America attacks us with TV

America is attacked by the corporate bullshit that is the TV and all that it stands for. It is a huge downfall for societe the creation of tv. It was a good tool when it was first invented but now it's just out of control...and we human beings are being controlled. It is the center of the family room of countless homes. Tv is power...but not for the consumer. I'ts power for the corporations and the stations and the whole net and blob of all of that crazy stuff that we buy into that is "reality". It's fake...it's false enjoyment....it's addiction....and people need to see America attacks it own people with tv. Think for yourself. Most of you knwo this already..but for thsoe of you who don't this post is for you. Throw away your tv. Listen to progressive truthfull worlviews.

 

what the hell are you going on about?

Is a book also all these things?

 

i jus deleted what i had in me sig but it was a great quote from the end of a documentary called painful deceptions explaining how world war 3 is underway right now and its between us folk and the media - who are controlled by the governments. well the us government

 

Yay! I agree 200% applespark. I don't have a T.V., which is not uncommon for a college student not living at home, but I don't plan on getting one. Ever. I really don't enjoy watching it and after being away from one for a measurable time you can definitely see through all the garbage and brainwashing. Kill your TV!

 

I'm going to have to disagree. What people watch ruins them. If you have a strong enough mind it won't influence you.

 

Absolutely, Applespark!

There is a DELIBERATE dumbing down of America taking place, it's all part of an agenda.

Yet, people think I am crazy for saying this. I am like this paranoid freak or something.

It's scary shit, and unfortunately we're going to see the worst of it before people actually wake up and realize what's going on.

 

tv is mind control

 

Just think of all the money involved with TV. If everyone got rid of their TV, we'd be in a recession forever.

 

I have read as much trash literature as I have seen on TV. Alot of comic books(not all..I do like some)are dumb and simple..mostly pictures with the words "argg" or "yowww" written in the occassional bubble.

The nice thing about things like TV,books,comics,or any other form of entertainment...you dont have to watch or read or listen to them!!

TV is no more evil then any other form of enterainment.

why don't we just get rid of books, theater, the radio, movies,comics, magazines while we are it.YAY FARENHEIT 451!! TV is not the enemy. As far as I'm concerned...there are bigger problems in this world then the fucking tv.

I would consider famine and genocide to bigger criseses..but then again...I'm just brainwashed by the satan television.

 

TV is filled with mindless dribble. I have never read any book near as bad as the crap I see on TV, and I am a bookworm, I have read quite a few books. I think Hollywood is a large factor in what's wrong with America.

If I have to see anymore sitcomes about families that all look like models I am probably going to throw my TV out. Music Video has been detrimental to music, if you ask me, too.

 

When you read a book, every other page isn't crawling with corporate advertisements.

Peace and Love,
Dan

 

and you unable to say no to commercials? Do you see that ad for the new nike shoes and run out and buy them? Go get a drink of water and use the bathroom during the commercials, thats what i do.

 

the thing is a lot of people don't tune out the commercials. But its not always just what you watch it what it actualy does to your brain.

 

the real problem with television isn't just the product placement, advertising, and poor quality programming. the biggest problem with tv is the way the brain works when you're watching. i am the mother of 2 small children & a home educator. television is a "passive" form of entertainment. when you read a book, your mind is actively engaged in doing something. reading actually makes you smarter. when you're watching tv, it's like a part of your brain gets lulled to sleep. active thinking diminishes. it is especially bad for young children, whose brains are still developing. it weakens critical & creative thinking & increases restlessness, poor attention span, and aggressive behavior. children who are "babysat" by the television or who watch frequently even with supervision are less able to entertain themselves, find creative solutions to problems, socialize well with others, and get way less exercise. pediatricians do not recommend children under 2 be allowed to watch any tv at all.


for the adult, it can be very relaxing once in awhile, but since most americians have several tv's all over their home, people get it waaaay more often than once in awhile. it is literally addicting. the passive state of the brain while watching makes the viewer more open to tv's other problems: advertising, product placement, manipulative programming, etc. people don't act like sheep just because they see an ad for something or it gets mentioned in the program. it's the passive brain activity.

 

That's just stupid. That is not even what's annoying about advertising. Its spam. And even worse, it's getting to be more and more like email spam. Viagra commercials, diet pill commercials, etc...

 

you *dont* have to watch any commercials.


Watching hours on end of the tv isnt good for anyone, especially a kid, but dont kids need to learn to deal with the tv instead of it being taken away from them? They need to be able to resist, not mommy resisting for them.

As for tv being passive, what about music? the opera? a play? These are all passive forms.

Like everything else, tv needs to be done in moderation.

 

music, opera, and theater aren't "passive" entertainment just because you're sitting & watching it. the brain responds differently to these activities than it does to television. i don't know the reason why this is, but studies have shown the brain actually responds differently to the flashing light-and-sound images of a tv than it does when it is interpreting music, live theater, etc. i think it has to do with the way a television works: the screen looks like a solid image to you, but it is actually flashing about 60 times per second. according to the alternatives to tv handbook (i've read the same elsewhere, but this just happens to be on hand at the moment) "TV-induced alpha brain waves place the brain in a non-learning mode and are addictive. The alpha brain waves with TV watching are less than sleep or dream brain waves; the brain actually atrophies."


btw, the author of this book is not anti-television; it's a parenting handbook & she is primarily concerned with the developmental impact of too much tv on young children. occaisional television viewing by healthy adults is fine, she says. but look at america's habits: we do not watch an hour or two here and there. looking at american's lives as a group, we watch an incredible amount of TV. one article i read said 4-6 hours a day, but i'm not sure how recent that information is. we do not watch it only as adults, either, many of us were raised in front of the idiot box & continue to use tv as a "babysitter" for our own kids. television is addictive, the more one watches, the more one wants. this too has been proven in studies. children are not developmentally able to resist the addiction to tv, view it critically, or know when they've watched too much. as adults, these tv-raised "latchkey" kids continue to let their lives revolve around tv. they simply aren't able to entertain themselves without it.

 

First, I'd recommend to every single person here (and everyone else) that you read "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television" by Jerry Mander - you will probably have to get it used, because it is out of print. It presents an EXCELLENT argument (or four, to be exact) to get rid of television in your own life, and for our entire society to eliminate it completely as a form of media.


Second, as a trained child therapist with a master's in counseling, I would like to say that television is NOT like any other media. Not in its content, certainly, but also not in the technological construction of the device. Research has consistently showed that the rapidly blinking lights in a television set (which differs from the projected light in a theater, which orginates behind the viewer rather than being directed into the eyes) tend to alter the brain activity during viewing, making the viewer more susceptible to suggestion. This is most marked in child viewers. This is probably why there is also a link between children watching violence and becoming aggressive themselves. Further, television also tends to have a "numbing" effect on the mind, similar to a hypnotic state - again more marked in children. In children with "attention deficit disorder" or "attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity," this causes the child to experience a kind of "rebound" effect when they stop watching, which increases hyperactivity and inability to concentrate. These effects can be seen in MOST children who watch television, though - we're probably all familiar with the multiple studies which have found that watching television interferes with children's ability to concentrate, ability to read (especially for comprehension), and ability to fall asleep and obtain adequate amounts of restful sleep. There is also a clear link between television viewing and obesity - both in children and adults - both due to the types of foods that tend to be consumed during television viewing and the lack of activity naturally brought about by television viewing.

On top of all of this, television presents our children (and we adults, as well) with warped, often dysfunctional notions about reality. Not only do we have commercials, which tell us we are too fat, too ugly, too smelly, too out of fashion, too old, too poor and generally unloveable as we are - the programming itself is comprised by a disturbing array of "reality" shows, "good cop" shows, cartoons (usually matched to a dazzling array of consumer products), fake corporate "news," "soap operas," and perhaps most bizarre - shopping networks. Virtually none of these programs provide any real cultural enrichment, personal understanding of complex social issues, nor do they encourage critical thought in any way. We are presented with body images we cannot hope to live up to, racial profiles that cause increases in racist social stereotypes in "real life," ridicule of that which does not conform to mainstream consumer norms, and political debate which does everything but actually concentrate our attention on the real issues at hand.

ON TOP OF THIS, television further separates us from our family members, neighbors and communities, wastes hours upon hours of our terribly finite time on this planet, divides us from nature, and numbs us to the terrible scam the ruling elite is carrying out on this planet (which is just another reason they LOVE for you to sit and watch).

I personally got rid of my television about 5 years ago after a large amount of research proved to me that there was absolutely no real benefit whatsoever to the machine. I have never met a person who rid themselves of television and regretted it. There is nothing - in this culture - more liberating, more freeing, and probably more difficult to do. I myself was a Law and Order addict, and put off getting rid of the tv for probably a year because of it. But I wouldn't go back to having the garbage in my house, ever. After I got rid of the tv, I learned to sew, read every book I had wanted to read for years, got heavily involved in political activism, and donated about 1/3 of my possessions to goodwill - further simplifying my life. I eventually got rid of the computer as well, and now only use it outside my home. Do it - you won't regret it.

 

Can't say I agree with you there Willow. More than a healthy amount of my childhood (and far more than a healthy amount of my life in general) was/is spent in front of the TV (even more if you count video games, I'm addicted to them too), and I'm not like anything you described. Then again, maybe it's just my god-like resistance to everything that normal humans fall victim to.

I think the problem isn't with the television itself, it's with the people who watch the television. It's a lot like the 'do violent movies and games make people violent?' argument, except with stupidity instead of violence. It doesn't have anything really to do with the content of the programs on TV, or even much of the time spent watching TV either, it has to do with the people themselves. If stupid, suceptible people (like kids I guess) watch nothing but racist shows and stereotypical commercials, they're more likely to be racist and conform to stereotypes. But if an thoughtful, discerning person watches those same shows and commercials, it won't have nearly the same impact.

Instead of forming a protective bubble around kids and telling them that TV is evil, just tell them it's all fake, that's not how real life works, and that commercials are offeirng warped perceptions for the sake of profit. And they probably shouldn't do nothing but watch television either, after all not everyone is as perfect as me. If they know all this beforehand, they'll be able to enjoy TV without becoming drones.

 

I agree with you willow...every fiber of me agrees with you.