06/10 OT: Tubing U.S. "Culture"
Not so much "down the tubes", or even floating down river, but corroding, steering, degrading, corrupting, and misguiding via the great one eyed nemesis, that great evil tube known as Television. As I've noted before, Bernays and those of his ilk were all agog at the enormous potential of television for manipulation and molding of peoples thoughts, ideas, opinions and desires. Some, in fact, considered that there really should be a national entity or organization dedicated to such processes (how very prescient of them). The obvious blatant use was advertising - everybody can quote slogans and memes from numerous ads and ad campaigns over the years, mostly to sell products, goods or brands, but sometime a little bit of ideology or patriotism or militarism on the side, and don't forget to join the armed services while you're at it.
Our self image and world view was also being formed. Think about it, Wheaties was "The Breakfast of Champions", but, under a certain age, nobody really gave a shit except the undersized little guy who wanted to be a professional shortstop. Why? Hopalong Cassidy was on the cover of Raisin Bran, and he had a pair of pearl handled six shooters. We were cowboys with a side of detectives. Way back, of course, TV was something of a catch all, but skip the quiz shows, variety shows, and other miscellany, the shows with narratives, to pull one in and get you an alternative set of eyes to look through, tended to include a lot of westerns. I'd been thinking about an entirely different aspect of this phenomenon when I stumbled across the article that triggered this column. Cops Are Always the Main Characters by Kathryn VanArendonk, in Vulture, June 1 2020. https://www.vulture.com/2020/06/tv-cops-are-always-the-main-characters.h...
At 8 p.m. on Saturday, at the same time CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News were airing live coverage of the nationwide protests against police violence, cable audiences also had other options for what to watch. On PopTV, there was a marathon of NCIS: New Orleans. On WE, Criminal Minds. On WGN, Blue Bloods. On Ion, Law & Order: SVU. And on USA, a marathon of Chicago PD that began 11 hours earlier and continued until Sunday morning, followed by an episode of CSI.
The thesis of this article lies in establishing two points;
TV has long had a police’s-eye perspective that helps shape the way viewers see the world, prioritizing the victories and struggles of police over communities being policed.
and
The overwhelming mountain of cop shows amounts to a decades-long cultural education in who deserves attention, and whose perspective counts most. In stories of American crime, TV teaches us that cops are the characters we should care about.
and then drawing a line between them and connecting that to today's society, to our outlook and viewpoint on things and much more. I definitely think it is worth a read.
The funny thing is, that's not all there is to it. Back in the cowboy days, we still had good guys, sheriffs and marshals, and bad guys, outlaws, Indians, hooligans and the like. And even then we had Sgt. Friday and some others. You can dive into TV shows of the forties and other eras here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1940s_American_television_series, and then track forward decade by decade and discover a lot about the history of our opinions, feelings and culture, and the influences that were, to some degree, driving such things. Cops, spies, warriors and spooks have always played some role in our acculturation and play a seriously large large role today.
Beyond that, the bad guys have changed too. From rustlers we went to thieves, thugs, murderers, gangsters and mobsters, with a (small order of Russians) now and then. Today there are a lot of drug dealers, guys associated with cartels, serial killers, terrorists and persons from the latest bogeyman nation or organization. If we're pushing the Juan Guaidó coup, a Venezuelan military hit squad of trained assassins is sure to be on our soil seeking to silence some critic of the sitting Venezuelan government within a few weeks. Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Isis, al qaeda, Rooskies, of course, and Chinese villains all appear on demand as evil existential threats of the week cycle through the mainstream propaganda narrative. It is not just cops and their viewpoint, but special cops and special operations types who move in and out of foreign countries carrying out espionage and quasi-military missions and we are all being inured to it. Also drones as a routine part of operations here and abroad.
Our perspectives are being shifted simply by the incessant narrative in which the "good guys" undertake tasks and missions, use weapons, skills, techniques, and strategems that we really should question. I can't speak for today, but there was a long running show that seemed to require and justify torture on a weekly basis. There is still a tendency for some to claim that if they accuse one of terrorism then one has no rights, which is probably true, but we really shouldn't accept such behavior as a routine part of today's reality or a cops job. And, of course, be afraid, be vewwy afraid, for *they* are out to get you, and destroy our way of life, our demokracy and all the good shit we have like this great 50 year old scotch and some really dope Air Jordans.
be well and have a good one
Title Image is TV
It's an open thread, so have at it. The floor is yours
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Comments
Good morning, el ~~
This sums up being black in America
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb9_qGOa9Go&feature=youtu.be]
Happy hump day, folks!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Good morning RA. Thanks for posting that clip. I heard the
last part of it last night, but not the full thing. It is good to hear that the economic history and reality she puts forth was taught here in the US to at least some people. It needs to be much more widely disseminated, as does the fact that the social contract has been broken. It's my view that it has largely been a myth, and significantly broken ab initio, but that is something of a quibble. Whatever the case, it is completely broken now. Rather than trying to mend or repair it, we need to replace it, from the get go with a real, fully inclusive one based on other than power and control and without the taint of predatory capitalism, but that's just my 2 cents worth.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
The contract was never meant
for the 99%. That social contract was only meant for and to be among the 1%. If it isn't blatantly clear now, when will it be?
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Good guys only win in the movies
You can tell the bad guys in the classic hollyweird stereotyping.
They were the ones sporting black hats while the good guys wore
the white toppers.
My how things have changed. Now the white helmets are disguised
as the good guys while they are bad guys in reality. Perhaps too
nuanced for the average american news consumer to decipher?
We shot the teevee over 8 years ago. Can't say it has been missed much.
Programming was heading south way before that. Now the media consumers
have the 'greatest fraud reality show' which doubles as news and entertainment.
What is there not to like? 57 channels and nothing on. The good thing is
I can look out my window and see their big screen jumbotron about a 1/4 mile down
the road flashing colors in their living room. Must be fun!
Good morning QMS Congrats on shooting your tube. It
is a phenomenal time waster, today's circus and distraction. Today, at least, they can be co-opted via things like chromecast to play music concerts and classic movies, but that might not be such a great thing either.
I would quibble with your first paragraph, there was an exception, who was actually named in my writing - Hopalong - Black hat, and, originally gimpy too, but he did ride a big white horse, like the long tall texan.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
That actually *was* a white horse, too
Most "white" horses are actually grays with a "white-out" gene. Born any color, they gradually turn white as they get older. (All the "white" horses in Jackson's LOTR movies were well-aged grays.) You can tell because they have dark eyes and their muzzles and hooves are darkish.
The rare "dominant white" or true white horse has blue eyes, a pink muzzle, and light hooves. Hopalong's "Topper" was a dominant white (and so, incidentally, was the Lone Ranger's "Silver").
Other TV-western heroes who wore black hats: Paladin of "Have Gun, Will Travel", and Adam Cartwright of "Bonanza". It went with their preferred color scheme, heavy on the black.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Good evening Maven, didn't know about the quirk with
white horses. Maverick, (possibly Paladin?) and the Cartrights all came later. In the early days, the stereotype held pretty true, I think.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Alrighty then pahdna
make it pure
exceptions may prove your rule
was a light reference to good vs. evil
back in the old days
black and white turns gray
the ideas are larger than your six gun attack
so we suffer the sling shots
Just had to put in a word for my man Hoppy - he's the
only cowboy star I ever got to see up close in person, though I also saw Cisco and/or Pancho, but not right up close.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Morning el
Et al
The covid ‘story is still unraveling, speaking of controlling the narrative.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/10/usps-j10.html
Take good care and have a good one.
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Good morning magi. At first glance I read your first line as
relating to the coRvid story. Interesting where my mind gravitates. No surprise that much is not being told. Manipulation of news and information is endemic here today, but, arguably, throughout history. I suspect that the USPS motive is not "political" so much as "business", but motive matters not in such matters. Ah well.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
They don't call it
"TV programming" for nothing.
I think it was that show "24" with Keefer Sutherland that glorified the "torture is okay for terrorists". It has always been strange to me that people would arrange their lives around TV shows.
Here's a clip from the movie "Network" - "We're in the boredom killing business"
[video:https://youtu.be/zmdHIVrDBVQ]
I've been in the film / tv production business since the early 00's, and I can tell you this, it's all bullshit, manufactured, and contrived. What ever "makes the shot", context, truth, none of that matters.
Think for a moment, in a 1 hour time slot, there is approximately 18-20 minutes of nothing but "commercials" to interrupt your stream of consciousness. And people wonder why we have these "mental health disorders" like "AHAD" or "ADD". Gee, what do you think will happen to a kid if you sit them down in front of a TV all day? They get "programmed" what else.
C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote
Good morning RR. Thanks for introducing the word
"programming" with its multiple meanings into the fray. Also pointing to a strange link between the advertising in tube content and ADHD etc. Don't know if it is a real driver or not, but it is a cogent point, one is programmed from early on to expect frequent breaks in the primary content and focus of attention to divert to something entirely different. A most interesting link.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
What do you mean
life is not like a beer commercial? I'm confused...
This is how I view the world (interesting I use a TV clip to "express" my thoughts...)
[video:https://youtu.be/yjw_DuNkOUw]
C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote
Gene Autry did a serial blending cowboy, musical & sci-fi genres
A Honolulu TV station must have run it in the late ’50s or early ’60s, because I remember seeing a few episodes of a “Western” featuring an alien queen in her alien underground realm of “Murania” and thinking, “Uh — okay-y-y — weird.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_Empire
Good mornng lot. Weird indeed, but an attempt, it seems,
to maybe capitalize on multiple aspects of the zeitgeist. From the link, and its link to Autry, it looks like it was somebody else's brainchild, movie and studio, but Autry starred in it and came to take it over in time. Thinking about it, horses and cowboys don't make any sense in space, so how else to blend "science" (technology?) and westerns?
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good morning, el,
Touted to be an instrument of learning at its inception and so was the world wide web, i recall, the tubes got the best of us becoming tools as you write for nefarious undertakings and salesmen; not the show we were promised exactly. I am old enough to have appeared on live television and my dearly departed actor friend played a clown in the forties.
Just completed the paperwork of the last ten days and transmitted it; a good thing, provided i crossed all t's and dotted i's of course.
So onward with the routine, so much to do...
Cheers for today's OT and have a great one.
Good morning smiley. Good to hear that you got all of that
paperwork off of your back and can now proceed to go on living. Cool to have been on live TV back in its early days.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Black hat, White hat - good afternoon
we're all red shirts now. Ever since Bush2's "mission accomplished" aircraft carrier stunt it's been non stop uniform worship...every stateside clerk in uniform a hero. Tweety's leg has been tingling non stop ever since. Television, like the internet, started with great promise. If you can't make a buck off it, though, then use it as a place to dump your pollution. It's the American way.
Good morning Snode. Sadly too, too true
It was trending in that direction even before that, but that was something of a precipice, or a jumped shark, or something.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
tubing is culture here
what a shame... but it is... for the majority of it, sure is the shallow end of the pool. Surely way more than half my life I did not watch it. Have a couple cathode ray tubes here, not plugged in mind you. The DVD player isn't even hooked up. Trying to find one of those bumper stickers I saw "Free your mind, shoot your TV". Losing the Fairness Doctrine was one of the major steps that pushed the propaganda into high gear. Thanks Ronnie Raygun.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein