My father wholeheartedly disapproved of television. I was that kid not allowed to sit in front of what he described as the “boob tube.” While all the kids on the block watched TV for hours, my father had other plans for me.
On occasion I was permitted to watch Lassie, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, and, thrill of thrills, The David Frost Show, where I was injected with a strange satirical combination of the Huntley-Brinkey Newshour, the Colbert Report, and Inside the Actors Studio at far too tender an age. My father had a snickering, dark sense of humor. A Snideley Whiplash. I suppose he wanted to make sure I never took American politics too seriously and could think for myself. Thanks Dad. I don’t and I do.
If my father returned home from work or one of his many travels circumventing the globe in the name of American freedom and I was in front of the "boob tube" with my nose nearly pressed against it, I was in for a diatribe from hell.
He would rattle off the multitude of things I could or should be doing instead. Reading was always first on the list. Cleaning my room or helping Mom with dishes came a close second. “Aren’t there some weeds that need pulling?” he’d ask. When he would run out of things for me to do, he would instruct me to go and study a map and then quiz me on it. To this day I am obsessed with maps and even instructed my daughter when she was small to do likewise. Once again, thanks Dad.
He did make a lasting impression on me however and I did become aware of the hours “frittered and wasted in an off hand way” by watching television. It is something I rarely if ever do.
Television programming has been disguised as a massive advertising monopoly that hides its sinister plot to have an entire nation stupefied. It is no accident that it does not offer a myriad of high-quality viewing choices. Housewives from the city and redundant reality shows about nothing or about something incredibly dumb are droning out the mindful thinking processes that would normally occur in a human being not blasted with blather. Our youth are being culturally stunted by learning of the world in this manner, and further, they represent a lucrative market that frames the future of our social culture. TV's only accomplishment is aiding in consumerism and the homogenization of the people. Whether or not we perceive ourselves as pluralists, the end result of television and broadcasting in general, is to create mass uniformity. Frankly, I’m frightened.
Article comments
1 - Alan Kurtz
"We are now living in a world entirely comprised of typos," you write. I see you've pitched in with your share, to wit:
Huntley-Brinkey [Brinkley]
Newshour [Huntley-Brinkley Report;
its running time was first 15 minutes and later 30 minutes but never an hour]
Snideley [Snidely] Whiplash
droning [drowning] out the mindful thinking processes
Dr. Suess [Seuss]
2 - Summer Said
Oops. It wasn't the innocent,accidental,I can't see well typing errors I was referencing. Thank you for being so observant. I really did mean "droning" and not "drowning" though Mr. Kurtz.
Ewwww....
3 - Summer Said
Oh, I get it now. Muzzled...
4 - Alan Kurtz
Are you suggesting it is the reader's responsibility to somehow distinguish between what you call "innocent, accidental" typos and … what, typos that are guilty and deliberate?
Or perhaps I misunderstood. I thought you were bemoaning rather than extolling the notion that our world is "entirely comprised of typos."
And incidentally, your use of comprised is idiomatic. It would be more grammatical to say "entirely composed of typos."
Funny how you spend so much time boasting of your vast erudition acquired through TV avoidance, but then fail to actually demonstrate much in the way of basic literacy skills.
5 - Summer Said
Mr. Kurtz,
I wrote an opinion piece and although you are entitled to disagree with it and I suppose even rip it to shreds for accuracy and grammar, take note that this was written also in memory of my deceased father. Perhaps he was your professor at Yale or NYU or maybe you traveled with him when he saved Panama, Jakarta, Iraq and other areas from despots. However, have you ever considered the old adage, if you haven't anything nice to say then don't say anything? Perhaps you are the The Grand Inquisitor of editorial writing but it would behoove you to take a class in diplomacy and ethics. Please refrain from your insults. I do not intend to spar with you.
6 - Keren Hoy
Summer, I now don't feel so alone in my tireless efforts to get my son (7) to do other things than watch TV! I enjoyed your article - you obviously spent time and thought on it, choosing your words carefully and at times poetically. Yours in the fight against mindless drivel, Keren (first-time commentee, just dipping my toe in the blogging waters, as it were...)
7 - Summer Said
Thank you Keren. I'm dipping my toes as well. I'm glad you got the main gist of my article. Good job keeping your little boy away from TV as much as possible. It really is mind numbing. The map "thingy" really works! Although my daughter still curses me...