Television makes people stupid

RolandTD20Kdrummer

Thoughts?

How many hours a day to you succumb to it?

I think if you could see yourself watching TV, you would probably be disturbed at what you discover.

Opinions? First hand experiences? Personal triumphs?

brain of c

there is no stupid tv.

only stupid people.

g under p

I think that's awesome you giving up television for a year. I gave it up earlier this year for 3 and half months till my daughter came for a visit to the Kennedy Space Center.

Checkout this video by my friend Michael Franti back in '92 when he started Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy called TELEVISION: Drug of the Nation.

Television lyrics




One nation
under God
has turned into
one nation under the influence
of one drug
[chorus:]
Television the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
(2x)
T.V. it
satellite links
our United States of Unconsciousness
Apathetic therapeutic and extremely addictive
The methadone metronome pumping out
150 channels 24 hours a day
you can flip through all of them
and still there's nothing worth watching
T.V. is the reason why less than 10 per cent of our
Nation reads books daily
Why most people think Central Amerika
means Kansas
Socialism means unamerican
and Apartheid is a new headache remedy
absorbed in it's world it's so hard to find us
It shapes our mind the most
maybe the mother of our Nation
should remind us
that we're sitting too close to...
[Chorus:]
Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
(2x)
T.V. is
the stomping ground for political candidates
Where bears in the woods
are chased by Grecian Formula'd
bald eagles
T.V. is mechanized politic's
remote control over the masses
co-sponsored by environmentally safe gases
watch for the PBS special
It's the perpetuation of the two party system
where image takes precedence over wisdom
Where sound bite politics are served to
the fastfood culture
Where straight teeth in your mouth
are more important than the words
that come out of it
Race baiting is the way to get selected
Willie Horton or
Will he not get elected on...
[Chorus:]
Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
(2x)
T.V., is it the reflector or the director ?
Does it imitate us
or do we imitate it
because a child watches 1500 murders before he's
twelve years old and we wonder why we've created
a Jason generation that learns to laugh
rather than to abhor the horror
T.V. is the place where
armchair generals and quarterbacks can
experience first hand
the excitement of warfare
as the theme song is sung in the background
Sugar sweet sitcoms
that leave us with a bad actor taste while
pop stars metamorphosize into soda pop stars
You saw the video
You heard the soundtrack
Well now go buy the soft drink
Well, the onla cola that I support
would be a union C.O.L.A.(Cost Of Living Allowance)
On television
[Chorus:]
Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
(2x)
Back again, "New and improved"
We return to our irregularly programmed schedule
hidden cleverly between heavy breasted
beer and car commercials
CNNESPNABCTNT but mostly B.S.
Where oxymoronic language like
"virtually spotless", "fresh frozen"
"light yet filling" and "military intelligence"
have become standard
T.V. is the place where phrases are redefined
like "recession" to "necessary downturn"
"Crude oil" on a beach to "mousse"
"Civilian death" to "collateral damages"
and being killed by your own Army
is now called "friendly fire"
T.V. is the place where the pursuit
of happiness has become the pursuit of
trivia
Where toothpaste and cars have become
sex objects
Where imagination is sucked out of children
by a cathode ray nipple
T.V. is the only wet nurse
that would create a cripple
[Chorus:]
Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
(4x


Tell me what ya think

Peace

I posted this in another post and I agree television is addictive like a drug, very hard to give up for some. It is something I can do without and the many times I give it up I feel great.

Peace

RolandTD20Kdrummer

To me, this is big picture mentality. Now is the time (especially) to realize what we allow ourselves to be fed, and made to believe on a daily basis.

Everyone wants to live in peace and happiness.

Everyone…its basic humanity 101. No one is born evil. It’s all ripples in a pond. Don’t feed into it. Do not support hatred towards others….otherwise you are being used….and controlled by those that want you to be.

Ahnimus

I'll be honest. I gave up television ten years ago. When I do visit someone who has the tube on I'm amazed at how pathetically stupid the shows are.

Seinfield was a massive hit and when I watched it, I was like "What? This is so stupid. It'd only be funny if I'd previously been dumbed down by the even stupider television shows"

I know there are a lot of Sienfeld fans, but honestly the show is stupid, yet it is one of the least stupid shows on television.

I turned on the TV last night with my rabbit ears to zone out for a few minutes while I had my final smoke before bed. There was like some "First Wave" show on and some other stupid crap. I ended up watching an informercial for "perfect patch" grass seed, because everything else couldn't hold my attention.

Give up television for about a year, then try to watch it, you will find yourself bored out of your skull and feel your brain melt from the stupidity of what's on television. You'll also be disgusted by the gross stereotyping that is inherent in all television programs.

FinsburyParkCarrots

The BBC still knocks out some quality. It's a bit pompous in its old Reithian need to educate the masses, but it can still turn out programmes that make every other network in the world look completely pointless.

RolandTD20Kdrummer

FinsburyParkCarrots wrote:

The BBC still knocks out some quality. It's a bit pompous in its old Reithian need to educate the masses, but it can still turn out programmes that make every other network in the world look completely pointless.

When I was in Manchester for a few months, I got addicted to the BBC, I don't know how to explain it...I liked the into beeps and music (at the time...few years ago) Maybe it was all the relentless Guinness. Sorry for that sounding cliche...or whatever..

I akin the BBC to the CBC in Canada, But I dare say the BBC did cover the pop star stuff too strongly.

DriftingByTheStorm

I'm with Ahnimus.
I gave it up.

If i watch, it's to just quickly check and see if we are at war with Iran yet, or what fuckface on Fox is sayin what today.

I avoid anything "reality" at all costs, and if i really need to watch TV, i may watch The Hitler Channel for a few minutes at night.

But mostly i stay glued to my computer screen searching for "real" information ... or as some of you seem to believe, conspiracy rubbish.




oh, and yeah ...
it makes you R-E-A-L dumb!

RolandTD20Kdrummer

Interesting trends between posters
(so far)

anyone care to chuck in a few naive untruths? you will be converted!... lol

Byrnzie

I hardly watch any t.v these days. Back in England I often had the History channel on, but even then, it was mostly for the purpose of background noise. These days I'm normally on the p.c, at work, or in the pub.

I did like the Sopranos. Other than that, I can't really think of anything decent that's been on t.v since 'Brass eye' about 10 years ago.

catefrances

my compulsory tv viewing consists of 30 minutes wednesday night. everything else just slid away from me through my lack of interest and its ability to keep me rivetted.
i feel smarter already.

Cosmo

Television is fine... as long as you understand that what you see is imagery, not reality.
...
Stupidity is what makes people stupid.

Jeanie

I am sporadic with my tv addiction.

Right now it bores me shitless and I can't be bothered watching much.
But there are some good shows on the ABC and SBS (supposing I could get reception :rolleyes:) and I'm one for watching it in winter, which is now, or when I'm sick. But I think I watched sooooo much of it last year that I'm a bit over it this year!

Anyway, there are some good programmes I like to watch like:

Time Team

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/

The Worst Jobs In History

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/W/worstjobs/

Insight

http://news.sbs.com.au/insight/content.php?team=1

Catalyst

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/

Australian Story

http://abc.net.au/austory/

Compass

http://www.abc.net.au/compass/

Sunday Arts

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/sundayarts/

And of course the highlight of my tv week! Spicks and Specks!

http://abc.net.au/tv/spicksandspecks/

I like a bunch of "crappy" tele too like Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and the odd bit of DOOL or B & B oh and CSI. Not that crap Miami or NY but proper CSI with Grissom. But it's not like I die a death if I miss them.

As a kid we weren't allowed to watch tv and we didn't have one in the house.
As an adult I've watched more of it but I find that my tastes have changed and I'm much more likely to watch something informative/documentary now as opposed to drama. Oh and I pretty much avoid the news. Nothing but bad news anyway.
I probably watch an hour a day? Usually in the evening. And not much on the weekends.

I guess I don't think it makes you stupid. Well I've learned a lot of really interesting stuff from tv. I guess it depends on what you're watching, how often and what other things you could be doing that would make better use of your time.

small town beck

I do have my shows that I enjoy if only for mindless entertainment. I feel like when I was younger I used to watch tv that I did actually learn from but maybe I just a kid soaking up useless info. I mean as long as you aren't using it for your only learning tool I think it is cool. I can't remember the last time I turned my tv on but I will get into cycles where I use it more. meh.. .tv, computer maybe they are all tools to keep us from moving on. I once resisted the whole PC notion

Juberoo

I rarely watch tv anymore. Maybe 1-3 hours total a week....and that would be mostly news or Oprah. It just doesn't interest me. I'd rather spend my "mindless moments" right here on the computer LOL

know1

Ahnimus wrote:

I'll be honest. I gave up television ten years ago. When I do visit someone who has the tube on I'm amazed at how pathetically stupid the shows are.

Seinfield was a massive hit and when I watched it, I was like "What? This is so stupid. It'd only be funny if I'd previously been dumbed down by the even stupider television shows"

I know there are a lot of Sienfeld fans, but honestly the show is stupid, yet it is one of the least stupid shows on television.

I turned on the TV last night with my rabbit ears to zone out for a few minutes while I had my final smoke before bed. There was like some "First Wave" show on and some other stupid crap. I ended up watching an informercial for "perfect patch" grass seed, because everything else couldn't hold my attention.

Give up television for about a year, then try to watch it, you will find yourself bored out of your skull and feel your brain melt from the stupidity of what's on television. You'll also be disgusted by the gross stereotyping that is inherent in all television programs.

If it weren't for the occasional sporting event, a couple of public broadcasting shows, and one or two programs on the Discovery channel. I wouldn't watch it at all. The last network show that I ever watched was Seinfeld. I've never seen a single episode of Survivor, American Idol, Everybody Loves Raymond, the Simpsons, etc.

soulsinging

RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:

Thoughts?

How many hours a day to you succumb to it?

I think if you could see yourself watching TV, you would probably be disturbed at what you discover.

Opinions? First hand experiences? Personal triumphs?

this might be the first, last, and only time i'll ever agree with you. i only watch tv to see my buckeyes or my tigers play. and i am convinced it does make people more stupid.

i will say arrested development was a brilliant tv show. but that's probly why it was cancelled. i never saw it until it was on dvd either.

Collin

I completely disagree. In fact, I'd say it's a stupid statement to make.

soulsinging

Collin wrote:

I completely disagree. In fact, I'd say it's a stupid statement to make.

when was the last time america was considered a great country? 1940s? maybe into the 50s? tv sweeps the nation in the 50s. since then, what has america become? a nation of fat, lazy, stupid people who cannot comprehend the world outside their doors.

Collin

soulsinging wrote:

when was the last time america was considered a great country? 1940s? maybe into the 50s? tv sweeps the nation in the 50s. since then, what has america become? a nation of fat, lazy, stupid people who cannot comprehend the world outside their doors.

Is that supposed to be proof or something? Not very convincing.

It's like saying food makes people fat. Sure, if you eat large portions, eat unhealthy and never exercise.

soulsinging

Collin wrote:

Is that supposed to be proof or something? Not very convincing.

It's like saying food makes people fat. Sure, if you eat large portions, eat unhealthy and never exercise.

no. just my musings. it's an interesting coincidence. but there's more to it. americans get all news in 15 second tv snippets. we watch more celebrity gossip shows than news programs. we've lost interest in our own lives so much we instead obsessively watch others' on tv (reality tv). it seems to carry a lot of baggage and reveal a lot of mass cultural idiocy.

my proof is mainly in how i feel. after an hour tv i feel more exhausted and slow and stupid than i do after anything else ive ever done for an hour. it offers the same allure drugs do: an easy, mindless escape from reality. a quick fix to turn off your brain and numb yourself. i see tv as hardly different from heroin.

Collin

soulsinging wrote:

no. just my musings. it's an interesting coincidence. but there's more to it. americans get all news in 15 second tv snippets. we watch more celebrity gossip shows than news programs. we've lost interest in our own lives so much we instead obsessively watch others' on tv (reality tv). it seems to carry a lot of baggage and reveal a lot of mass cultural idiocy.

my proof is mainly in how i feel. after an hour tv i feel more exhausted and slow and stupid than i do after anything else ive ever done for an hour. it offers the same allure drugs do: an easy, mindless escape from reality. a quick fix to turn off your brain and numb yourself. i see tv as hardly different from heroin.

Well, there is a huge difference between American tv and what we're seeing here...

But I'm going to stick with my food analogy.

soulsinging

Collin wrote:

Well, there is a huge difference between American tv and what we're seeing here...

But I'm going to stick with my food analogy.

you guys just aren't as advanced at producing the fast food of television as we are

FinsburyParkCarrots

RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:

When I was in Manchester for a few months, I got addicted to the BBC, I don't know how to explain it...I liked the into beeps and music (at the time...few years ago) Maybe it was all the relentless Guinness. Sorry for that sounding cliche...or whatever..

I akin the BBC to the CBC in Canada, But I dare say the BBC did cover the pop star stuff too strongly.

Yep, it does need to kick itself up the arse and stop trying to compete with other networks. I don't want to see newsreaders dancing or trying to be karaoke stars.

blackredyellow

I kind of think it's a cop out to blame tv...

While our attention spans have decreased to nothing and our society has this fascination with celebrity, to me it's almost a chicken and egg thing. I mean, are we the way we are because of TV, or is TV like it is because of us?

The internet isn't any better, you look at all of the news site or even sites that yahoo that provide news from all sorts of sites and the most read or most e-mailed stories are always celebrity stories, and now places like CNN are putting bullet points at the top of the stories for those who are too lazy to actually read the stories.

As far as tv shows, it's just mindless entertainment that appeals to the lowest common denominator to get the most viewers... It's hard to get people to set aside an hour of their time every week at the same time for a deep, though provoking show, and as a viewer it's hard to get involved in a deep show with 5 minute long commercial breaks every time the action or drama gets good.

People's lives are hectic and busy enough... we seem to not want to do any work or heavy lifting when it comes down to our entertainment... look at the highest grossing movies or the most popular music.

JamMastaE

Collin wrote:

Is that supposed to be proof or something? Not very convincing.

It's like saying food makes people fat. Sure, if you eat large portions, eat unhealthy and never exercise.

http://world.std.com/~jlr/comment/tv_impact.htm

http://neovox.cortland.edu/oldsite/wire/wire_101/wire_101.html

http://www.fdrs.org/brainwashing_and_mind_control.html

Jeanie

blackredyellow wrote:

I kind of think it's a cop out to blame tv...

While our attention spans have decreased to nothing and our society has this fascination with celebrity, to me it's almost a chicken and egg thing. I mean, are we the way we are because of TV, or is TV like it is because of us?

The internet isn't any better, you look at all of the news site or even sites that yahoo that provide news from all sorts of sites and the most read or most e-mailed stories are always celebrity stories, and now places like CNN are putting bullet points at the top of the stories for those who are too lazy to actually read the stories.

As far as tv shows, it's just mindless entertainment that appeals to the lowest common denominator to get the most viewers... It's hard to get people to set aside an hour of their time every week at the same time for a deep, though provoking show, and as a viewer it's hard to get involved in a deep show with 5 minute long commercial breaks every time the action or drama gets good.

People's lives are hectic and busy enough... we seem to not want to do any work or heavy lifting when it comes down to our entertainment... look at the highest grossing movies or the most popular music.

That's what's great about the ABC. The shows are interesting, you do learn things, you are required to think and there's no commercials.

catefrances

Jeanie wrote:

That's what's great about the ABC. The shows are interesting, you do learn things, you are required to think and there's no commercials.

plus it's government funded so they don't have to answer to anybody.

ALL HAIL LAWYERS WHO BECOME SATIRISTS. CNNN.

Jeanie

catefrances wrote:

plus it's government funded so they don't have to answer to anybody.

ALL HAIL LAWYERS WHO BECOME SATIRISTS. CNNN.

hmmm.....well that's debatable catiefractious.

There's been a lot of talk about just how much the gubbament is pulling Aunties stings of late. Been quite a bit about it in The Age, not that they're fairing much better, and I've been reading about it in that book Silencing Dissent too. But it's still a vast improvement on the commercial stations.

catefrances

Jeanie wrote:

hmmm.....well that's debatable catiefractious.

There's been a lot of talk about just how much the gubbament is pulling Aunties stings of late. Been quite a bit about it in The Age, not that they're fairing much better, and I've been reading about it in that book Silencing Dissent too. But it's still a vast improvement on the commercial stations.

course it's debatable. everything i say is debatable.

i was more thinking the wowser factor. you've seen how many times the current non affairs shows have a go at the chaser boys for example. and lets not forget the lovely chas being taken to court cause some people have no sense of humour. what, is there no real news in the world?

Jeanie

catefrances wrote:

course it's debatable. everything i say is debatable.

i was more thinking the wowser factor. you've seen how many times the current non affairs shows have a go at the chaser boys for example. and lets not forget the lovely chas being taken to court cause some people have no sense of humour. what, is there no real news in the world?

yes, thank goodness for chaser!