TV or not TV?

September 30, 2006

Guest Post by Morbo

The Carpetbagger’s recent post about the increase in television sets in American homes was disturbing, but it overlooked an even more troubling trend: the rise of television in public places.

I’ll admit I’m a snob when it comes to this topic. Over the past 10 years or so, I’ve become an anti-TV crank. I concede that my views are not fully rational. I also concede that somewhere on television there is probably good writing. I just don’t intend to spend any time or money looking for it. Have you seen the price of cable lately? Time and money seem to be in short supply these days. In my view, there are better ways to spend both than zoning out in front of the ever-growing idiot box.

Yet I cannot escape television entirely. Every time I travel, I am confronted with a bank of televisions in the waiting area, all blaring “Airport CNN” or, even worse, the Fox News Channel.

I understand that some people might want to catch up on the headlines or see how their stocks are doing while waiting for a plane. God knows we have a lot of time to kill since major airlines now recommend that you arrive seven hours early for a domestic flight and three-and-a-half weeks for international. One TV to service those who want it should be fine. But why must we have a row of them everywhere?

Lately I’ve been intrigued by this device. It’s is a universal remote that turns off any TV, anywhere. I have not purchased one yet, but I’m awfully intrigued. Naturally I would never use such a device in a private home or to harass TV-watching friends. But imagine being able to walk into an airport waiting area, a restaurant, a doctor’s waiting room or any other public place that has been invaded by TV and cause all the screens to go blank. My head spins at the thought of such power! I only wonder if I could truly handle it. Would I use my powers always for good and never for evil?

What about you? How would you use TV B Gone — if you would risk using it at all? Given the power, would you dare disturb the universe?

I’d probably wuss out and not get one. I’m more of the type to make fun of what’s on the tube (damn you MST3K!) I take particular pleasure at mocking movie previews and entertainment shows as it’s the only way I don’t I feel my IQ dropping like a rock.

Generally, the only time I watch TV in public is at the gym. There is no outdoor running track and if there was the traffic pollution would render any cardio gain null. The only way I can NOT get distracted after running even 10 minutes on the treadmills is to watch TV.

I’d rather get a cell phone jammer that not only jams cellphone signlas and have the added bonus of audiofeed back to half deafen idiots who drive and talk at the same time. Nearly got T-boned yesterday by a jackass who was talking on the phone and forgot that red does NOT mean go.

  • If the remote gave access to the parental controls, I’d use it to lock out FOXGOPNews.
    The thing that depresses me about our culture in general, and TV in specific, is our ever growing tolerance for advertising. Nearly a full 1/3 of every broadcast hour is dedicated to ads. Take all of the adds out a season of 24 and 16 is closer to the truth. If these ads were honest announcements of available products, that would be one thing. But, when they aren’t outright lies, they’re spun to the edge of any resemblance to truth.

    But that doesn’t mean I think TV should be ignored. Far from it. TV is the de facto backdrop for all political memes. If you do not understand that backdrop, you’ll be clueless as to what to do in front of it. The repub noise machine has this down to a science. While many credit repubs for establishing an arcing narrative upon which they hang their barking points, more often than not, they’re merely manipulating the pop mythology established by TV. Yes it’s 99.9% garbage, but ignore it at your peril.

  • Thanks Morbo.

    I’m with you. I got rid of TV when Bush started his 4, 8, 12? year run. When I do see it somewhere now, I sort of shrink back from the shrillness of it, the overly dramatic squawking of it, the stupidity of it. And that’s just the new shows.

    It’s an attention sink that seems to overcome the best intentions of only watching “quality” programming. Is there any?

  • “TV, drug of the nation, feeding ignorance and spreading radiation.”

    Oh yes, I’d use it. There’s enough noise on the planet and TV is the worst of the lot. The magic talking box never shuts up and it’s hard to shut out. (I don’t care what the FCC says, the ads are louder.) Maybe if the TVs in common use areas were set on PBS I wouldn’t mind but in my experience they’re they’re set on the CNN endless soundbite fluff piece gossip loop, some “reality” show (gag) or soap operas (vomit). And while we’re at it I’ll take one of Dan’s cell phone jammers and something that blows the sound systems on cars that have woofers bigger than the engine.

    Who, me? Control issues? Nah. I just think a bit of quiet would benefit everyone and I am willing to go to extreme measures to get it. I want people to shut the hell up and read a book or talk to a friend or go for a walk or just fucking contemplate their inner universe before their brains all shrivel like rasins.

    But I don’t have control issues.

  • As someone briefly alluded to in the linked post, doesn’t it remind you a little bit of the “FreeV” in 1984? Of course, that technological advance allowed those on the other end of the set to watch YOU, too, a little added spice for your day and by the way, have you seen my privacy anywhere?

    How far away is that little innovation, do you suppose?

  • What I’d like is a universal remote that would allow me to permanently disable the radio of one of those morons with a bass that can send waves through walls. If any of them had any taste in what they play, perhaps I’d change my mind.

    Maybe I’m an auld phart, but I agree with Ray Charles that rap is spelled with a “silent c”. Proof that culture can indeed be de-evolutionary.

  • As far as TV being universally bad, which I agree with 80% as someone who has participated in creating the crap, the second season of Dr. Who is pretty good for writing and ideas.

  • I’d rather have a remote to silence the background “music” that permeates every store and supermarket, including the weight room of my local YMCA. It seems most people cannot function physically unless their mental faculties are saturated with outside stimuli. Whatever happened to introspection?

  • Since moving to southern California, I’ve found it annoying how many restaurants seem to have tvs. I can understand bars having them, but that’s the end of it. To spend $20 on an entree and have a football game blaring at me? Just amazing.

    But what I’d use the universal remote on would be the tvs at Albertsons grocery stores showing me Dr. Phil.

  • Since I seldom watch TV, having given up the satalite (?) I have only about three watchable channels, and since I never go anywhere with out a book, I manage to ignore the TV in public places. I do get annoyed at a lot of things…actually more and more as I grow old…but there are a lot of things one should try to overlook..and TV is one of the main ones. In my gym they keep the sound off and one has to read the crawl…so I take a book…even though my daughter says I am not working hard enough if I read…I’m working hard enough for me. So read more and use ear plugs.

  • I think I’d rather turn off the music they play when one is on hold….Hate that…ear plugs might not work there since you’re waiting for some one…anyone usually …to get back to you.

  • i was a TV snob in the States, totally hated it. in the EU and especially the UK it’s much different. one can watch good films (in toto) w/o adverts on BBC and there are always excellent documentaries on animals, history, current events et al. great films on other channels as well; i think on every other station, it’s like three very brief commercial breaks in every hour.

    every night on the Simpsons there’s one break for an advert about ten minutes in. first time watching w/a Scottish friend and he’s all ‘how come there are so many abrupt starts and stops?’ and i’m all ‘that’s where the commercials go in the States.’ he went ‘for a half-hour programme?’ and i’m all ‘yup.’ he was amazed.

    if i had TV B Gone, i’d use it for good, of course—turn off faux news every chance i’d get, including airports and especially bars. oh, and every other big hit that ever offended what’s left of my intelligence like ‘friends’ et al.

    ps, i’d leave on things like The Sopranos and Oz, of course. 🙂

  • I just ordered my TV B Gone, and I can’t wait to use the thing. I don’t travel all that much, but I really get ticked when multiple TeeVees in bars make conversation impossible.

  • My dad had one of those universal remotes that turn off TVs. He’s sort of a cranky old guy about certain things, and he really, *really* likes being able to turn off the TVs in restaurants that he’s eating in. I mean, it really makes him happy.

  • Newest spots of invasion by “TV” or more accurately “captive audience commercial video”? Supermarket checkout lines and gas pumps. If this gadget would work for these, they’ve made a sale.

  • I’d stay at home, surf, study, read The Carpetbagger Report, read most of the links therefrom, and the links from there too probably, write (online and offline), do my share of domestic work, interact in the usual way with my family, watch a film I’ve downloaded borrowed or rented, work on some research collating and database projects, feed the pigeons on the windowsill and learn from watching them, sleep when I can’t stay awake, meditate.

    We don’t have TeeVee in the house, lots of multimedia networked games and the like, 5 computers, 3 mobile phones, two xboxes and 2 TV screens. I don’t go out of the house — don’t have time. We have a lot of visitors. When I travel I travel on foot, bicycle or horse. We don’t have ICE machines. We use trains or buses if we have to. I’ve given up flying completely since that Tashkent to Moscow run in a ramshackle Trident. I like boats — I’d always sail now if I had to travel that far.

    I’ve chosen this life. I’ve created this life exactly as I want it. It is healthy, satisfying, fulfilling, enjoyable, economical and environmentally considerate. I recommend it. If I couldn’t have attained it, though, I’d definitely have a TV-B-Gone in my pocket at all times everywhere.

  • I dont have TV but check in with it from time to time – I see it as a great numbing and brainwashing device – it has such mindless “entertainment” that it is lulling people to sleep as to what is really going on in this country, and the world. I think of what is going on right now as similar to the final solution in Germany. People didnt have television then, so they had limited ways of getting propaganda, and in some ways could be excused for really not knowing. In modern times we now have television, but the number of mindless channels outweighs any coherent and honest news shows, so the majority of people would rather tune in to American Idol than what is really going on in the world.

  • My local supermarket (Albertson’s in California) now has closed-circuit TVs everywhere, running informercials touting various foods, ways to prepare food, etc. It is extremely annoying. I don’t like Safeway, but I notice I’ve begun shopping there more recently.

    Last time I was at the laundromat, I asked the attendant to turn off the TV, which was tuned to some right-wing talk show discussing (in a very prurient fashion) some cases of child-rape. They refused to turn it off, but at least they switched the channel. I will take my dirty laundry elsewhere, next time.

    I haven’t had TV for more than ten years, but am not an anti-TV extremist. There are certain shows I’ve read about and would like to see, and some time or other I’ll rent them on CD and watch them on my computer.

    But I agree with you, having it forced down your throat is bad.

  • I particularly hate in the hospital and Dr. waiting rooms. Why so damn loud? and it’s never anything you want to watch – why not Nature or Nova, but no it’s always people yelling! and trying to sell you cars. It’s in almost every diner where we live. My husband and I used to go out to breakfast regularly on weekends – but now if the TV’s on we turn around and leave. It’s horrible the way you have family’s out to eat and they are not TALKING to each other. Mom and Dad reading the paper – kids mesmerized. I understand that people have it in the SUV for the road trip now to hypnotize the children so they won’t have to interact with them. Sometimes it is boring or irritating to talk to your children, people under 8 tend not to be good converationalists They can be a real pain in the ass – but it’s in the job description sometimes you have to do hard things and sometimes the hard things are valuable. My husband and I are addicted to Netflix however, and it has unfortuantely cut down on house cleaning, gardening, taking walks, political activity – think about it people who are watching T.V. are not at Town Meetings, getting petitions signed, voluntering for anything, theya re not playing bridge with the neighbors, they are not playing the piano and singing together.

    The above is my basic anti-tv rant.

  • I’m too lazy to read the comments, but I actually have a small remote I bought for the gym. The sets are too high to reach and I like watching the news or sports when I run. Occasionally Fox or Oprah is on and… whatever.

    It’s handy and I always ask the people around me if they care, sometimes they do and I move, but for the most part,no one cares.

    And sometimes, they just need to be turned down.

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