I was born in the WRONG decade.

i feel the exact same way, like if I hear music or watch a documentary about the sixites I feel strong nostalgia, like, gosh I should have been alive then!

 

born 89, i hate the 80's i hate yuppies ! fuck man i wish i was part of the 60's and the 70's wish i had been to bob marley shows and wish i could of been to adead show where pigpen was there rip jer and pigpen oh and....whats happening now..nothing special nothing i can relate becuase to many kids arew to unaware of wahts really going on its like there fucking zoned out like retard and big brother is just feeding them entertainment to distract them from all the bullshit, FUCKI HATE THIS ..god we need a revolution or pick up the one the 60's left behind, shit even the drugs are different know i ask my friends hey lets do some mushrooms ..OH NO WAY FUCK THAT (theyclaim it makes your brain bleed ahahah what fucking retards then they go and snort coke or pop oxis T_T ...peace



stay lucid my friends

 

They had no choice... now these days, we have choices... too many of them. Life has become too convenient with overloads of entertainment and information... with a severely blurred line defining which is which. We are desensitized to the very things that would have brought strong reactions from people around in the 60's... and the 40's. We have been placid- ripe for the plucking. In the 60's, society would not have stood idly by while their government doled out hundreds of billions of dollars to the very entities that had stolen their pensions and retirements.

The current crap has happened on the watch of my generation... the people born to those same flower children who listened to such wonderful music... held loud, angry, and WELL ATTENDED protests against war, institutional racism, gender inequality... those people didn't have computers, gaming systems, cell phones; a good number didn't even have television- so they spent their spare time working around their home, establishing and maintaining communication with their neighbors, and involved themselves in the community- either by making sure they were heard when local business transpired in town hall or however else they saw fit to speak out when their livelihood was in jeopardy,

You'd have been a much different person had you been 14 in 1969- you might not have even liked the music.

 

I think your point of view on this is heavily influenced by geography. If you had been born in the South a few decades ago, in a small town or rural area, your only option in life would have been to become a church-oriented right winger, unless you didn't mind being hated by nearly everyone who knew you. Today's more fragmented culture makes life bearable for a liberal in the South. For the first 18 years of my life, I was only exposed to liberal thinking through television.

 

Ironic, isn't it? Television otherwise being the great homogenizer of modern civilization ...

 

Interesting concept (and sig pic :drool5: )

I don't know if I can go along with that, completely. It's seems, on the surface, like that would be true. We get TV all over the place and we all watch the same stuff (generally speaking), so we should all get the same homogeneous outlook on life.

However, here's NotDeadYet, saying that his liberal influences for the first 18 years were the same TV that the rest of the (conservative) community was getting.

So, why didn't those liberal TV influences homogenize them all? Maybe, because the young aren't already steadfast in their political views? But, if that's so, then why are there so many Young Republicans out there?

I tend to think that TV is viewed with the bias that we already have, whether young or old. If you're a left thinker, you consider all the righty stuff on TV to be complete BS. If you're a right thinker, you consider all the lefty stuff to be complete BS.

 

Television is the filter through which we experience the world. Nothing is legitimate until it's on TV. It provides us all with a common set of images by which we gauge the course of our days.

That's what I meant.

 

...unless you're on the extreme political right. Then, you assume that the world is the opposite of what is presented on TV.

 

Left and right are irrelevant. It doesn't matter what is presented, or your assumptions or conclusions about it. It only matters that it is presented, and we all see it.

What I'm saying is that our perception of the world, whatever your viewpoints or affiliations or politics, comes to us through the common images and idioms of television. That's the homogenization.

This is the same thing Marshall McLuhan was saying 50 years ago. It's even more true today. It's so true and so axiomatic that we don't even think about it.

 

That's very true. TV is where most people learn how to interact with others. Think about how you view social situations, for example, and then think about how much of that comes from actual experience. What is an awkward first date like? Some people have had them, some haven't -- but we could all identify one. We all know what is okay and not okay to say in certain situations (above and beyond common sense, I mean), even if we've never been in such a situation and despite the fact that everyone is different and sees things differently. People assume that TV mimics reality, but it had truly become the other way around: reality mimics TV.

 

Except for the Internet Generation. They will be different from us, in ways that are yet unknown. Some of them don't even know who Brian Williams is.

When I was growing up, everyone learned this at church and school. Imitating TV behavior was not acceptable, but I often did it anyway. I was told that kind of thing was only okay in the godless heathen culture up north and out west. I got in trouble a lot for refusing to be a redneck hick.

 

How did you manage to break the mold of your social environment?
Didn't there have to be a seed of discontent within you, in the first place, for you to recognize that you identified more with the liberal attitudes of TV programming than you did with the attitudes of the real, live people you were involved with?

Do you feel that you would have been happy being a rednecked hick, had you not been exposed to television?

I'm in no way discrediting your choices or reasons, I'm just very curious as to whether TV really shapes us all that much, or if we don't draw more from our formative years, before we even really understand what's going on with TV.
It seems to me that people might be more tuned in to what their heart tells them, long before TV can influence them. They say the die is cast by the time a child is 6 years old. The political outlook of a child of that age is likely to be more influenced by how peers treat him, or how well he or she has bonded with the parental units. Of course, I'm an old fart and TV was quite different when I was a kid.

 

I agree that Trigcove is an old fart. However I am also an old fart and I wish to god I had my mug shots. I kid you not - I was a rascist until 1966 when I went off to college - and that was brought on by my surroundings in Mississippi, my parents and my relatives. Where the see of liberalism came from I have no idea.
The media was not liberal - everyday we heard of the domino theory, of the nuclear danger posed by the USSR, of our brave servicemen trying to prevent communism in Vietnam.
However, something trumped all those formative years, and, in 1966, 67 & 68 I became more and more politically aware. More anti-rascist, anti-corportation, anti-government and anti-establishment. To this day I am a pinko, tree hugging, women's rights loving, racial harmony nut. What happened. Certainly not the "liberal" established media.

 

That's sort of what I'm trying to say, although probably not doing a very good job of it...
In your case, you most likely grew up being a product of your parents attitudes. You probably inherited those attitudes long before you were exposed to TV or Radio or whatever. It took going to college and being exposed to real life situations to change your mind... or grow, if you will.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't particularly believe that media influences people all that much.
I don't believe that racist books turn people racist.
I don't believe that violent music will turn people violent.
I don't believe that Violent video games make people violent.
I don't believe that war movies will make us war-like.
I don't believe that Leftie or Rightie TV will turn people Leftie or Rightie.
I don't believe that any kind of media will influence us all that much in our basic beliefs.
I DO believe that all of those things will reinforce persons who are already of that nature, though

Yes, we can be lied to and come to incorrect conclusions based on those lies, but that's not the same as having our core beliefs influenced or changed.

Even as children, I think we have the ability to recognize music, literature, TV, movies, and video games for what they are - someone else's opinion or fantasy. I believe it takes real experience to change a person's views on things. It takes personal discovery.

Some lucky people get a decent set of values from their parents. Most people don't, but will eventually find them in college. Some of us learned ours from the school of hard knocks, or on the open road. I don't think that many of us got them from TV.

God, I hope not.

 

Then all those umpteen companies spending umpteen zillions of dollars on advertising are just wasting their money, eh?

Aside from that, television provides a core set of common images that serve as a mythology for modern civilization. As I said earlier, it doesn't matter which political side you're on, the fact that everyone in the country sees the same pictures and shares the same "cultural" icons is the relevant point. That's what constitutes the "homogenization". It's not about influencing behavior, per se. It's about the common knowledge that comes from everyone seeing the same images.

And regarding your "I don't believe" statements, it's been shown time and time again that watching violent acts on television dramatically increases aggressive and violent behavior in children. This result has held true for decades and runs across all socio-economic groups. It is a fact ... violent television produces violent people.

 

It wasn't easy or quick. At times, I tried hard to fit in, but eventually my self-respect always pulled me back to being myself.

Discontent? Hell yeah. People on TV appeared to be intelligent and well-informed, and locals appeared to be mostly idiots. I thought it was a miserable place to live. It was clear to me from a young age that their way of thinking didn't work out very well. New York and LA had the best of everything, and we had crumbling factories and ugly little houses.

My first smart move was picking a college in the largest city in the region, Charlotte. It was fast-growing and loaded with people who grew up outside the South. All my friends there were originally from somewhere else.

Travel has also been important to my personal growth. My second trip out west was kind of a turning point for me, a moment when a lot of things started to make sense for the first time. My wife felt the same way about it.

There's no way to know for sure, but my guess would be no. I think I would have always felt that something wasn't quite right.

I'm convinced that people are influenced by a number of factors, including genetics. If you gave it some thought, I'm sure you could think of some pairs of brothers or sisters who grew up under identical circumstances and influences, and turned out differently.

You seemed to be saying in your latest post that TV fiction is the main issue here. I was influenced more by nonfiction shows such as documentaries and the news.

The way I look at it, TV is just a tool, like the internet, for long-distance communication. I was influenced by people who had a different way of thinking about life, and TV was just the technology that enabled me to be in touch with them.

 

This is a really long thread lol.

I'm so happy to see so many people that feel the same way! I was born in '91 and I get a high just thinking about the 60's/70's I feel like I belong. It's kinda indescribable, almost like a nostalgia like you were saying hun.

I do quite like your attitude on this though! We should bring hippies back! Make it a subculture to today's horrible taste.

I mean sure I have buddies that smoke weed with me, but nobody has such a free-spirited feeling as I do. Most of my friends who like to get high are (quote unquote) Gansta. So I feel very alone in that aspect. I'm so glad you guys are actually out there too though.

I'm also totally into nature! I just can't describe it!

YES!! This makes me sick!! Peace signs are such a fad right now. People wear them as a fashion statement which bothers me. I mean sure why not? BUT back it up as well! I hate that it has turned into a fade *rolls eyes*

 

I know exactly how you feel. I was born in 1990. I have this connection with the 60's and their way of life incredibly. It fascinates me. But since I don't have a time machine and I can't go to the 60's I bring the 60's to me. Theres no reason why you can't share the same values as they did then. So while my peers are listening to rihanna and fergie im rockin out to pink floyd and jefferson airplane. Do what feels right, you sound like an old soul. You more then likely were a hippie in an earlier life.

That said, we live in a time where the things we do are more acceptable. Hippies back in the day had to fight hard for their rights. Some were even killed for having long hair and just being themselves. We're more free in this day and age, post sexual revolution. Theres nothing we can't do now, so why not rock the 60's lifestyle in our time with more freedom to do so.

 

No, of course not. But there's a huge difference between being enticed to buy a product and having your core beliefs changed. How does purchasing a Snickers bar have anything to do with political opinions?

Your question implies that it was posted based on emotion, rather than any thought about what I said. You seem almost angry that I have beliefs that differ from yours.

But this is where we disagree, unless you're simply saying (for instance) that we all see images of Mt. Rushmore, so we all agree that it exists. I would not argue that we all get a common education on things of that nature.

However, when it comes to a belief system, or changing that belief system, I say that people do not simply watch and accept what they see. They filter it through their own set of values and accept or reject based on them. We've all seen politicians tell us the "truth" on TV. Do you believe them, or do you filter it based on your own values and beliefs?

Maybe, but I prefer to believe what my own experience tells me, rather than what some financially motivated report tells me.
I have children of my own. My daughter particularly loves horror movies. We have watched them together, from the time she was very young. She is the most non-violent person that I know. It hurts her to see her cat kill a mouse.
My son likes the Swords and Sorcery genre, which is also full of violence. He also grew up very tender hearted and loving. I haven't witenessed any violent tendencies in either of them.

I, myself, have grown up watching horror movies and all kinds of violence, from the earliest days when Steve Reeves played Superman and kicked the crap out of the bad guys. I have never been in a fight in my life.

I bet you have witnessed plenty of violence on TV and in the movies. How violent are you?

I don't even know of anyone who is violent because of TV or movies. Do you know people who you think are worse for having watched violence on TV? How true can the report be, if we don't see it happening on a wholescale basis in real life? I mean, almost EVERYONE watches TV, don't they?

I have already said that the violence in media may be (and very likely is) an influence to those who are already predispositioned toward that behavior. I'm sure there were kids who fell into that catagory who were participants in the studies that "proved" TV's harmful nature. But, does it really influence EVERYONE who watches? I doubt it.

It's these so-called "studies" that keep coming out that should be questioned, not what we see with our own eyes.
"Studies" can prove any damned thing they want too, if you only believe them. "Studies" said coffee was bad for us, until new "Studies" said it was good for us. Same with butter, eggs, chocolate, meat, fat, etc. Sheesh.

 

I have two nephews who are a year and a half apart in age. They grew up in the same house, under identical conditions. One is an 8 time DWI offender who can't hold a steady job and has very little in the way of an ethical compass. The other is hard working and ethically well centered. They both watched the same TV, growing up. I believe you're absolutely right.

I don't limit my comments to fiction, though. The news is highly suspect, too, because the sources are frequently financially motivated. I don't mean the reporters and the anchormen; I mean the actual sources, like those who fund the studies and reports that are then given to the news media. We watch that stuff and filter it through our own value system. If it agrees with what we believe, we believe it. If it differs from what we believe, we doubt it. I'm sure we've all watched news reports at one time or another and thought to ourselves, "That's complete BS."

That's the basis for my last few comments, here. TV doesn't make us who we are, but it may reinforce who we are.