Tune in, buy stuff
The
Times for the Making Lecture Series was organized three years ago to improve
public understanding of the relationships between people in the world
and discuss social responsibility through lectures. I checked out the
last of this year’s lectures, which was entitled More Than Meets
The Eye: Watching Television Watching Us, by John J. Pungente. I probably
watch as much TV as the average student here at MUN, therefore I figure
I’m as good a candidate as any to watch, critique, and write about
a lecture on television. However, I am slightly biased. I have a T-shirt
that says “Kill your television.” I curse the damn thing a couple
of days for making me lethargic, as I waste an hour or two surfing through
the endless barrage of crap they put on the tube. Then again, doesn’t
that make me a better candidate since I’m a cynical observer when
it comes to TV programming? What difference do my experiences and attitudes
make when it comes to watching TV?
Apparently it makes a lot of difference. Pungente suggests that who you
are and where you come from makes a lot of difference on what you see
and hear. Let’s compare violent cartoons and the news, for example.
I was bitter and frustrated at the fact that Ren and Stimpy was hauled
off the air a number of years ago, in part due to parental advisory committees.
However, compared to recent shows like South Park and Beast Wars, Ren
and Stimpy seems pretty tame. These kinds of cartoons are big problems
for parental discretion groups who suggest that they encourage violent
behavior in their children. Parents also argue that kids have trouble
distinguishing between reality and fiction, and therefore what they watch
should be monitored closely.
However, when surveyed by the news program 60 Minutes, children
had no problem telling the difference between shows like the Power
Rangers and the news. They all gave basically the same response:
one is fiction while the other is not. The two most violent types of shows,
the news and sports, are actually ignored by these parental committees,
which attack the wrong types of programming. Often, the news is a far
more frightening and influential experience for children than watching
violent cartoons or TV shows. The experience and attitudes of the adult
is not the same as the experience of the child.
Another point Pugente examined is the influence of youth culture on commercialism
and TV programming. He suggests that Buffy The Vampire Slayer is
the most moral show on the air today as it deals with growing up in a
twisted society and examines issues like sex, life, death, and morals.
Basically, he suggests that it is a modern morality play. I don’t
know about you, but I never really got that impression when I was watching
Buffy. I just figured it was good filler for guys with nothing to do,
who were waiting for the next episode of Baywatch to come on. However,
when I heard about the morals of shows like Dawson’s Creek,
I thought about re-examining my program grading system. Dawson’s
Creek sold all of its clothing rights to American Eagle, which forces
the characters on the show to wear only that type of clothing. Now, instead
of airing American Eagle commercials, the show is basically an hour long
commercial for the company. “Hey Dawson, is that last fall’s
rugby sweater? Totally cliché!” Give me a break, talk about
selling out!
As for selling, I always wondered why Sprite’s commercials drive
that slogan, “Image is nothing, Thirst is everything. Obey your Thirst,”
into our heads. It turns out that Sprite had a marketing research company
working for them that paid kids to go into chat rooms and act as average
web surfers. The purpose of this was to find information that would allow
Sprite to capitalize on the youth market. Apparently they found out that:
1) We hate typical, fake, boring commercials, and: 2) hip hop is the way
to multi-billion dollar success. Hence you get the don’t-buy-our-product-because-someone-else-does
routine and a Sprite subsidized hip-hop industry. Sprite is now one of
the fastest growing soft drinks in the world. Corporate executives see
young people, and in particular the billions of dollars North American
youths have, as a major market to conquer. A mere five to seven major
companies basically own our entire culture, and they are getting away
with selling us who and what we are. You better believe that companies
are selling us our generation’s fads and credos!
Is television to blame for sexual promiscuity, violence, and low grades,
or are we simply passing the buck? I’m not really sure. I’m
still confident that it facilitates my laziness, but I’m not too
sure if I want to kill my TV anymore. The one thing Pungente stressed
is that we should always be aware of what we are watching. Does this show
have anything relevant to say, or is it an hour long commercial? What
does this mean to me, can I relate to it? Ultimately, Pungente argues
television is nothing more than a black box which is there simply to entertain
us. Don’t believe everything you see on TV, and question everything,
even articles on the news. This may be the only way to stave off the corporate
tyrants, parental committees, and everyone else who is out to turn North
American TV into an even more inane instrument of complacency than it
already is.
