gam@amdahl.UUCP (Gordon A. Moffett) (11/27/84)
There is an ancient Egyptian myth referring to Thoth (God of
Writing and other stuff) having given Man the ability to write.
Some complained that this was unwise of Thoth to give them this
knowledge, that it would destroy their civilization, because oral
tradition and oral history would be lost, and people would write
things down and forget about them.
* * *
There are two things about the anti-TV movement which bother me.
[1] It is very fashionable among the intelligensia (or aspirants
thereto) to dislike TV and claim not to watch it. (or,
"Well, only PBS but nothing else! Honest!").
[2] Once again we have a group of people deciding what is good for
us and protecting us from the Evil Boob Tube.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT DON'T WATCH IT! I think that about wraps up
the Pro-Choice argument ....
--
Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,amd,sun}!amdahl!gam
37 22'50" N / 122 59'12" W [ This is just me talking. ]steiny@scc.UUCP (Don Steiny) (11/27/84)
> > > [1] It is very fashionable among the intelligensia (or aspirants > thereto) to dislike TV and claim not to watch it. (or, > "Well, only PBS but nothing else! Honest!"). > PBS is worse than network TV because it gives the illusion that it has some value. > > [2] Once again we have a group of people deciding what is good for > us and protecting us from the Evil Boob Tube. > Well, I agree with that. More regulation is not a good idea. Maybe it could be like smoking with a big campaign to educate people on how bad it is. On the other hand, where would the campaign advertise? -- scc!steiny Don Steiny - Personetics @ (408) 425-0382 109 Torrey Pine Terr. Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060 ihnp4!pesnta -\ fortune!idsvax -> scc!steiny ucbvax!twg -/
james@denelcor.UUCP (James Torson) (11/28/84)
Gordon A. Moffett writes concerning TV:
> ... IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT DON'T WATCH IT! ...
Something that sticks in my mind from Jerry Mander's book (Four
Arguments for the Elimination of TV) is something his son said
about TV: "I don't want to watch it, but it makes me watch it."
Jim Torson
(hao, brl-bmd, nbires, csu-cs, scgvaxd) !denelcor!jameslffast@watrose.UUCP (lffast) (11/29/84)
The ultimate solution is a pedal powered tv set. This would eliminate the all evening tv sessions; Commercial breaks would be real breaks; and channel hopping when you get board would be a thing of the past. Larry Fast Opinions expressed here are my own (but I'd never admit it publicly).
toml@oliveb.UUCP (Dave Long) (12/01/84)
In article <denelcor.610> james@denelcor.UUCP (James Torson) writes: >Gordon A. Moffett writes concerning TV: >> ... IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT DON'T WATCH IT! ... > >Something that sticks in my mind from Jerry Mander's book (Four >Arguments for the Elimination of TV) is something his son said >about TV: "I don't want to watch it, but it makes me watch it." > Jerry Mander's son must be very confused. TV can't make him watch it, since it is passive. If he wants to watch something, it is because he wants to watch it, not because the TV set locked him in his room and showed him the program. -- -- Dave Long -- {fortune,idi,ios,hplabs,tymix}!oliveb!toml {allegra,ihnp4,msoft,tty3b,uvacs}!oliveb!toml
grunwald@uiucdcsb.UUCP (12/08/84)
As for the "if you want to watch it, o.k., if you don't, don't" attitude, here, here! I don't own a telly -- I spend the time I would spend watching it doing some- thing which is only slightly less a waste of time, reading the NYT. I have to admit, it's not quit as rauchous as Lavern & Shirly, but they do get their jabs in and it fits into my budget with slightly less protest. For example, in a recent Bezerkly city council meeting, Eldrige Cleaver (ex-black panther cum moonie & general conservative kind of guy) asked if they were going to sing the national anthem before the meeting started. The mayor was quoted as saying "Shut up, Eldrige, shut up or we'll have you removed." Ah yes, only in america can you find such irony. The only problem is that our socity tends to think that you're an howwid ol' poofta who quotes stock options at parties and asks people their opinions on the Moroccan civil war if you don't watch TV. That's the center of conversation for a lot of people, which is unfortunate. You're pretty much considered a social pariah if you don't know what's going on in the tee-vee world. So, next time you meet an un-assuming person who doesn't watch TV, talk about newsprint for a couple of minutes to make them feel at ease.