In the last point, Novak states that television has a homogenizing effect, creating a national identity that ignores individuals and community. Novak leave us with a suggestion that education and criticisms must take into account how television affects everyone. Since the beginning, there have been mixed reactions to television. Television has always been used as a medium to educate us and entertain us. So I have to agree with Novak when he said that television influences our minds.
Although Johnson and fellow couch potatoes would truly love to believe that watching TV works wonders on your brain, it is surely a fantasy with no relation to real life Johnsons’ main argument is that TV has gotten more complicated over the years and our brains have to compensate for that. The calls this the Sleeper Curve and defines it: “The most debased forms of mass diversion- video games and violent TV dramas and juvenile sitcoms,- turn out to be nutritional after all” (215). More simply put, that even if TV is really bad, it is still a force for good, improving our brains and not making us dumb. Johnson compares what you gain from TV to what you gain from reading: attention, patience, retention, and parsing narrative threads. The complexity of TV places demands on the same cognitive qualities.
“Family Guy & Freud: Jokes & Their relations to the unconscious”. .They Say, I Say (299-311) New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2012. Print. I watched a television show called Burn Notice, and that show explains through their episodes how a certain individual can take care of themselves in certain situations and gain better focus skills. Some situations that the show brings might not happen in our lives, but it is good to have a better understanding of the situation than not to know.
Sitcoms in particular give an ideal of family life to the public. Additionally, the values and beliefs of what western civilized society “should be” are implicated based on what are viewed as everyday problems faced by the masses in western culture. Family values, normal problems to have and how to execute them, along with appropriate placement of each individual’s role in a family setting are shown and therefore mimicked by the public. Popular culture in relation to globalization is also a key factor in the success of American sitcoms. By looking at a piece of popular culture, such as a sitcom, and deconstructing the ideologies within it, viewers can gain better understanding of American culture and what is being represented as normal and acceptable in regards to communication and everyday life.
There are also economic and legal factors: Shakespeare is helpfully outside copyright law as well as interesting to adapt. Shakespeare on screen gradually became part of the establishment, reflecting its growing academic respectability. Shakespeare on screen is now in its second century and the reasons why Shakespeare has so long been considered adaptable have been variously discussed. According to Robert Hamilton Ball, Shakespeare’s dramas were considered ideal material for cinema in the early 20th century because the presence of Shakespeare on film raised the contemporary estimation of film. A successful adaptation of Shakespeare must then convey an anxiety of influence (Adaptation form Text to Screen, Screen to Text) P 31) an awareness that the reproduction is both dependent on and
There are two basic types of dramas. Based on true story shows, like the ones played on the Lifetime channel, or the documentary style, camera over the shoulder shows like the ones played on A&E. Both types of dramas are very entertaining, but they are also very different. Lifetime takes a semi dramatic story, changes some of the facts and fills in the gaps to invent an extremely dramatic story and call it “based on a true story”. On the other hand, channels like A&E are mostly documentary based.
Thus, the actors' scripted actions and emotions are then, a representation of what the producers of television series perceive to be a realist. However, this brings into a question of realism. Realism is described as the accurate representation of reality without idealisation (Merriam Webster, 2011). In other words, has the producers of Six Feet Under, given an accurate representation of what individuals in similar circumstances experience or has their vision for the story, been idealised or exaggerated in order to increase entertainment value. In order to determine whether the television series is considered a realistic representation, a comparison must be made between the representation in the television series and current social trends.
This is a very effective essay with enough research to back up his argument. He was highly utilizing the materials available to him. He uses studies to let the reader get the feel of his argument. He poses the big question; who will censor the violent programming children watch on television and at the movies? Cannon uses a 1973 research study to back up his argument.
People are said to have positive reactions toward television. As a person watches television, he or she can interact with what is happening. Whether it is happiness or sadness, a person will not be affected by television; he or she will understand the values of each show. In “A Moral Never-Never Land: Identifying with Tony Soprano,” James Harold indicates that television helps a person compare problems and emotions on a show. Television makes people look deep inside and think about the notions of good and evil.
The 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck took place during the beginning of the Cold War, specifically around the time when Senator Joseph McCarthy was rising to power. During his reign as the chairman for the Committee on Government Operations of the Senate, he accused several public figures of being Communists. His speeches were frequently reported on in the media, and the determined factor for censorship during the Red Scare was based on ideology, rather than actual content. Many people unjustly accused of being Communists were persecuted and discriminated, and the Republican Party began advocating the rise of ideological conformity. A great deal of the American public became extremely paranoid, and the general atmosphere of the era was nihilistic due to fear of Communist infiltration.