Sleeper Curve Argumentative Analysis

Also on the contrary to Johnsons article, Stevens discusses the examples of television shows that Johnson mentions that he is convinced enhances brain function by making the viewers pay attention, make inferences, and track shifting relationships between characters. Some of these shows are The Sopranos, 24, Hill Street Blues, and others. The show The Sopranos, is a prime example because this show will “connect multiple threads at the same time, layering one plot atop another” (Johnson, 283). Therefore, The Sopranos require a lot more attention from their audience engaging them with complex characterization and intertwining multiple episodes, which is what Johnson calls the “Sleeper Curve.” But does engaging in television shows such as this benefit the brain in anyway? Stevens says no; she believes in watching shows like these, “watching TV teaches you to watch more TV” (Stevens, 296).

Today, Film and Television are among the most internationally supported commodities. Financially, their contributions are enormous: both industries are responsible for the circulation of billions of dollars each year. Since their respective explosions into the new media markets during the mid-twentieth century, film and television have produced consistently growing numbers of viewers and critics alike. Sparking debate over the nature of their viewing, film and television are now being questioned in social, political, and moral arenas for their potential impact on an audience. Critics claim that watching films or television is a passive activity in which the viewer becomes subconsciously

The television shows from 1950 to the present are connected in many ways. The characters showed in the 1950s television show called Leave It To Beaver all have white coloured skin and portrayed as a happy, perfect family. As the decades increased, the nuclear families turned into blended families, and the television shows started to have coloured characters. The families started to have problems and social situations. The viewer sees the conflicts inside the family begin as the years progress. For example, in the 2000's we examined a television show called Arrested Development. The show portrays the characters as if they are troubled and have problems. The children do not listen to their parents but instead have

In Colson Whitehead’s thought-provoking piece The Loser Edit, the author introduces the contrasting ideas of “loser edits” and “winner edits”, names given to the processes used by TV producers in order to make winners and losers make sense to the audience. Particularly in paragraphs seven through twenty, Whitehead’s usage of rhetorical strategies--namely rhetorical questions and syntax-- effectively establishes and develops his position on both “edits”. By using the aforestated rhetorical tools, Colson Whitehead competently creates a compelling essay.

Television executive Lauren Zalaznick, gave a presentation called “The conscience of television” for TED Talk which she discussed past five decades of the highest standing shows on air. Zalaznick runs studies which go to great lengths on how the topics of television shows changed from decade to decade and how viewers changed the reason of watching based on what was happening in the world. Television’s conscious effects our emotions, challenges our values, and influences our views on the world by what we choice to watch.

In today’s society, people often choose to watch T.V. over other activities. They read less, spend less time outside, and spend less time interacting with their family and friends. People often eat their meals while watching T.V. One research study done by The National Endowment for the Arts and reported in Information Please Database showed some alarming trends: People age 15-24 spend 1hour and 57 minutes each weekday watching T.V., people age 35-44 spend 1 hour and 53 minutes each weekday watching T.V., and people age 55-64 spend 2 hours and 35 minutes each weekday watching T.V. All of these age groups spent even more time viewing T.V. on the weekends than they did during the week. This study shows that people spend a great deal of time “vegetating” in front of a T.V. screen rather than interacting with others or using their minds to think.

Television has been used for decades to shape the human psyche. It has also played a major role in the development of American lives, and at times we fail to notice. “People are sheep. TV is the shepherd.” (Jess C. Scott, Literary Heroin (Gluttony): A Twilight Parody).

John Romano writes about the transition from erudite academic writing to writing for the masses in popular television in "Coming Home to Television." The essay addresses the differences between what is considered highbrow versus what is considered lowbrow art and creative expression, especially in the realm of literature. Ironically, Romano writes about television from a scholarly perspective. He is only somewhat sarcastic when Romano notes that the transition from academia to television script writing was a step down. Walter Karp does not address the differences between writing for school and writing for television. However, Karp does harp on the inefficiencies of the American public school system. Karp focuses more on class issues related to education, such as unequal access to gifted education between lower-income versus higher-income families. Karp also incorporates issues related to educational tracking in his essay, "Why Johnny Can't Think." What the two articles have in common is the way the authors expose the divide between highbrow and lowbrow culture in America, although they address these matters from completely different perspectives and points of view.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a successful comedy show with extremely high ratings in its genre winning numerous awards such as the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series (Comedy) in 2014. Does the show live up to the hype that surrounds it? Are its ratings accurate? This essay will spotlight the show’s characters, discuss its negative aspects, and highlight the show’s drawing points to determine whether Brooklyn Nine-Nine is deserving of its praise and glory.

To explain the multithreading Johnson says,"When we watch TV, we intuitively track narrative-threads-per-episode as a measure of a given show's complexity. And all the evidence suggests that this standard has been rising steadily over the past two decades"(72). Johnson is conveying that due to the increase of complexity in the threads an episode carries, its allowing for viewers to exercise their cognitive mind by following them. To show this the 1978 cartoon animation Scooby Doo from demonstrates the few threads that a show had in that decade as shown below. In the

To differentiate between the huge ranges of TV shows, viewers would usually make use of genre labels. Which helps them to identify each show. By doing this the viewer fulfils their viewer’s needs and preferences. Genres are normally defined through specific codes and conventions. These codes and conventions are agreed upon by the viewers and are used in practice by the film industry. Some of these codes and conventions are obvious through the titles and characters of TV shows. For example, a viewer that is

In Growing Up With Television: Cultivation Process, Morgan, Shanahan and Signorielli assert that “long-term exposure to television tends to cultivate the image of a relatively mean and dangerous world (Morgan et al., 2009).” Rooted in the amount of time spent consuming content, the mean world syndrome is central to Gerber’s Cultivation Theory, or Effect. The theory states that they are viewing habits range from light to medium to heavy. Although subjective, the amount of time spent consuming content is a key component of cultivation effect. Morgan et al., noted that “the relative difference in viewing levels are more important than the specific amount of viewing (Morgan et al, 2009).”

The way in which Brooker chose to present the show adds to this familiarity as well. We have become better multi-taskers as our relationship with technology has grown (Turkle 242). Thus, we quickly move from one task to the next, becoming impatient when something takes too long. As an anthology series, Black Mirror can get its point across quickly. Traditional television programs must work hard to avoid the designation as a show that “moves too slowly,” especially since the arc of storylines can last for seasons; and, as a result, it may take years for a show to reveal its true message. Black Mirror, on the other hand, appeals to its audience in that it moves at the pace of today’s world—it’s true message can be found packed concisely into its title.

It could very well be true that over the past 20 years, television programming has developed in such a way as to demand more cognitive participation. However, watching TV is not the societal benefit Johnson makes it out to be. Johnson’s claim that TV is overall a beneficial societal force fails to account for the indirect effects of watching TV. It may be true that the cognitive demands of watching an episode of 24 do in fact stimulate brain function as opposed to diminish it. However, when a person sits down in front of the TV, he is choosing to do so instead of reading, studying, doing his homework, or exercising. These things are undisputedly beneficial to society. When one spends his time in front of the TV screen, it is time he is taking away from actually getting smarter.

In Watching TV makes you smarter, published in "The New York Times" on April 24, 2005, Steven Johnson argues for the multiple threads, fewer flashing arrows and social networking that make modern Television nourishing cognitive food. In answer to Johnson's article, "Carrie" posted Does watching TV make you stupid? on May 1, 2005. Carrie presents further blogs on May 3rd and May 7th, 2005; however, the gist of her arguments are contained in her first blog. Comparing the logic of Johnson's argument for and Carrie's argument against Television as cognitive food, I believe that Johnson presents the more convincing argument.