Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: COHOUSING & TV

[Pam (ncdf]

Okay, I have to jump in here!!

Just to mention that there is a great book called "Four Arguments for
the Elimination of Television" by Jerry Mander.  It was written in the
late 70s, but I do believe they just came out with a new edition.

I read it long ago that I have no direct quotes, and my paraphrasing may
be pretty suspect, but he argues largely that it is *not* just that we
have failed to seize control and get sesame-street quality programming
on every channel.  Television as a medium is super-limited, in both
visual and auditory range.  He argues everything from that television
likely causes physical problems, from cancer and headaches; to the fact
that it is controlled by large corporations, and maybe coudn't be
otherwise; to the fact that this limited range means that you *can*
portray a car blowing up effectively on tv, you just cannot do that
with  say, the beauty of a forest.

He also discusses in deatail a real-life scenario of a community, I
think of native people in canada somewhere, who didn't have tv for years
(didn't have access, too remote) and kept voting against getting it,
until the company (cable people?? I have no idea) manged to get it voted
on at a meeting which very few people attended.  Supposedly within a
year (maybe less) the entire community had fallen apart at the seams and
was full of disrespectful children, violent adults, divorce, etc...

Anyway, hopefully I have made enough outlandish statements to get a few
people to read the book, if only to find something to call me on.  I
really do recommend it.

And I am getting rid of my tv next month.

:)

Pam