arena for show business" (80).  In the case of broadcast news, we see visually stimulating, disconnected stories about murder and mayhem along with a healthy dose of infotainment delivered by friendly and likeable anchors that remind us to "tune in tomorrow".  In the case of politics, we have discourse through distorted paid TV commercials and "debates" in which the appearance of having said something important is

The Television is often the centerpiece of typical American house. TVs are now a representative the American dream. TVs are even used to measure finical wellbeing. Huge flat screen TVs symbolize success, while smaller TVs represent modesty. People crowd around the TV to watch the big game, to catch up on the news and keep up with pop culture. Is there something wrong with this so-called wonder device known as the Television? Marie Winn, author of book Unplugging the plug-in drug, argues this point in the chapter “The Trouble with Television” claiming that the television negatively affects families and specifically children. Marie Winn is an author and journalist who is known for her write ups on wildlife and television. The book was published in 1987 and describes eight ways in which the television is damaging. Winn makes it a point not to argue against the content of television, but rather how the television effects family relationships and is a detriment to children’s development. While I agree with some of Winn’s, overall, I disagree with her assessment of television. The points that Winn made that I disagree with include, TV allows kids to grow up less civilized, TV keeps family from doing other things, TV makes children less resourceful, TV has a negative effect on children’s school achievement and TV has a negative effect on children’s physical fitness.

In today's world television has taken a very dominant role in our lives. One could look at the average American's viewing habits as follows. A person wakes up and turns on the television to see the morning weather and how their stocks fared. The individual proceeds to go to work,

In the article, The Trouble with Television, Robert Macneil describes his viewpoint on the negative effects of television. He states that “by the age of 20, you will have watched 20,000 hours of television.” The author believes that we waste time that could be used to do more productive things. According to the article, in that time you could have “learned enough to become an astronomer or engineer or be fluent in several different languages.” Another opinion of the author is that Television is one of the main factors of illiteracy. He says that “some 30 million Americans are functionally illiterate, and cannot even understand the instructions on a medicine bottle.”

He says, “There is the eclipse of the public intellectual in the general media by the pundit who substitutes outrageousness for thoughtfulness, and the concomitant decline of the essay in general-interest magazines” (Gabler). The general media is making the public intellectual look less important by indirectly comparing them to a critic who exchanges the remarkable, in terms of ideas and information, for things that appeal to society on a more trivial front. This opinion is tied into a statement made in Sachs’ essay. Sachs’ main point of view is that excessive TV viewing is causing problems. In accordance to what Gabler says, Sachs indirectly addresses the cause. He states, “Television and related media have been the greatest purveyors and conveyors of corporate and political propaganda” (Sachs). As people are exposed to controlled media, it can influences their perspective in a detrimental way. Sachs mentions that, “America’s TV ownership is almost entirely in private hands, and owners make their money through relentless advertising” (Sachs). This advertising as mentioned above in this analysis isn’t benefiting anyone and causing some to not think rationally as they give in to unconscious

The line between pertinent news and entertainment blurs. Neil Postman presents the devaluation of public knowledge in Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman argues that “all subject matter is presented as entertainment,” and consequently, society cannot distinguish between the omnipresent entertainment and relevant information. Education and debate have been reduced to amusement and a beauty contest. All across the world, teachers are redefining the role of entertainment in the classroom. Students must first be entertained and engaged, and then a nugget of learning should be injected into the activity. Similarly, political discussion has become a question of televised charisma and visual appeal. Because children and adults have developed shorter attention spans, every information service must pander to the new viewer. Weathermen and newscasters are actors and entertainers. Orwell imagined the television controlling the public. Huxley forecasted the problematic and pervasive need for

Television has been a big part of many American’s lives since its invention, and is no different in mines. Ever since I was a child, I was always waiting to watch my favorite shows during Saturday mornings. However, my television viewing habits, along with many other Americans, have tremendously changed over the past decade. Due to advances in technology, television has evolved into many different forms. This change has caused television to evolve overtime that has made television more accessible, provide a higher variety of options, and becoming a less sociable activity as a result.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s television programming developed rapidly into more than an assortment of fact and fiction narratives; it became itself a social text for an increasing population, “functioning as a kind of code through which people gleaned a large portion of their information, intellectual stimulation, and distraction” (Danesi, 240). Since its inception in the mid-1930s, many of television’s programs have become the history of many cultures. French semiotician Roland Barthes (1915-1980) claimed that “television shows are often based around a mythologie, in reference to the fact that the original mythic themes continue to reverberate residually in modern-day societies, especially

Television has become a significant part of our daily lives.Despite vast internet network developments, many people in the world still spend significant timewatching television. According to the article “Television viewing at all-time high” from the Los Angeles Times, “…the average American now watches more than 151 hours of TV a month. That is about five hours a day”. (www.latimes.com). People still get important information from their TVs and are also entertained from this same source. Televisionshowsnowadays have more ways to reach their audience through computer monitors and cell phone screens. It has also become very convenient forpeople to watch these TV shows at anytime and at any place.Because of this newly increased accessibility,

“Americans are the best entertained and quite likely the least-informed people in the Western world.” (Postman, 1984, p. 2) While this statement is painfully ominous, its message is one that has been debated tirelessly since the dawn of technology. The influence of television in politics is one with strong advocates and opponents. There have been many studies and investigations into the effects of technology on the political world, and yet no conclusive evidence has come forth. (Rannay, 1985, p. 3) Despite this, it is no

The television or as some may call it the “idiot box” has been in our lives for decades. It replaced the radio, and grew to be the fundamental electronic transmitting device that no household can last without. Nowadays, every household has at least one television set; and the average American watches approximately 5 hours a day of TV programs; making watching TV the most common routine among people. Television is mainly used for entertainment. However, some people use the TV to watch the news, shows, movies, reality TV, or even documentaries. Basically, television has every possible show to accommodate every possible taste. Children can watch cartoons, animi or educational shows. While adults use the TV to watch the news, movies, reality TV, programs, and documentaries. Over time, television has grown a bad reputation. Consequently, it became an intense debate topic. Some may argue that TV is just an idiot box used to numb our minds. While others believe that watching TV can make you smarter, and more alert.

The media is one of the biggest focal points of contemporary America’s daily life and America is both blind and naive when it comes to media, but not in the sense that Americans don’t know how to understand media, but separates itself from the reality of this fictitious medium. In Bill Moyers’ Free Speech For Sale, proof arises that media controls more than what most people think. Even though there is proof of media tampering and being overall very deceitful, most Americans decide to detach themselves from the reality of the situation. But entertainment isn’t the only thing that’s being manipulated to conform to the ideal message: actors and other public presences are filtered and this is seen in Marshall Mcluhan’s Amusing Ourselves To Death. Even though media is very dishonorable, it still is astonishing because of the advancements in technology that is seen in the media today.

Television show is one of the popular ways to pass time and is also acknowledged as social communication facilitator. Since Game of Thrones is one of the nations most popular show, the program has accumulated varieties of fans and interests. Game of Thrones like other popular and successful media such as Hunger games series, Harry Potter etc. has both the print version and television show segments. When it comes to my focus, I am focusing on the television show aspect of the media. According to my interviewees, the media phenomenal had garner both nation and worldwide attention because the TV doesn 't fall into the typically cliché category of TV shows and media that the public are exposed to in our current media. My interviewees said that they are “attracted to the extreme drama and unrealistic nature of the show” and also attracted to the fact that “Game of thrones is the opposite from every cliché book/TV show. It 's fun of suspense, action, violence and plot twists.”

Yet, while consuming this entertainment, I also find myself aware of my own media literacy. As someone who grew up in a “newsy” household, I would say that my media literacy, or “the process of interacting with and critically analyzing media content by considering its particular presentation, its underlying political or social messages, and its ownership or regulation issues that may affect what is presented and in what form” (39), has always been strong. Yet, as I moved through my day, I was more aware of my own biases. While before I would have congratulated myself on being well informed, now I know that most of my day’s intake is specifically linked to my need for mental entertainment. Furthermore, I can identify the biases influencing my media intake. My father is a one time journalist who became an educator, and much of yesterday’s conversation was framed by our mutual experiences in education. While we watched news shows with more liberal framing, we also experienced an “echo