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mbarker.livejournal.comoriginal posting: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 18:35:01 JST
(maybe it's an essay?)
I noticed that we've hit again the topic of that evil little box lurking in the corner of most homes (if not occupying a central shrine where the devotees gather for regular services). Not to argue with anyone, but I do have a few thoughts on the topic.
(what! the overall level of writing, characters - if you can call them that -, the plotting, etc. STINKS!)
true. there are occasional exceptions - perhaps even a higher percentage than in printed novels, for example - but in general, true. Don't watch the tube to learn good writing.
One hesitation - advertising tends to be extraordinarily effective in terms of catching the listener and getting a message across. Sometimes it is worth studying.
And there was a flash in the corner of my eye - oh, yes. Some of the visual hints - how they establish a scene, a mood, an identity through the details shown sometimes is quite good (even in poorly written shows). Worth a look or two...
But, in general, you are absolutely correct - the level of T.V. broadcasting doesn't provide a very challenging target in terms of story handling technique.
(do you really think it's safe for people to waste hours and years of their life as passive addicts of mindless entertainment and stimulation? That damn noisy box sucks!)
true. even the roman circuses had to stop regularly for food, collecting more Christians, sleep for the lions, and so on. the tube, with vcr, cable, and other technological boosts, can easily absorb all the time you are willing to give it.
(well, then - be like Elvis and pop the tube!)
no. Elvis wanted to run and hide, and did. But writers can't afford that luxury.
The T.V. can be a magic window opening on far places, news, sights and sounds around the world, and the person next door. In that role, it is indispensable to the modern writer.
Further, the T.V. is, in some ways, the "Bible" of modern culture - the "common cultural background" which the writer needs to be well-acquainted with to extract metaphors, similes, and other items to touch the larger audience. It doesn't matter whether you use them as is or break them for shock or schlock - you have to know them to use them effectively.
Also, the T.V. is part of the cultural explosion reaching those who aren't in the heart of the beast. We saw a recent documentary of a Japanese man who went up the Amazon and into the life of an Indian tribe far from everything. Only 71 members left alive, and the biggest killer is the common cold! Lots of interesting little facts and sights, but one of the most impressive to me was what they recommended this modern day adventurer take as presents for the tribe. Videotape movies.
That night, under the huge roof, the head of the tribe fired up a gas generator, turned on their T.V. set, and showed them one of the new movies - a shipwreck disaster flick (not sure which one - I missed the name and they all look alike...). Utter silence, intense little eyes and older ones clustered around, watching and learning about the big world out there...
One of those kids may be one of your readers in years to come. And they'll know what you are talking about because you share the same culture of the tube!
Even closer to home - while there have been attempts to "standardize" curricula in the schools, I think the strongest homogenizing factor is that dratted tube. Fads, catchy phrases, and so on spread remarkably quickly now - at least in part because someone is watching that escape hatch from the narrowness and smallness of local reality.
(what, you want me to spend all my time in a daze watching the tube? when do I write?)
no. consider the t.v. as a magic window, opening up the heart and soul of ordinary life and ordinary people for you. What you find there may be appalling, even shocking, but don't break the window. Pull back the curtains now and then and glance into it, gaze at some parts and steal some notions of what the backstreets of Los Angeles look like, then close the curtains again and get back to work with a wider knowledge of what's out there than you can get without taking advantage of the technology.
I hate to say it, but those one or two hour vacations by tele-vision to the other side of the world are a lot cheaper when you take them on the public tour. Admittedly, you can't stop and walk aside, or ask questions while the tour director is running their mouth - but with a vcr, you can stop and look at details, and you really don't have to take the whole trip... I've become cunning about cutting the sound if I just want to watch the background and people, and don't really care what the idiot commentary is.
The tool isn't the problem - don't break the telescope just because your neighbors insist on watching girls through it. keep your eye on the glimpses of beach and ocean, the sea waves curling in the background, and the dolphins dancing... that's a pretty wonderful telescope to play with!
(stay tuned - more after this commercial break!:-)
tink
(maybe it's an essay?)
I noticed that we've hit again the topic of that evil little box lurking in the corner of most homes (if not occupying a central shrine where the devotees gather for regular services). Not to argue with anyone, but I do have a few thoughts on the topic.
(what! the overall level of writing, characters - if you can call them that -, the plotting, etc. STINKS!)
true. there are occasional exceptions - perhaps even a higher percentage than in printed novels, for example - but in general, true. Don't watch the tube to learn good writing.
One hesitation - advertising tends to be extraordinarily effective in terms of catching the listener and getting a message across. Sometimes it is worth studying.
And there was a flash in the corner of my eye - oh, yes. Some of the visual hints - how they establish a scene, a mood, an identity through the details shown sometimes is quite good (even in poorly written shows). Worth a look or two...
But, in general, you are absolutely correct - the level of T.V. broadcasting doesn't provide a very challenging target in terms of story handling technique.
(do you really think it's safe for people to waste hours and years of their life as passive addicts of mindless entertainment and stimulation? That damn noisy box sucks!)
true. even the roman circuses had to stop regularly for food, collecting more Christians, sleep for the lions, and so on. the tube, with vcr, cable, and other technological boosts, can easily absorb all the time you are willing to give it.
(well, then - be like Elvis and pop the tube!)
no. Elvis wanted to run and hide, and did. But writers can't afford that luxury.
The T.V. can be a magic window opening on far places, news, sights and sounds around the world, and the person next door. In that role, it is indispensable to the modern writer.
Further, the T.V. is, in some ways, the "Bible" of modern culture - the "common cultural background" which the writer needs to be well-acquainted with to extract metaphors, similes, and other items to touch the larger audience. It doesn't matter whether you use them as is or break them for shock or schlock - you have to know them to use them effectively.
Also, the T.V. is part of the cultural explosion reaching those who aren't in the heart of the beast. We saw a recent documentary of a Japanese man who went up the Amazon and into the life of an Indian tribe far from everything. Only 71 members left alive, and the biggest killer is the common cold! Lots of interesting little facts and sights, but one of the most impressive to me was what they recommended this modern day adventurer take as presents for the tribe. Videotape movies.
That night, under the huge roof, the head of the tribe fired up a gas generator, turned on their T.V. set, and showed them one of the new movies - a shipwreck disaster flick (not sure which one - I missed the name and they all look alike...). Utter silence, intense little eyes and older ones clustered around, watching and learning about the big world out there...
One of those kids may be one of your readers in years to come. And they'll know what you are talking about because you share the same culture of the tube!
Even closer to home - while there have been attempts to "standardize" curricula in the schools, I think the strongest homogenizing factor is that dratted tube. Fads, catchy phrases, and so on spread remarkably quickly now - at least in part because someone is watching that escape hatch from the narrowness and smallness of local reality.
(what, you want me to spend all my time in a daze watching the tube? when do I write?)
no. consider the t.v. as a magic window, opening up the heart and soul of ordinary life and ordinary people for you. What you find there may be appalling, even shocking, but don't break the window. Pull back the curtains now and then and glance into it, gaze at some parts and steal some notions of what the backstreets of Los Angeles look like, then close the curtains again and get back to work with a wider knowledge of what's out there than you can get without taking advantage of the technology.
I hate to say it, but those one or two hour vacations by tele-vision to the other side of the world are a lot cheaper when you take them on the public tour. Admittedly, you can't stop and walk aside, or ask questions while the tour director is running their mouth - but with a vcr, you can stop and look at details, and you really don't have to take the whole trip... I've become cunning about cutting the sound if I just want to watch the background and people, and don't really care what the idiot commentary is.
The tool isn't the problem - don't break the telescope just because your neighbors insist on watching girls through it. keep your eye on the glimpses of beach and ocean, the sea waves curling in the background, and the dolphins dancing... that's a pretty wonderful telescope to play with!
(stay tuned - more after this commercial break!:-)
tink
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