Ziel And Johnson Analysis

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The Debated Effects of Television Joe comes home from a long day working seven to six and collapses onto the couch. Finally he can relax and catch his breath from the stresses of everyday life. His turns on his favorite show and loses himself into the false reality on the screen. Due to the hectic, tiring lives Americans lead, television has become an escape. Society tells the people that television is destructive; excessive watching of a screen destroys brain cells and may even shorten lives. However, there has been scientific evidence that shows watching TV is actually beneficial for and can maybe even increase the viewer’s intellectual capacities. Two authors, Carolyn Ziel and Steven Johnson, explore this idea in their essays, “Why Watching…show more content…
The writers have made TV harder to follow over time and now the complex writing places mental demands on the viewers as the watch. If the viewer fails to pay attention, he will not comprehend the content being presented. The mind must be active during certain shows. He says that the viewer learns the same virtues that are practiced through reading such as, “Attention, patience, retention, the parsing of narrative threads” (Johnson, ).. The growing complexity of shows causes the viewer to weave together many threads into one in order to understand. Johnson explains that in “Hill Street Blues”, “the narrative weaves together a collection of distinct stands—sometimes as many as 10, though at least half of the threads involve only a few quick scenes scattered through the episode.” The way the show is written it forces the viewers to recall past episodes and make connections. The viewer can no longer be passive; he must actively watch and unravel the meaning of the multifarious…show more content…
TV shows are meant to keep the viewer engaged and therefore are suspenseful and incredibly thought provoking. While discussing “The West Wing”, Johnson explains that this story, “constantly embeds mysteries into the present-tense events- you see the characters performing actions or discussing events about which crucial information has been deliberately withheld”(Johnson, ) The viewer struggles to keep up with the mystery until they realize they are supposed to be confused. This keeps the reader on his or her toes and keeps the mind firing away trying to make sense of it

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