Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: TV

[Virginia C. Risk (ginny]

Thanks for the various thoughts on TV; I find this discussion an
interesting approach to thinking about society and culture.

I found two recent comments echoed my suspicions about how TV might be
influencing our lives.
Dorothy's comments on TV use in Japan:
> Actually, Japan has a fairly low homicide rate,
> and if you can imagine such a thing, I think they watch TV a lot 
> *more* than Americans (and the kiddie shows are so violent we don't 
> allow them in our house).  I know people who *read* so much they are
> anti- social, but I would never presume to say we should ban reading!

and Scott's comments on what I prefer to call "consumerism":
> The main goal of capitalist TV is to give you an "education".  That  
> is, to teach you that 1) you have no community, and 2) that the reason > you 
> have no community is that you aren't driving the right kind of 
> car,  drinking the right type of beer or buying the right toothpaste.

Suppose TV (and other time and attention consuming activities) serve to
distract us from the things we really care about and the goals we really
want to work for?  What if this plays on a fairly common reluctance to
face hard work and hard choices -- and I mean the kind of
procrastination coupled with anxiety that some taxpayers out there must
be feeling today...  So that, for instance, it's easier for me to
believe when I feel lonely that I could fix that by buying something
than it is for me to look at some of my character traits that make it
harder for me to have the kind of relationships I'd like to have.  

If we accept this premise, then it's reasonable that
1) TV affects different people differently.  And if, perhaps, the
Japanese culture is more focused on social harmony, then individuals
might not be so easily influenced to violence
2) Other things that require our time and attention can have a similar
effect as TV

Some of what's happening comes from within us and multiple factors are
working together.

-- Ginny
(who wouldn't spend $20. on a TV but would like to spend $2000. on a
computer, and who tries to use everything she has for good --and who has
been spending too much time reading novels lately!)